Reclaiming a Valuable Resource

At the community energy production plant, natural gas is combusted into thermal energy with a boiler and then distributed in the form of steam. Steam boiler stack temperatures can rise to 700 degrees. That high-temperature exhaust is wasting energy. 

To improve the thermal efficiency of the boiler and recover energy, Akron Energy Systems uses an economiser. The economiser utilizes the heat in the exhaust flue gases to heat the water entering the boiler. As a result, fuel consumption to operate the boiler is reduced, water is recycled, and the energy that would have gone to waste is reused.

Reuse of Resource Reduces Environmental Impact

A community energy plant produces high-pressure steam with natural gas-fired boilers before distributing lower pressure steam to its customers. Akron Energy Systems utilizes an energy recovery generator to capture the excess thermal energy for reuse. This valuable resource that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere is captured and converted into an energy source. Not only does this process improve the system’s overall efficiency, but it lowers the production plant’s CO2 emissions.