Developing Thermal Processes with Energy Efficiency in Mind

Material refinement and processing can involve dozens of unit operations to finally arrive at a saleable, high-value advanced material.

Thermal processing is typically the most energy intensive portion of a materials manufacturing process. Opportunities to conserve energy not only reduce ecological impact, but can result in significant cost saving, as thermal processing is a criti-cal cost driver in direct equipment and installed utility requirements. To make the best use of possible opportunities, it is im-portant to consider the form of the commercial process as early as during laboratory development to ensure it will be suitable for application in the intended continuous form. In particular, continuous thermal processes offer multiple opportunities for energy conservation over batch, including reduced residence time, minimizing thermal requirements to heat ancillary process components, and opportunities for use of byproduct materials and heat for preheating. Detailed discussion on opportunities for continuous, energy efficient thermal processing will be provided with examples of commercially relevant processes to il-lustrate the concept and provide a guide for future considerations.

Published: by  | Harper International