Waste Heat Recovery from Converter Gas by a Filled Bulb Regenerator: Heat Transfer Characteristics

Abstract

The iron and steel industry is a high-energy consumption and high-pollution industry. Energy recovery in its process is of great significance. Converter gas is an important by-product in the process of iron and steel production. It is difficult to take effective measures to recover waste heat from converter gas due to its flammability. In this paper, a new technology is proposed based on waste heat recovery by a filled bulb regenerator. The mathematical model of heat transfer and flow in the compound regenerator for converter gas containing dust is established. The effects of the diameter and concentration of dust to heat transfer and flow are discussed. The results show that the temperature of converter gas declined to 132 °C, and recovery efficiency was above 90% using this technology system. Resistance loss increased by 25% due to the dust; with the increase in the diameter and initial concentration of dust, the heat transfer rate in the regenerator was reinforced. At the entrance of the regenerator, dust’s effects are more obvious, and the efficiency of heat transfer is increased by 4.5–8.5%. The results can provide a theoretical basis for a new converter gas waste heat recovery method.