A warm premiere

According to the theory, 94% of the energy in air compression by compressors is converted into heat. Therefore, the most efficient solution for the industry is to design and locate compressors together with boiler houses to utilize the energy from the compressors. Using heat directly from the compressor air-cooling fans is inefficient. Even at a short distance, the air flow with a temperature of 50-60°C is dissipated and cooled near the compressor room. This solution is suitable for heating rooms in the immediate vicinity of the compressors, but at a distance of even 5 m, the air temperature drops to 30 °C and further forced transportation loses all meaning. In winter, cooling is even more rapid. In other words, in this case, the customer receives a source of low-potential heat energy with limited application possibilities. The solution is the use of a special recovery system developed by the manufacturer and built into the compressor casing. It is based on a water/water heat exchanger. In it, the compressor oil heated to a temperature of 90-100 °C heats the water flow to temperatures of 60-90 °C (depending on the flow rate). The heated water can be easily transported, stored, or sent to the return loop of the company’s hot water system.

“The introduction of the recuperation system allows us to almost double the energy used to compress air and save on the use of natural gas or other energy sources,” said Sergey Kot, Head of Compressor Equipment at Dalgakiran Compressor Ukraine. – “As a rule, the thermal energy obtained from recovery is either used for space heating or the heated water is used for technological purposes. We are currently implementing two recovery units at Ilyichevsk Shipyard. The estimated total capacity will be 425 kW.” The experience of using heat energy from compressors will be of interest to most Ukrainian enterprises. For our company, the introduction of compressors equipped with a recovery system will allow us to fully meet the expectations of the most demanding customers and increase our competitive advantages.