Introduction

Waste heat recovery is the process of collecting and reusing the heat generated from various industrial thermal processes or systems that would typically be lost and wasted to the surroundings and atmosphere by heat and mass transfer like flue gases or by thermal convection and radiation from a hot surfaces. It involves capturing the heat that is produced as a byproduct of operations like industrial manufacturing furnaces, thermal power generation, PV cooling, combustion engine cooling and lubrication system, and HVAC systems. Then utilizing it for other purposes such as heating buildings, generating electricity, water distillation, CO2 capturing systems, absorption/adsorption cooling, or preheating water or air for space heating purposes. Waste heat in industry would has a wide band from high grated heat to low grade heat based on its temperature. Residential and commercial buildings has a low grade waste heat; however, it is beneficial for improve the overall energy efficiency and therefore the buildings energy cost and its impact on the environment. In general, waste heat recovery systems help to improve the overall energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower overall energy costs. Thermal energy storage in WHR is mandatory if the waste heat source shows fluctuations in temperature and/or mass flow rate.

Current projects on Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) in KU (Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Hassan Ali)