Heat Recovery System Capturing Heat from Exhaust Gases
A process heat recovery system from Megtec Systems, De Pere, Wis., uses the heated air from process dryers, ovens and air pollution control systems to help processors reduce operating costs by capturing waste heat.

“Thermal air management provides many opportunities to save energy and cut operating costs,” said Tim Golden, manager of Megtec’s Engineering Services Group.

The system extracts wasted heat energy and uses it to heat areas of a plant or process. The robust system, designed for efficient installation, is fully assembled and requires minimal space. Megtec has developed an online energy savings calculator to help potential users of the heat recovery system determine the approximate value of energy saved based on specific conditions.

The flow arrangement consists of a slipstream of heated air drawn from an exhaust duct or stack and passed through a heat exchanger, then returned to the exhaust duct or stack. Fresh outdoor air is drawn in and passed through the heat exchanger, where it is heated and controlled to a setpoint of 70 to 125°F to provide supplemental heating or summer cooling.

Using the preengineered system, energy recovery is possible with source temperatures as low as 200°F or as high as 700°F. Safety features include temperature protection of the delivered airstream as well as isolating it from the process and facility anytime the unit is turned off.

NEWS BRIEF
To serve its customers that currently have a presence in China, St. Louis-based Watlow has opened manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. Watlow, a designer and manufacturer of heaters, controllers and temperature sensors, will manufacture tubular heaters at the facility. John Gross, director of operations at Watlow, said the company built the facility to support the local market and demonstrate the company’s commitment to serving the region.

Controlling Conveyor Dryer Operation
Understanding how to control and monitor critical process parameters such as air temperature, humidity and exhaust rate will allow you to maximize the economic payback of your dryer.

How to Get the Best Temperature Control
A temperature control system or cirulator is used to supply fluids with precisely controlled temperatures. There are several general and application-specific guidelines that can help ensure optimal performance.

Motors for Pumps
For pumps to operate, they need some type of driver, and the most popular driver is the electric motor. How do you determine the horsepower requirements?

Standardizing Electric Process
What is an "industrial grade" electric process heater? Understanding what makes a heater suitable for process applications will help you avoid selecting one that cannot survive your process environment.

Do You Feel That Breeze?     (Registration Required)
Understand how airflow velocity, pressure and force affect the work in your oven.

Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer
Skid-Mounted regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) is supplied completely assembled and factory tested, minimizing installation and startup time. The prepackaged units, ranging in size from 1,000 to 12,000 scfm, achieve up to 99 percent destruction rate efficiency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). In addition, the oxidizer has 95 percent thermal efficiency, operating fuelfree at 3+ percent lower explosive limit (LEL) loadings, resulting in lower operating costs.

Anguil Environmental Systems Inc.
(414) 365-6400

Infrared Module Provides Focused Heat
Some industrial processes need heat only for a short time, focused on a limited area. It is not always necessary to install a complete oven for one heating stage in a manufacturing process. For these applications, Model M110 is compact and ready for use. The infrared modules are equipped with active ventilation and contain one or two infrared emitters. The emitters are selected to suit the application and have a gold reflector to effectively increase infrared radiation. The modules plug into a housing that is 4.331" (110 mm) wide and up to 9.8' (3 m) long.

Heraeus Noblelight
(678) 258-3860

Temperature, Process Controller
Designed for demanding temperature and process applications, Series 32B has standard features such as dual output and selectable control methods, including PID, on/off, self-tune and manual tune, for each output. The controller supports 64 temperature and time (ramp/soak) control actions. The dual-loop output control allows simultaneous heating and cooling control. An additional alarm output is standard with 13 pre-programmed alarm functions. The second output also can be configured as an alarm function. Users can quickly view the process value and setpoint on the dual display.

Love Controls, Division of Dwyer Instruments Inc.
(800) 872-9141

Infrared Rotary Drum Dryer for Plastics
Infrared system for drying PET resin combines drying and crystallizing in one continuous operation, helping bottle, film and sheet manufacturers reduce the cost and complexity of preparing virgin resin and regrind for production. Consisting of a large, horizontal, stainless steel rotating cylinder and heater bank, the dryer has a helical flight structure on the inside walls of the drum that transport and tumble the PET pellets through its length. The tumbling helps ensure all pellets are exposed to radiation from infrared heater bank around which the drum rotates. The moisture driven from the pellets is carried away by a stream of ambient air.

Novatec Inc.
(410) 789-4811

Inert Atmosphere Cabinet Oven
No. 930 is used for liquid flow solder masking under a nitrogen atmosphere. The electrically heated, 500°F (260°C) inert atmosphere cabinet oven has a 38 x 38 x 38" work space. Special inert atmosphere construction features include a pressure regulator; flowmeter; pressure gauge; inner oven walls sealing directly against a 0.5" silicone rubber door seal; air jacket on the inner oven for cooling; blower shaft seal; positive latching door hardware; adjustable offset door hinges; and outlet with pressure relief.

Grieve Corp.
(847) 546-8225

Dual Modular Valve
DMV combines two automatic shutoff valves (which can be wired independently or in parallel) in a compact housing. Valve 1 (V1) of the DMV-D and DMV-DLE series is fast opening and fast closing. Valve 2 (V2) of the DMV-D is fast opening, while V2 of the DMV-DLE is slow opening for smoother light-off. Maximum flow adjustment on V2 provides variable main flow on both models. It is recommended for industrial heating applications that require two automatic shutoff valves in series. It can be used with natural gas, propane, butane, air and other inert gases.

Karl Dungs Inc.
(651) 792-8912