LOW CARBON HEATING/HVAC


TURNING UP THE HEAT ON SUSTAINABILITY


Industrial process heating: Four opportunities to


improve sustainability. By Etienne Fourie, technical sales manager, Babcock Wanson


T


o limit the impact of climate change, the UK has legally committed to reaching Net


Zero by 2050. But, while strides have been made to reduce emissions, there remains some way to go. Industrial organisations looking to improve sustainability in their process heating applications have four major opportunities available to them now to assist in this journey.


1. DECARBONISATION Alternative solutions to the use of fossil fuels in steam and hot water production are readily available. Electrification is by far the most popular and practical means of decarbonising. In light industry, heat pumps, electric resistance heaters and electrode boilers offer an efficient means for both direct and indirect heating. To help, Babcock Wanson has developed a full range of energy- efficient low and high voltage electric boilers that provide precise temperature control. However, in hard to abate sectors, due to


the high temperature heat requirements and the necessity to adapt heating technologies to cater to specific applications, solutions are sadly not as straightforward. Where reliance on electrification isn’t feasible, hybrid solutions allow customers the best available energy source at any given time to be used. Combustion solutions based on renewable energy such as hydrogen, biogas and oxycombustion are


also on the table for consideration, but have a more limited scope.


2. ENERGY PERFORMANCE Where low carbon solutions are not a practical option, focus on maximising the energy performance of existing boilers. There are several ways this can be achieved. Firstly, ensure you have a modern energy efficient


burner that is seamlessly matched with the heated vessel. Our Modulo+ gas burners, for example, are designed with digital micro-modulation control and specially developed combustion head for a high turndown of 12:1 for improved efficiency and lower overall losses due to a reduction in the number of purge cycles. The key to a good burner is its ability to provide very accurate control of excess air over the entire operating range, resulting in an excellent combustion efficiency no matter what the process load, and the lowest practicable operating costs. Secondly, adapt water treatment to the


quality of the water available by ensuring the correct water treatment chemicals are used for the process at hand. Consider the use of ion exchange softening, thermal degassing (deaeration), and demineralisation by reverse osmosis or by resin exchange. Thirdly, consider remote monitoring of heating systems which alerts users to deviations in equipment operation and water quality enabling them to take fast action.


Babcock Wanson’s Modulo+ gas burners Combined, these measures reduce the


consumption of fossil fuels, reducing NOx and CO2 emissions in the process.


3. REDUCTION OF POLLUTING EMISSIONS In addition to the actions listed above, polluting emissions can be reduced further through the adoption of equipment specifically designed to capture and eliminate air pollutants generated by industrial installations. Thermal oxidation solutions, including regenerative, recuperative and deodorising options, are highly effective at treating VOCs and odours. Pollutant gases are heated to a high temperature in a combustion chamber and are fully oxidised before being discharged as a harmless gas.


4. RECOVERY AND RE-USE Look at best practice in managing natural resources. When it comes to water management, consider implementing solutions to recover and reintegrate part of the water discharged, thereby reducing water consumption. Waste heat recovery through the use of flue gas and condensing economisers is also ideal and can allow for considerable savings to be made. Economisers are essentially heat exchange devices that extract the residual heat from the exhaust gas generated by the combustion process. That recovered heat is usually fed back into the process, typically to the boiler feed water, thereby optimising the overall efficiency of the plant in the most compact and cost-effective manner. Babcock Wanson’s R-Eco solution, for example, is a combustion air preheater that recovers heat from the combustion fumes and uses a Flue Gas Recirculation system, which increases the overall efficiency of the boiler up to 98%. Solvent recovery systems should also be


considered to both help reduce your carbon footprint and meet increasingly stringent emission limits for solvents and VOCs.


THE ROAD TO DECARBONISATION The reality is there isn’t one road to decarbonisation. Each industry and each application face their own set of challenges, but options are available to help improve sustainability and get you one step closer to the Net Zero destination.


Remote monitoring of heating systems alerts users to deviations in equipment operation 28 ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Summer 2025


Babcock Wanson T: 020 8953 7111 www.babcock-wanson.com


www.essmag.co.uk


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