Energy recovery from exhaust

gases using Heat Pipe technology

Energy recovery from industrial flue and exhaust gases can provide large amounts of valuable energy savings, together with
significant reductions in CO2 and Carbon emissions. However, in the past this opportunity has been largely unexploited due to
technological barriers and the lack of a simple, reliable solution capable of recovering this wasted heat, which would provide a
realistic return on investment.
Industrial exhaust gases can be dirty and corrosive, and can contain particles that are abrasive or will build up and coat the
surfaces of an exhaust gas system. In this type of application traditional heat exchangers can easily become clogged or
damaged due to the high thermal stresses generated.
Breakthrough developments in the design of heat pipes and the techniques used to manufacture them mean that heat pipes can
now be used as the core heat exchange component for exhaust gas energy recovery heat exchangers in industrial applications.
The use of heat pipes will overcome the problems previously associated with traditional heat exchanger designs.

Long Service Life

Robust construction, manufactured from a variety of sturdy
materials to suite the application.
Flexible heat exchanger design allows for the free thermal
expansion and contraction of individual components.
The heat pipes operate at a constant and uniform
temperature across their length. This avoids thermal stress
and avoids cold spots where gas condensation could occur.

Flexibility
The simple, sturdy heat pipe based heat exchanger
construction allows units to be applied in difficult or even
hostile environments, where traditional heat exchanger
designs could not be considered.
The ability to add or remove individual heat pipes from a heat
exchanger allows for precise optimisation of a system.

Reliability
Each heat pipe within a heat exchanger operates
independently of the others. Therefore if there is a fault
with an individual pipe, it will have little effect on the overall
performance of the heat exchanger. The faulty pipe can just
be replaced during the next scheduled maintenance period.

This unit is saving 2.4mW per year from recovered exhaust heat

Low Operating Costs

The payback period on an initial investment is often very
short. And the solution will continue to reduce energy costs
and emissions long after the initial investment is recovered.
Pressure drop through the heat exchanger is low, so extra fan
power is rarely required.
Individual heat pipes in a heat exchanger are very easy
to access and clean. If required, heat exchangers can be
designed with self-cleaning mechanisms.

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What is a heat pipe?

Construction
A heat pipe is a metal tube, sealed at both

Heat pipes

ends with a vacuum inside, filled with a small

quantity of fluid. The fluid used depends upon

Cool fluid in

Heated
fluid out

the required working temperature range of the

heat pipe. The working temperature range with
a water fill is 80C to 320C which will meet

Exhaust out

Separator plate

over 90% of application requirements.

Heat pipe area

in fluid

Other temperature ranges can be addressed

by a variety of other liquid fills upon request.

Seal
Exhaust in

The metal used for the heat pipe construction

Heat pipe area

in exhaust

depends upon the application needs. In

industrial applications the most common
materials used are:

Heat pipe heat

exchanger construction

Copper
Carbon steel
Stainless steel (AISI 304 and AISI 316)
Aluminium
Many other construction materials are also available to meet the needs of a wide range of applications.

Thermal features
As a result of the high quality construction of the heat pipe and
in particular its high integrity vacuum, heat transfer between the

Air at 60C

hot stream and the cold stream is virtually instantaneous.

For example, where water is used as the working fluid, it will

Separation
plate

Isothermal
temperature
along heat
pipe 190C

boil at 0C and will transfer energy very rapidly to the cold end
of the heat pipe. Another very important thermal characteristic
of the heat pipe is its isothermal operation; operating with a
uniform temperature along its whole length:

Exhaust at 320C

Very little thermal stress along the length of the pipe.

No cold spots occur where condensation could
take place, eliminating the risk of any corrosion.

Heat pipe

Isothermal operation

Heat pipe heat exchangers

Operation
The lower end of the heat pipe is installed in a hot stream and
the top end is fitted into a colder stream. The hot and the cold
streams are separated by a separation plate, into which the
heat pipe is fitted, with a seal between the hot and the cold

The mechanical and thermal properties of heat pipes with their

many advantages make them particularly suitable as the heat
conductors in heat exchangers suitable for energy recovery

sides.

applications that cant be addressed by traditional heat

The part of the heat pipe immersed in the hot stream absorbs

temperature, corrosive or contaminated exhaust streams.

exchanger designs. In particular, energy recovery from high

heat, causing the liquid inside the pipe to evaporate. The

evaporated liquid (steam) then travels to the top of the heat
pipe. When this steam reaches the top of the heat pipe it gives
up its enthalpy of evaporation to the cold stream, heating up

Heat pipe based energy recovery heat exchangers can be

designed for most heating applications, with the majority
addressing one of the following:
Exhaust Gas

Air Heating

liquid. The liquid then flows back to the bottom of the heat pipe

Exhaust Gas

Water Heating

and the cycle will continue as long as there is a temperature

Exhaust Gas

Steam Generation

the cold stream and causing the steam to condense back into a

difference between the hot stream and the cold stream.

Many application demands can be met from a modularised
Due to the difference in density of the working fluid in its

standard range of heat pipe heat exchangers, where standard

liquid and vapour phases a natural circulation cycle operates

cartridges of heat pipes are installed into a standard heat

inside the heat pipe. It is not necessary for the heat pipe to be

exchanger casing, suitable for a particular application.

mounted vertically for this cycle to operate effectively. It will

operate perfectly, even when the heat pipe is installed as little

Where it is necessary, individual designs can be made to suite

as 4 from the horizontal.

the individual needs of a particular application.

Exhaust gas energy recovery installations will usually have one
or more of three elements.
Vacuum tube

Heat exchanger

Heat out

This where the energy is extracted from the hot exhaust gas
Condensation

Separation plate
Steam

Heat in

Heat pipe operation

and transferred to the cold stream (water, air etc.) to heat it up.

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Diverter System

Control systems

A system of by-pass duct work around the heat

Controls are required to ensure the heated fluid or gas

exchanger together with diverter valves.

is heated to the required temperature. They will be

To facilitate maintenance or cleaning of the heat pipe

required to ensure the system operates safely and will

heat exchanger.
As part of the overall thermal design of the system
where some of the exhaust gas flow is diverted around
the heat exchanger during normal operation.
To divert exhaust flow around the heat exchanger

also shut down safely if there is a problem.

If a diverter system is incorporated into the system
design, control logic will be required to operate the
diverter valves, ensuring they open and close when
needed and in the correct sequence.

in the event of there being a problem with the heat

exchanger.

The control system can also incorporate

This will ensure that a process can continue to operate

safely.

Alarms
Communications
Self-diagnostics

Heat pipe cartridge

Exhaust

Heat
exchanger
casing

Standard modularised gas to liquid HPHE unit

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Case studies
The following are examples of where heat pipe based energy recovery systems have been used to recover energy.

Heat source

Application

Energy
recovered

Payback period

Steel casting
company in the
Czech Republic

Exhaust at
450C from
melting furnaces

Heating HVAC
services water

560kW

6 months

Ceramic tile
manufacturing
company in India

Exhaust at
316C from
tile kilns

Pre-heating the air

entering the tile kilns

610 kW

16 months

Automotive parts

Exhaust at

Pre-heating the

manufacturer in
the USA

400C from an
aluminium furnace

air entering the

aluminium furnace

530kW

16 months

Portable power
provider in Botswana

Exhaust at
325C from heavy fuel
oil boilers

Pre-heating
heavy fuel oil

120kW

3 months

Oil & gas well head

thermal oxidiser
manufacturer in
Canada

Exhaust gas at 350C

from a diesel oil fuelled
burner

Pre-heating burner
combustion air

1,840kW

5 months

Customer

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Applications
Heat pipe based energy recovery systems can be used wherever there is a source of heat available in the exhaust from a
combustion process, and there is a use for the energy recovered. They are particularly suited to difficult applications where
traditional designs of heat exchanger would not be suitable.

Industry

Typical heat sources

Applications

Melting and holding furnaces

Smelters
Sintering machines

Pre-heat combustion air

Process hot water
Heating & sanitary use

Cooking ovens
Vacuum pumps
Incinerators

Pre-heat combustion air

Process hot water
Heating & sanitary use
Absorption cooling

Petrochemical

Crackers
Thermal oxidisers
Fertiliser plants

Pre-heat combustion air

Process hot water
Heating & sanitary use
Absorption cooling

Construction
materials

Cement plants
Glass furnaces
Ceramics furnaces
Brick works

Pre-heat combustion air

Process hot water
Heating & sanitary use

Power

Turbines
Boilers
Diesel generators

Pre-heat combustion air

Pre-heat boiler feed water
Heating & sanitary use
Pre-heat fuel oils

Incinerators

Pre-heat combustion air

Heating & sanitary use

Metals

Food

Waste
processing

Institutions

Boilers

Pre-heat combustion air

Pre-heat boiler feed water
Heating & sanitary use
Absorption cooling

Contaminated exhaust streams

Heat pipe heat exchangers are really the only choice
when an exhaust contains particulates or suspensions
that could settle onto the heat exchange surface. The
construction of the heat exchanger allows the heat pipe
surfaces to be cleaned easily and quickly with very little
system down-time.
The heat pipes can be constructed from a wide variety
of materials, resistant to the majority of corrosive
elements often found in industrial exhaust streams

Pressure drop
Compared to other heat recovery solutions available,
heat pipe based solutions have extremely low pressure
drops across them. This is particularly significant where
size or weight is a consideration, as this low pressure
drop is achieved with systems that are also much
smaller and lighter than traditional systems.

Built in redundancy
Within the heat exchanger each heat pipe is an
individual heat exchange unit. The heat pipes are very
robust, designed to operate in aggressive industrial
environments. However, even if one or two heat pipes
fail, this will have a very small effect on the overall
performance of the heat exchanger.

Increased reliability
Heat pipes do not rely upon thin metal surfaces for effective heat transfer and therefore can be constructed from robust materials
that offer increased resistance to erosion.
In the heat exchanger, heat pipes are free to expand and contract within the heat exchanger casing, causing minimal thermal
stresses in the overall construction.
The isothermal operation of the heat pipe ensures that cold condensation spots do not form, eliminating the possibility of low
temperature corrosion.

SB-P211-01 CH Issue 1