Energy recovery for thermal technology

In many industrial processes, valuable heat is lost through flue gases, steam, condensate or other process streams. By putting this residual heat back to work, you raise the efficiency of your heating installation, lower energy consumption and reduce your CO2 emissions.

The Callens Group analyzes where heat is lost and develops an energy recovery system tailored to your production process. From economizers and condensers to air preheaters, intercoolers and other recovery techniques: we make sure that as much energy as possible is put to good use.

Discuss your energy recovery project

When is energy recovery for thermal technology worthwhile?

Virtually every industrial heating installation contains energy that is underused. By redeploying this heat in the production process, the efficiency of the entire energy supply increases.

Which form of energy recovery offers the greatest added value will depend on your heat sources, the required process temperatures and the available consumers of the recovered heat. That is why the Callens Group first maps your entire energy balance. This is how we determine which techniques deliver the greatest energy gain.

Energierecuperatie WT
Hybride Stoomketels Tiense Suiker 3

Why choose energy recovery?

  • To reduce the CO2 emissions of your heat supply.
  • To get more out of existing heating installations.
  • To reduce natural gas or heating oil consumption.
  • To reuse residual heat within the production process.
  • To structurally lower energy costs.

Your challenge

Most suitable energy recovery technique

Heat is being lost through flue gases.

Economizer

Making maximum use of condensation energy.

Condenser

Heating combustion air more efficiently.

Air preheater

Recovering heat from compression processes.

Intercooler

Keeping boiler efficiency consistently high.

Automatic flue-gas pipe cleaner

Which form of energy recovery is the most suitable solution?

Which techniques deliver the most added value will depend on your heat sources, the required process temperatures, the available energy carriers and the way heat flows through your production process.

That is why our specialists always start from an analysis of your entire energy balance. Using the energy ladder, we investigate step by step where heat is needlessly lost and which techniques deliver the highest return:

  • What temperature does your production process require?
  • Where is heat currently being lost within your installation?
  • Can residual heat be redeployed within the process?
  • Is an economizer or condenser worthwhile to recover heat from flue gases?
  • Can alternative energy carriers, such as biogas or hydrogen, create additional added value?
  • Is electrification or an industrial heat pump a worthwhile next step?
  • Which combination of techniques delivers the highest return and the shortest payback time?

Frequently applied techniques include economizers, condensers, air preheaters, intercoolers or other solutions that valorize the available energy to the maximum.

BENEFITS

Benefits of energy recovery for thermal technology

Energy recovery is among the most cost-effective ways to reduce the energy consumption of industrial heating installations. By putting heat back to work, the efficiency of your installation increases without consuming extra fuel.

Lower CO2 emissions

A lower fuel consumption directly lowers greenhouse gas emissions.

Higher installation efficiency

By valorizing heat that would otherwise be lost, the efficiency of the entire installation increases.

Less dependent on fossil fuels

The recovered energy replaces part of the natural gas or other (conventional) energy carriers.

Maximum use of residual heat

Heat that would otherwise be lost is put to good use in your production process.

Fully tailor-made

Every technique is selected based on your heat sources, production process and investment objectives.

Fast payback time

Many energy recovery techniques are among the most cost-effective investments thanks to the limited interventions required and the short payback time.

“Maximizing energy efficiency doesn’t start with choosing a technology, but with mapping out your specific environment and goals.”

Projects for energy recovery for thermal technology

Callens warmte transport 2
Thermal technology Steam boilers Energy recovery for thermal technology +1

Heated transport from A to B

Net capacity1300 kW
Work rate steam boiler1.7 tons/hour
Design pressure pipes10 bars
Recovered capacity83 kW
La Lorraine CV 850 k W PRJ210133 10
Thermal technology Hot water & industrial central heating boilers Gas-fired +1

Heat excites taste buds in industrial bakery

Capacity850 kW
Efficiency95,5%
Poppies Bakeries CV Restwarmte Warmtewisselaar Buffervat PRJ250188 10
Thermal technology CO2 reduction Energy recovery for thermal technology

Waste heat from baking ovens keeps buffer tank temperature stable

Capacity per condenser43 kW
Exhaust airflow1,200 m³/h
FAQ

Questions? We have the answers.

There are various techniques to reuse heat, depending on the available heat source and the desired application. The Callens Group applies economizers, condensers, air preheaters, intercoolers and automatic flue-gas pipe cleaners, to name just a few, to boost the efficiency of industrial heating installations. Discuss the options with our specialists.

Our engineers first map your company’s entire energy balance. To do so, we analyze factors such as the available residual heat, the required process temperatures and the heat consumers. On that basis, we determine which combination of techniques delivers the greatest energy gain.

Yes. The Callens Group takes charge of the entire energy recovery project from initial analysis through engineering, installation, start-up and maintenance. Thanks to this integrated approach, you have a single point of contact throughout the entire project and are assured of a solution that is tailored to your production process. You can find more information on the various steps in our workflow here.

In many cases, existing steam, hot water or thermal oil installations can be extended with energy recovery techniques such as economizers, condensers or air preheaters. This increases efficiency without the need to replace the entire installation.

For a pharmaceutical company, the Callens Group renewed a steam installation by replacing one of the three existing boilers with a new Viessmann steam boiler with a capacity of 16 tons of steam per hour. To maximize the installation’s efficiency, the boiler was equipped with an economizer, an oxygen regulator and an air preheater (APH). These energy recovery techniques reduce fuel consumption and contribute to a combustion efficiency of 98.6 %.
More info: https://www.callens.eu/en/thermal-technology/steam-boilers/medicines-guaranteed-safe-and-energyefficient-steam

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