Effect of operation parameters on waste heat recovery on the coke surface of periodic graphitization furnaces

Abstract

It inevitably dissipates a great amount of waste heat during the graphitization process and the safety operation is remarkably crucial due to the high temperature of the graphitization furnace. A novel air-based heat recovery system was proposed to recover the high-temperature waste heat on the coke surface of periodic graphitization furnace. The mathematical models of recovery equipment for graphitization furnace were established to investigate the effect of operation parameters on waste heat recovery potential. The results showed that the heat recovery rate decreases by 2.0% when the inlet temperature increases by 5 °C. The inlet velocity of cooling air for inlet cooling air temperature within 20–35 °C has great influence on the radiation heat recovery dissipated from coke surface. The inlet velocity of flue gas has positive impact on the convective heat recovery dissipated from coke surface. The utilization of supply fan can delay, maintain and accelerate the cooling period, respectively. Approximately 14.9–22.3% of the total consumption electricity can be recovered. The equivalent emission reduction of CO2 in whole life time cycle is 14.7–22.2%. Thus, the heat recovery on the coke surface has great application potential of waste heat recovery in safety, energy-saving and productivity for graphitization furnace.

Keywords

• Graphitization furnace
• Waste heat recovery system
• Recovery equipment
• Operation parameter