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Coal Boiler Flue Gas Heat Recovery and White-Smoke Elimination (Case Study)

A coal-fired boiler exhausts 60,000 m3/h of 180 C flue gas. EN159 recovered heat with a heat-pipe unit and supported white-smoke elimination (de-whitening).

The Challenge

The flue gas at 180 C carried large heat and condensed into visible white plume in cold weather. Recovery had to handle corrosive, dusty gas without fouling.

Why Heat Pipe Air-to-Air Recovery

Boiler flue gas is hot, corrosive, and dusty. Heat pipes handle it with separated streams and no rotating seal to foul; a de-whitening coil condenses and recycles the plume. Rotary wheels are excluded due to fouling and corrosion.

The EN159 Solution

EN159 heat-pipe modules with condensing section, 60,000 m3/h, feedwater preheated from 20 C to 95 C, corrosion-resistant alloy walls, 4 degree tilt, white-smoke elimination coil.

Measured Results

  • Recovered heat: about 1.4 MW
  • Feedwater preheated from 20 C to 95 C
  • Boiler fuel cut by 17 percent
  • Visible plume eliminated in cold weather

Compliance and Selection Notes

Heat-pipe recovery with condensing de-whitening, separated streams. Rotary wheel excluded for flue gas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it remove the white plume?

The condensing coil captures the moisture that forms the visible plume, supporting de-whitening.

Why no rotary wheel?

Flue gas fouls and corrodes wheel seals; separated heat-pipe recovery avoids that.

Related Guides and Tools

Heat Pipe Heat Exchangers · Boiler Flue Gas Heat Recovery · Industrial Waste Heat Recovery · Flue Gas Whitening Plate · Heat Exchanger in a Boiler · Contact EN159

Get a Site-Specific Recovery Estimate

Talk to an EN159 application engineer about your coal boiler flue gas exhaust stream. Call 15753355505 or visit our contact page for a site-specific recovery estimate.

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