Toward a heat recovery Chimney

Abstract

The worldwide population increase and subsequent surge in energy demand leads electricity producers to increase supply in an attempt to generate larger profit margins. However, with Global Climate Change becoming a greater focus in engineering, it is critical for energy to be converted in as environmentally benign a way as possible. There are different sustainable methods to meet the energy demand. However, the focus of this research is in the area of Waste Heat Recovery. The waste heat stored in the exiting condenser cooling water is delivered to the air flow through a water-air cross flow heat exchanger. A converging thermal chimney structure is then applied to increase the velocity of the airflow. The accelerated air can be used to turn on the turbine-generator installed on the top the thermal chimney so that electricity can be generated. This system is effective in generating electricity from otherwise wasted heat. © 2011 by the authors.