WASTE HEAT COLLECTION OF GLASS MELTING FURNACE AND FACILITIES THEREFOR

摘要

There is disclosed an apparatus and method of recovering a portion of the waste heat produced in a high temperature industrial process, such as a glass melting furnace, where the furnace has at least a pair of regenerators which are alternately used to preheat the combustion air and serve as hot exhaust heat storage means. The hot exhaust gases from the process are passed through a heat exchanger where the heat is indirectly transferred to the clean compressed air at 100 psi from the compressor of a Brayton cycle energy recovery system with the hot compressed air being expanded in a high performance turbine. The exhaust from the turbine will be at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature between 750 DEG F. and 900 DEG F. This turbine exhaust is fed to the opposite side regenerator as clean preheated combustion air. One embodiment is directed to the use of a regenerator that is made up of primary and secondary sections with the exhaust to the heat exchanger being taken from a connection between the sections whereby the glass melting furnace is not effected whether the Brayton cycle system is in operation or the secondary is functioning without the Brayton cycle energy recovery system.