Energy Conversion and Management 43 (2002) 1079–1089

www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Heat recovery in thermoplastics production

Alka Mihelic-Bogdanic a,*, Rajka Budin b
a
Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb, Savska 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
b
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Savska 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Received 16 January 2001; accepted 25 April 2001

Abstract
An energy optimization of production of a thermoplastic material, polyamid-6, i.e. nylon-6, using boiler
flue gases heat recovery is presented. Energy and environmental studies show an increase of process effi-
ciency simultaneously with a decrease of thermal pollution. If the feed water is heated with flue gases, the
fuel consumption is reduced by about 13%, while the boiler outlet flue gases temperature decreases from
232°C to 55°C. Using an air preheater for combustion air preheating, 7.9% of the fuel will be saved, and at
the same time, the atmospheric thermal pollution is diminished because the exhaust flue gases temperature
becomes 62°C instead of 232°C. The combination of feed water and air preheating shows fuel savings of
13.6%, and the outlet flue gases temperature is reduced to 29.7°C. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.

Keywords: Nylon-6; Flue gases heat recovery; Fuel savings; Environmental protection

1. Introduction

Polyamide-6, i.e. nylon-6, an engineering thermoplastic material, is an organic fiber that is

produced by ring opening polymerization of caprolactam, a monomer that is derived from an
amino acid [1]. Practically, the whole raw material, caprolactam, is converted into polymer.
High tensile strength, good chemical and thermal stability and durability characterize poly-
amide-6. It has low flammability, low frictional characteristics and very good wear properties.
As an engineering plastic, it finds wide application in castings, injection moulding, extrusion etc.

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +385-1-45-97-138; fax: +385-1-48-36-058.
E-mail address: amihel@marie.fkit.hr (A. Mihelic-Bogdanic).

0196-8904/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 9 6 - 8 9 0 4 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 8 9 - 9
1080 A. Mihelic-Bogdanic, R. Budin / Energy Conversion and Management 43 (2002) 1079–1089

Nomenclature

As ash Subscripts
C carbon a air
cp specific heat, kJ/kg K, kJ/m3 deg A air preheater
d mass per unit of product, kg/kgNy-6 B boiler
e electrical energy consumption per C condensate
unit of product, kWh/kgNy-6 CH heating condensate
h enthalpy, kJ/kg CO2 carbon dioxide
H hydrogen CP process condensate
HL lower heating value, kJ/kgF e energy
N nitrogen E economizer
O oxygen F fuel
p pressure, bar FG flue gases
q heat per unit of product, kJ/kgNy-6 H2 O water vapor
S sulphur i inlet
Sn savings, % L losses
t temperature, °C N2 nitrogen
V volume per unit of product or fuel, NY -6 nylon-6
m3 /kgNy-6, m3 /kgF o outlet
O2 oxygen
S saturated steam
Greek symbols SO2 sulphur dioxide
a air excess coefficient SP specific
g efficiency % w water

Nylon-6 is used in the manufacture of finishing nets, tyre yarns, sewing threads and industrial
drive belts.
The technological continuous polymerization process of caprolactam monomer to nylon-6
consists of a series of treatments, where a significant amount of heat energy, produced by applying
a high grade fossil fuel, and electrical energy, as well as water, is consumed [2].
For the time being, the process produces a great quantity of hot condensate, likewise flue gases,
which is rejected to the surroundings. This process should be optimized in regard to energy
conservation and to be environmentally friendly with lowest wastes. One of the very common
methods for decreasing fuel consumption is applying waste heat recovery. Reusing waste con-
densate diminishes fuel spending and simultaneously results in process efficiency increase. The
high temperature of flue gases presents also an indicative capability for energy conservation [3].
Analysis of the boiler exhaust gases supplying the economizer or the air preheater, presented
here, provides insight into the impact of heat recovery on development of energy conservation
and environmental protection. Such a method has a marked influence on industrial energy
consumption. Applying the heat of flue gases, the heat, fuel consumption, water pollution and
temperature of the exhaust flue gases should be reduced.
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2. Energy consumption

The present study of energy consumption in nylon-6 (Ny-6) manufacturing per unit of product
is performed. This technology (Fig. 1), which consists of the processes in melters, mixer, reactor,
extruder, coolers, cutter, concentrator, distillator, extractor, dryer, spinneret, cooler and heater,
needs a large amount of thermal and electrical energy, as well as water. Electrical energy, in the
amount of ee ¼ 3:43 kWh/kgNy-6, is supplied from the grid and is used in the melters (20.8%),
mixer (6.4%), reactor (2%), extruder (13%), cutter (13%), extractor (6.4%), spinneret (13%), cooler
(2%), drawing (13%) and winding (10.4%). The production process needs water with temperature

Fig. 1. Ny-6 processes block diagram.

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of 24°C in the mass amount of dw ¼ 23:15 kgH2 O /kgNy-6 applied in the mixer (0.9%), coolers
(71.1%), extractor (8.6%) and distillator (19.4%).
Most operations in Ny-6 fabrication require thermal energy, which is produced in an anthracite
fueled boiler and is used as dry saturated steam (p ¼ 74 bar) in the amount of dS ¼ 5:596 kgS /
kgNy-6 for processes (87.5%), as well as for space heating (12.5%). A part of the saturated steam
(20.3%), with temperature tS ¼ 288°C, generated in the boiler with efficiency gB ¼ 65% is used in
the reactor, melter and spinneret. The rest of the steam is depressurized, using throttling valves
and a heat exchanger, reaching a temperature of tS ¼ 121°C, and is transferred to the melter,
mixer, concentrator, distillator and the space heater (Fig. 1). Feed water enters the boiler with
tB ¼ 24°C. The air, which is required for fuel combustion enters the fire box with temperature
ta ¼ 24°C. The temperature of flue gases is tFG ¼ 232°C [4]. The ultimate analysis by mass (%) in
dry anthracite is: C:H:O:N:S:As ¼ 90:3:2.5:1:0.5:3, while the coal is burned with 25% excess air
[5]. Based on this composition, the lower heating value of the fuel is calculated by the following
formula [6] as
HL ¼ 340C þ 1035H  109ðO–SÞ ¼ 340  90 þ 1035  3  109ð2:5  0:5Þ
¼ 33487 kJ=kgF ð1Þ
The heat transferred to the steam generator is:
qS ¼ dS ðhS  hB Þ ¼ 5:594ð2769  100:5Þ ¼ 14928 kJS =kgNy-6 ð2Þ
where hS and hB are the steam and water enthalpies [7].
The unit mass of dry anthracite requirement after the heat balance is
dF ¼ qS =HL  gB ¼ 14928=33487  0:65 ¼ 0:686 kgF =kgNy-6 ð3Þ
The specific steam consumption is:
dSP ¼ dS =dF ¼ 5:594=0:686 ¼ 8:1545 kgS =kgF ð4Þ
In addition to steam production, anthracite is also applied for nitrogen heating. Nitrogen in the
mass amount of dN2 ¼ 5 kgN2 /kgNy-6 is heated from t1 ¼ 82°C to t2 ¼ 204°C in a heater. Dry
nitrogen is used for Ny-6 drying. The losses and the heat of the flue gases make qL ¼ 572 kJ/kgNy-6
[4]. The heat for nitrogen heating is
qN2 ¼ dN2 ðcpt2 t2  cpt1 t1 Þ ¼ 5ð1:052404  204  1:0415782  82Þ ¼ 646:4 kJ=kgNy-6 ð5Þ
where cp is the specific heat of nitrogen [8].
The anthracite requirements is:
dF1 ¼ ðqN2 þ qL Þ=HL ¼ ð646:4 þ 572Þ=33487 ¼ 0:03642 kgF =kgNy-6 ð6Þ
The total specific anthracite consumption per unit of Nylon-6 is:
X
dF ¼ dF þ dF1 ¼ 0:686 þ 0:0364 ¼ 0:7224 kgF =kgNy-6
The total condensate dC from the process, dCP ¼ 4:994 kgC /kgNy-6, and from space heating,
dCH ¼ 0:6 kgC /kgNy-6, with temperature of tC ¼ 82°C is discharged to the surroundings (Fig. 2).
The heat of the condensate is:
qC ¼ ðdCP þ dCH Þh820° ¼ ð4:994 þ 0:6Þ343:33 ¼ 1920:6 kJC =kgNy-6 ð7Þ
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Fig. 2. Basic process.

3. Flue gases analysis

The flue gases volume calculation is based on the assumption that combustion is complete. The
minimum oxygen volume VO2 min and the stoichiometric air volume Va required for combustion can
be expressed as
VO2 min ¼ ð22:4=12ÞfC þ 3½H–ðO–SÞ=8 g ¼ 1:834 m3 O2 =kgF ð8Þ

Va ¼ VO2 min =0:21 ¼ 8:733 m3a =kgF ð9Þ

To ensure complete combustion of the anthracite, the excess air coefficient of a ¼ 1:25 was taken.
So, the actual volume of air (Vaa ) is:
Vaa ¼ Va  a ¼ 8:733  1:25 ¼ 10:916 m3a =kgF ð10Þ
The total volume of flue gases (VFG ) consists of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, the nitrogen
unconsumed in the process of combustion, excess oxygen and water vapor.
VFG ¼ VCO2 þ VSO2 þ VN2 þ VO2 þ VH2 O ð11Þ
The volume of each gas component is calculated by the following expressions [9]:
VCO2 ¼ ð22:4=12ÞC ¼ ð22:4=12Þ0:9 ¼ 1:68 m3 =kgF ð12Þ

VSO2 ¼ ð22:4=32ÞS ¼ ð22:4=32Þ0:005 ¼ 0:0035 m3 =kgF ð13Þ

VN2 ¼ ð22:4=28ÞN þ 0:79  a  Va ¼ ð22:4=28Þ0:01 þ 0:79  1:25  8:733

¼ 8:6328 m3 =kgF ð14Þ

VO2 ¼ 0:21ða  1ÞVa ¼ 0:21ð1:25  1Þ8:733 ¼ 0:4585 m3 =kgF ð15Þ

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VH2 O ¼ ð22:4=2ÞH þ ð22:4=18ÞW ¼ ð22:4=2Þ0:03 ¼ 0:336 m3 =kgF ð16Þ

and the whole volume of flue gases with excess air is

VFG ¼ 11:11 m3FG =kgF

The proportion of each constituent expressed as a percentage of the total wet products is: CO2
15.122%; SO2 0.032%; N2 77.694%; O2 4.13%; H2 O 3.022%.
In order to obtain the specific heat of the flue gases with temperature tFG ¼ 232°C, the per-
centage by volume of the products, as well as the specific heat of each gas product, should be
known [10].
cpFG ¼ cpCO2  %VCO2 þ cpSO2  %VSO2 þ cpN2  %VN2 þ cpO2  %VO2 þ cpH2 O  %VH2 O ð17Þ

cpFG ¼ 1:396 kJFG =m3 deg

The energy released on complete combustion per unit mass of fuel or per unit of Ny-6 product
depends on the total flue gases volume (VFG ), specific heat (cpFG ) and flue gases temperature (tFG ):
qFG ¼ VFG  cpFG  tFG ¼ 11:11  1:396  232 ¼ 3598:2 kJFG =kgF ð18Þ

qFG Ny-6 ¼ qFG  dF ¼ 3598:2  0:686 ¼ 2468:4 kJFG =kgNy-6 ð19Þ

The volume of flue gases per unit of product rejected to the atmosphere with temperature
tFG ¼ 232°C is
VFG Ny-6 ¼ VFG  dF ¼ 11:11  0:686 ¼ 7:62 m3FG =kgNy-6 ð20Þ

4. Feed water preheating with flue gases

In order to improve the process efficiency, the flue gases should be reused. To utilize the heat in
the flue gases, an economizer with efficiency gE ¼ 85% is applied (Fig. 3). Cold feed water with
tWEi ¼ 24°C enters the economizer, where it is heated with 11.11 m3FG /kgF flue gases with inlet
temperature tFGEi ¼ 232°C. The specific steam consumption is dSP ¼ 8:1545 kgS /kgF . With the
specific heat for water cpH2 O ¼ 4:187 kJ/kg K and flue gases cpFG ¼ 1:396kJ/m3 deg calculated
previously, the economizer water outlet temperature tWEo computed from the heat balance [10]
VFG  cpFG ðtFGEi  tWEi ÞgE ¼ dSP  cpH2 O ðtWEi  tWEo Þ ð21Þ

is tWEo ¼ 104:32°C.
The flue gases outlet temperature tFGEo obtained from the relation
VFG  cpFG ðtFGEi  tFGEo Þ ¼ dSP  cpH2 O ðtWEo  tWEi Þ ð22Þ

is tFGEo ¼ 55:18°C.
The unit mass of fuel consumption for feed water preheating in the economizer is
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Fig. 3. Feed water preheating with flue gases.

dFE ¼ dS ðhS  hWEo Þ=HL  gB ¼ 5:594ð2769  436:8Þ=33487  0:65

¼ 0:5994 kgF =kgNy-6 ð23Þ
Comparison with the process without flue gases heat recovery shows an anthracite savings
(Sn1 ) of
Sn1 ¼ ðdF  dFE ÞdF ¼ ð0:686  0:5994Þ=0:686 ¼ 0:1268 ¼ 12:68% ð24Þ
The volume of flue gases per unit of product that will be rejected to the atmosphere is
VFGE Ny-6 ¼ VFG  dFE ¼ 11:11  0:5994 ¼ 6:659 m3FG =kgNy-6 ð25Þ
So, the quantity of gases is lowered from 7:62 m3FG /kgNy-6 to 6:659 m3FG /kgNy-6 or 12.61%.
Simultaneously, the temperature diminished from 232°C to 55:18°C.

5. Air preheating with flue gases

To increase the process efficiency, the air that is essential for fuel combustion should be pre-
heated. The heat of the flue gases will be transferred to the incoming air in an air preheater (Fig.
4), resulting in less fuel consumption and lower flue gases outlet temperature. The flue gases with
temperature tFGAi ¼ 232°C enter the air preheater with efficiency gA ¼ 90%. The temperature of
ambient air that passes into the air preheater is taAi ¼ 24°C. The specific heat of air is cpa ¼ 1:29
kJ/m3 deg and for flue gases cpFG ¼ 1:396 kJFG /m3 deg. Applying an energy balance to the air
preheater:
1086 A. Mihelic-Bogdanic, R. Budin / Energy Conversion and Management 43 (2002) 1079–1089

Fig. 4. Air preheating with flue gases.

Vaa  cpa ðtaAo  taAi Þ ¼ Vaa  cpa ðtFGAi  taAi ÞgA ¼ VFG  cpFG ðtFGAi  tFGAo Þ ð26Þ

the outlet air temperature and outlet flue gases temperature is

taAo ¼ 211:2°C and tFGAo ¼ 62:04°C
The flue gases heat recovery per unit product of Ny-6 is
qFGANy-6 ¼ dF  VFG  cpFG ðtFGAi  tFGAo Þ ¼ 1808:34 kJFG =kgNy-6 ð27Þ

or conveyed as anthracite savings

dFS ¼ qFGANy-6 =HL ¼ 1808:34=33487 ¼ 0:054 kgF =kgNy-6 ð28Þ

The fuel consumption is now

dFA ¼ dF  dFS ¼ 0:686  0:054 ¼ 0:632 kgF =kgNy-6 ð29Þ
The fuel savings in comparison with the process without flue gases heat recovery is
Sn2 ¼ ðdF  dFA ÞdF ¼ ð0:686  0:632Þ=0:686 ¼ 0:0787 ¼ 7:87% ð30Þ
The volume of flue gases in this case is
VFGA Ny-6 ¼ VFG  dFA ¼ 11:11  0:632 ¼ 7:02 m3FG =kgNy-6 ð31Þ

The volume of the flue gases become lower by 7.87%, and at the same time, the gases are cooled
from 232°C to 62.04°C.
 A. Mihelic-Bogdanic, R. Budin / Energy Conversion and Management 43 (2002) 1079–1089 1087

6. Plant with economizer and air preheater

The plant, where an economizer as well as an air preheater are incorporated, requires a fan to
deliver ambient air to the preheater (Fig. 5). Formerly estimated data show that the VFG ¼
11:11 m3FG /kgF of flue gases have an economizer outlet temperature tFGEo ¼ tFGEAEo ¼ 55:18°C,
which is, at the same time, the flue gases air preheater inlet temperature tFGEAAi . Ambient air with
volume Vaa ¼ 10:916 m3a /kgF and temperature taAi ¼ taEAAi ¼ 24°C enters the air preheater. Using
these data, the outlet temperature for air taEAAo as well as for the flue gases tFGEAAo , are estimated
after the following energy balance
Vaa  cpa ðtaEAAo  taEAAi Þ ¼ Vaa  cpa ðtFGEAAi  taEAAi ÞgA ¼ VFG  cpFG ðtFGEAAi  tFGEAAo Þ
ð32Þ
and become taEAAo ¼ 52:06°C and tFGEAAo ¼ 29:7°C, where cpa and cpFG are the air and flue gases
specific heats.
In the process with economizer, the unit mass of fuel consumption calculated before is
dFE ¼ 0:5994 kgF /kgNy-6. Accounting with this data, the flue gases heat recovery per unit of
product of Ny-6 is
qFGEA Ny-6 ¼ VFG  cpFG  dFE ðtFGEAAi  tFGEAAo Þ ¼ 236:87 kJFG =kgNy-6 ð33Þ

Fig. 5. Feed water and air preheating with flue gases.

1088 A. Mihelic-Bogdanic, R. Budin / Energy Conversion and Management 43 (2002) 1079–1089

or uttered as fuel savings

dFEAS ¼ qFGEA Ny-6 =HL ¼ 236:87=33487 ¼ 0:00707 kgF =kgNy-6 ð34Þ
and the anthracite consumption is
dFEA ¼ dFE  dFEAS ¼ 0:686  0:00707 ¼ 0:5923 kgF =kgNy-6 ð35Þ
The fuel savings, comparing with the basic process feed water and air preheating with flue
gases, is
Sn3 ¼ ðdF  dFEA ÞdF ¼ ð0:686  0:5923Þ=0:686 ¼ 0:1365 ¼ 13:65% ð36Þ
The volume of flue gases is
VFGEANy-6 ¼ VFG  dFEA ¼ 11:11  0:5923 ¼ 6:58 m3FG =kgNy-6 ð37Þ
Considering the foregoing analysis regarding the emission of flue gases to the atmosphere, the
volume of gases is reduced by 13.65%, and at the same time, the exhaust temperature is decreased
from 232°C to 29.7°C.

7. Conclusion

Energy and environmental analysis in thermoplastics i.e. Ny-6 production shows the process
efficiency increasing when using boiler flue gases heat recovery. At the same time, the improved
energy efficiency has a great impact on environmental pollution because the flue gases exhaust
temperature significantly decreases.The present optimization involves feed water preheating and
combustion air preheating, as well as combinations of both.
Applying an economizer for feed water preheating with heat contained in the flue gases reduces
fuel consumption by 12.6%, and also, the outlet flue gases temperature diminished from 232°C to
55.18°C.
If an air preheater is used for combustion air preheating, the fuel savings is estimated to be
7.87%, while the exhaust temperature is lowered from 232°C to 62°C.
Finally, a combination of feed water and air preheating with flue gases gains a maximum
anthracite savings of 13.65% and a minimum thermal pollution with flue gases exhaust temper-
ature of 29.7°C.

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