Published June 1982
A large amount of energy is contained in low temperature (100-300�F) process streams in industrial plants. This report discusses some of the methods of recovering this energy and specifically evaluates the economics of organic Ranking cycle (ORC) systems, absorption refrigeration, mechanical heat pumps, and heat exchanger networks.
A section of the report also provides an introduction to the "energy" (availability) method of analyzing an existing or proposed process to discover the more promising locations for energy recovery or improved energy utilization.
The report is based mainly on information from equipment manufacturers and the technical literature. We are particularly grateful to AFI Energy Systems, the Trane Company, and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation for information, respectively, on ORC systems, absorption and mechanical refrigeration, and package unit heat pumps. Westinghouse Electric sold the portion of its business that included the package unit heat pumps to McQuay-Perfex, Inc. in January 1982.
