Integration of low grade heat with district heating

Abstract

Large quantities of low grade heat with temperature ranging from 30 °C to 250 °C as liquids (cooling water) and gases (flue gas) is not utilized across process industry. This heat can reduce the energy consumption for district heating (DH) and therefore reduce the carbon footprint for the integrated system. The techno-economic feasibility of over the fence process integration of low grade heat with district heating network is evaluated in this work. The quantity of available low grade heat is determined by total site integration tools. The feasible distance of transfer between the source of low grade heat and the district heating network is calculated based on the cost of district heating supply and network design cost. The methodology shows that the economic benefit of integration of low grade heat with DH is dependent on the case study. Copyright © 2011, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.