Heat transfer as an important subject in waste-to-energy systems

Characteristics of heat transfer equipment and/or heat exchangers used in waste to energy systems and their specific features are described and discussed in the paper. A combination of intuitive design, know how and sophisticated approach based on up-to-date computational tools is shown. Concrete examples involve e.g. heat exchangers of heat recovery systems (especially air pre-heaters and heat recovery steam generators) of units for the thermal processing of wastes, their design, arrangement, optimization etc. An application of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) both for improved design and troubleshooting (e.g. elimination of fouling) is demonstrated. There is also shown an approach 'from idea to industrial applications' on an example of a new unit for the thermal processing of gas waste. Design of this original compact equipment consists in a convenient integration of combustion chamber and heat exchanger. Experimental as well as CFD approaches largely contributed to an optimum design and operation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.