Comparison of waste heat recovery exchangers of furnace combusted with different fuels

Abstract

This work compares the low-temperature waste heat recovery exchangers of glass melting furnaces using liquid natural gas (LNG), methanol, and dimethyl ether (DME) as the fuel has been investigated. A glass melting furnace with 1t/year was used to combust the fuel with air, and the waste heat exchanger was served to recover the heat from the flue gas at a low temperature to preheat the air. The net present value (NPV) and CO2 emission acted as the evaluating parameter of the heat exchangers. The results showed that the methanol combustion program gave the maximum NPV and CO2 emission. The LNG combustion program gave the least ones, and the parameters in the DME combustion program are always in the middle. Considering the income of the heat exchanger and CO2 emission, the glass melting furnace with DME being the fuel is the most optimal program.