Fluidized-Bed Waste-Heat Recovery System Advances

The Fluidized-Bed Waste-Heat Recovery (FBWHR) System is a combustion air preheater designed for existing unrecuperated industrial furnaces, where dirty and corrosive flue gases cause severe fouling and materials problems. The FBWHR system solves these problems by using a durable, direct contact heat exchanger, eliminating conventional gas-to-air heat exchanger surfaces. In the FBWHR system, a recirculating particulate medium is heated as it falls through upwardflowing flue gases in a raining-bed heat exchanger. This heated medium is passed across a fluidized-bed heat exchanger, preheating the combustion air. Cooled medium is returned to the raining bed for reheating. This paper discusses FBWHR system pilot plant testing that surpassed program goals. A description of the initial steps of a full-scale FBWHR system demonstration is also included