Many industries use metal foundries and forges to construct different items according to design requirements. Both metal foundries and forges require molten metal as a basic component, that is to be formed into the desired item/part. These processes require heat in large quantities, and the waste of heat allows for recovery and recycling using exodraft’s heat recovery and exhaust fan systems.
Temperatures in furnaces and ovens that melt various metals and alloys for further processing range from 350°C to 1200°C. The air supply to furnaces or ovens can be regulated by mechanical chimney draught using an exodraft exhaust fan system.
By optimising the chimney draught, fuel consumption can be reduced or optimised to be as efficient as possible. The pressure control technology constantly analyses the air temperature and the chimney draught – and by increasing or decreasing the speed of the exhaust fan, the draught can be kept constant, thereby improving fuel efficiency for ovens and furnaces.
Hardening can be achieved by heat treatment of steel turning it into austenite, and the heat is adjusted according to the carbon content of the steel. The microstructure of the steel after hardening is ferrite or martensite. The steel is heated to convert it into hardened steel, and part of the excess heat from this process can be recovered using exodraft’s heat recovery system.
The waste heat is converted to hot water, which is stored in a hot water tank and used for various purposes such as heating, bathing or cleaning. In other situations, it is possible to use the recovered heat in the production process. By doing this, a short payback period is usually achieved on the entire heat recovery system.
Our team of experts can analyze and calculate the value of the recovered heat and opportunities for energy optimization in the cement industry.
Casting metal components from metal melted in furnaces emits large amounts of heat. Heat recovery systems can be placed so that the heat from the mould can be recovered from the chimney. As liquid metal and alloys are treated at very high temperatures to produce castings, huge amounts of heat are released throughout the process. The recovered heat can be stored in hot water tanks and can be used for various purposes.
Hardening is done to make steel that is either hard or fragile stronger. Steel or alloys are heat treated at between 200°C and 700°C during the hardening process. It is inevitable that heat is wasted in the hardening process, but it is possible to recover the wasted heat and store it in a hot water tank. Cooling of hardened steel can also be a source of waste heat, and that is also often possible to recover.
Heat recovered from the various processes and stored in hot water tanks can be used for industrial processes, for cleaning, for bathing water or for heating. If more waste heat is generated than the factory itself can use, it is also typically possible to sell the excess heat to the district heating system. In this way, waste heat is sent on to provide heating to private households in the local area. This benefits both the environment and the economy of the company and society.
Our team of experts can visit any foundry and examine the possibilities of recovering waste heat and ensuring optimum chimney draught.