Original situation
In the curing-press hall of a global tyre maker, the exhaust steam at 1 bar a left after each press loop went to atmosphere, while the plant’s low-pressure heat users took fresh steam.
Technical enhancement
- All press exhaust steam is collected in a DN 500 header.
- Two Jetomat® units (Baelz 590, DN 125) mix it with 7 bar g motive steam and deliver it at 0.7 bar g to the low-pressure heat consumers.
| Design point, per Jetomat | Motive | Suction (exhaust) | Discharge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure | 8 bar a | 1 bar a | 1.7 bar a |
| Flow | 800 kg/h | 611 kg/h | 1,411 kg/h |
The result
- 15,000 kg of press exhaust steam reused every day instead of vented
- The low-pressure heat users now run partly on recovered steam
- About Rs 65 lakh a year at 1995 steam prices, and payback in about 6 months for the two Jetomat installations, as reported
Why it works
Press exhaust at 1 bar a is below the pressure any heat user can take. The Jetomat uses the pressure energy of the motive steam to entrain the exhaust and deliver the mix at 0.7 bar g, a pressure the low-pressure consumers can use. At its design point each Jetomat takes 611 kg/h of exhaust with 800 kg/h of motive steam and delivers 1,411 kg/h.
Takeaway
Every curing press throws away steam at the end of each cycle. One header and a Jetomat turn that exhaust into the low-pressure steam the plant was buying anyway.
