Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger

An energy recovery solution

HEAT TRANSFER SOLUTIONS

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Recovering the unrecoverable

Energy recovery from industrial exhaust gases has the potential to
unlock large amounts of valuable energy savings and reduce CO2
and carbon emissions. However, in the past this opportunity has
largely gone unexploited due to the hostile exhaust environments.
For the first time, our innovative Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger (HPHE)
design, combined with new manufacturing techniques has enabled
our customers to cost effectively recover energy from hot corrosive
and dirty exhaust. This will enable you to:
Reduce fuel demands,CO2 and carbon emissions
Capture waste energy
Increase process efficiency
Reduce costs by lowering fuel consumption
These are just a few of the applications where valuable
waste energy can be recovered:
Biomass boilers
Heavy fuel oil boilers
Coal boilers
Kilns
Furnaces
Ovens

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Harnessing your previously unrecoverable waste heat

Traditional heat exchangers struggle to operate effectively in hostile environments such as those found in industrial exhaust
streams, often suffering from a build-up of materials and corrosion, leading to a reduction in heat recovery efficiency and equipment
failure. Therefore, until now this potential has gone untapped.

However, a breakthrough in manufacturing techniques and Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger design has allowed
Spirax Sarco to make the recovery of corrosive and contaminated exhaust heat a reality.
Our Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger solution resists fouling and efficiently recovers heat, creating a cost effective energy recovery
solution which is completely at home within these previously unsuitable environments.
The HPHE solution is:

Robust and reliable

Manufactured using a range of robust materials
Free thermal expansion and contraction of
individual components
Isothermal pipe temperature avoids cold spots to help
reduce corrosion
Heat pipes operate independently so individual pipe failures
will have minimal impact on performance

Flexible
Simple, sturdy HPHE construction can be applied in
hostile environments
Easily add or remove individual heat pipes for precise
optimisation and maintenance

Cost effective
Short payback period
Solution will continue to make energy savings for
many years
Removable heat pipe cassettes and a side inspection
panel make maintenance quick and easy

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Unique and innovative design

The unique design of the HPHE system provides an extremely efficient transfer of energy, 1000 times more efficient than copper.
The patented superconductor heat pipe contains a vacuum filled with heat transfer fluid to exchange heat from the source to
the process.

Vacuum tube
Heat out

Condensation
Separation plate
Steam

Heat in

Heat pipe operation

Heat pipes
Cool fluid in

Heated
fluid out

Exhaust out
Separator plate
Heat pipe area in fluid
Seal
Exhaust in

Heat pipe area in exhaust

Heat pipe heat exchanger construction

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Heat Pipe Heat Exchange systems

Standard HPHE modules

Gas to water

Many application demands can be met from a standard range

Gas to water HPHEs are designed to produce hot water from

of modules, where standard cartridges of heat pipes are

exhaust gas.

installed into a heat exchanger casing.

Gas to gas
Benefits include:

HPHE standard units are also able to transfer heat between a

Speed of availability

hot gas and a cold gas. Often air is heated and can be used

Easily aligned to process requirements

in several ways, from preheating for combustion to use in

Easy access and cleaning

production cycles or building heating.

Low maintenance

Standard gas to liquid HPHE unit

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Bespoke HPHE modules

Where a standard modular unit is not available, a HPHE system can be specifically designed to meet your exact requirements,
delivering optimised performance and energy recovery. This includes gas to water and gas to gas.

Steam generation
Indirect steam generation is unique to Spirax Sarco. Our expertise allows us to produce saturated or superheated steam from
recovered waste energy over a wide range of pressures and flowrates.

Steam Generation unit

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HPHE success stories

Steel casting company in the

Czech Republic
Heat source: Exhaust at 450C from melting furnaces
Application: Heating HVAC services water
Energy recovered: 560 kW

Ceramic manufacturing
company in India
Heat source: Exhaust at 316C from kilns
Application: Pre-heating the air entering the kilns
Energy recovered: 610 kW

Automotive parts manufacturer

in the USA
Heat source: Exhaust at 400C from an
aluminum furnace
Application: Pre-heating the air entering the
aluminium furnace
Energy recovered: 530 kW

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Portable power provider

in Botswana
Heat source: Exhaust at 325C from heavy fuel
oil boilers
Application: Pre-heating heavy fuel oil
Energy recovered: 120 kW

Food manufacturing process

in Italy
Heat source: CHP engine
Application: Hot water for heating system
Energy recovered: 870 kW

Tyre manufacturing in Italy

Heat source: CHP vegetable oil engine
Application: Steam for vulcanisation of tyres
during pressing
Energy recovered: 206 kW

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HPHE recovers 2.1 MW from anaerobic digester incinerator exhaust

Industry: Public buildings & institutions

The solution
Spirax Sarco HPHE unit incorporating the innovative heat pipe

Application: Exhaust gas heat recovery

technology was ideal in this scenario;

- Sufficiently robust to withstand aggressive conditions

A client responsible for operating the established

waste- biomass facility within a district energy system
required a solution to recover energy from an incinerator.

- Met the requirements for energy capture

- Compact enough to be installed in the limited available space
on the exhaust stack.

The incinerator burning anaerobic digester sludge was used to

heat a central boilerhouse at an industrial parks district heating

Spirax Sarco supplied a HPHE System, complete with diverter

system. The customer needed a solution which would preheat

system, water side distribution pump and a complete operating

the water from 73.5C to 90C. However, in the past, the

and safety control system. The primary exhaust side of the

customer had found considerable problems in capturing waste

heat exchanger casing was manufactured from stainless steel

heat from the exhaust. In particular the exhaust was corrosive

to cope with the corrosive exhaust while the secondary water

and contained particulates leading to build up of material. The

side was manufactured from carbon steel to keep the cost of

application was also at too high a temperature with limited

the construction down. The pressure drop across the system is

space making it inappropriate for traditional heat exchange

very low at 95mm H2O.

systems.
This incinerator was producing 17,500 kg/h of exhaust

Result

at 650C.

The customer had only previously considered conventional

The specification:

of the aggressive nature of the exhaust, its high temperature,

heat exchanger designs, none of which were suitable because

space limitations and low pressure drop requirements. The

Exhaust inlet: 650C

Spirax Sarco HPHE system overcame all of these problems

Exhaust mass flow: 17,500 kg/h

enabling the customer to recover 2.1 MW. This was enough to

Recovery media inlet: 73.5C

heat 125,000 kg/h of district heating water from 73.5C to 90C.

Recovery media mass flow: 125,000 kg/h

Calculated payback for the customer is under two years, saving

10.5 million kWh and 1,900 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Fuel type: Biomass

ROI period: 2 years

Target heat energy recovery: 2.1 MW

Energy recovered 2.1 MW

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Spirax-Sarco Limited, Charlton House, Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire, GL53 8ER, UK
T +44 (0)1242 521361
F +44 (0)1242 573342
E enquiries@uk.spiraxsarco.com

SB-P211-02 CH Issue 1

Copyright 2014 Spirax Sarco is a registered trademark of Spirax-Sarco Limited