An application of heat recovery in an air compressor system of a textile plant using SCADA

In this paper, a waste heat recovery system (WHRS) is applied to five turbocharger centrifugal compressors by using SCADA. Compressors were directly cooled by use of cold water obtained from a well. Our method resulted in eliminating the need for cooling towers and pumping equipment which were previously used to cool water. In addition to that electrical energy saving was gained by using 15 KW pump instead of 110 kW pump. Another benefit of this study is that heated water produced while air compressors are working is re-used in other processes. Significant thermal saving was achieved by reducing the use of fossil fuel. Furthermore some extra benefits were gained such as low maintenance cost and less chemical usage. This study is completed and currently in use at a company which is one of the major textile plant in Turkey. The investment needed to renovate the old cooling system pays it's back from six months to two years.