Low Temperature, Efficient Heat Capture to Reduce Natural Gas Consumption in the Chemical Industry

Novel Sulful based heat capture system for chemcial industry in California

Element 16 Technologies, Inc

Recipient

Glendale, CA

Recipient Location

25th

Senate District

52nd

Assembly District

beenhere

$1,352,443

Amount Spent

closed

Completed

Project Status

Project Result

This project was completed successfully, and a final report has been submitted for review.

The Issue

The chemical industry is the second largest user of primary energy in the United States, after only the petroleum industry, representing almost a fifth of all manufacturing energy consumption. In California, this sector is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Chemical plants that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of CO2e annually will be required to reduce their emissions or purchase allowances. Finding methods to reduce energy consumed, and the associated GHG emissions, in chemical manufacturing will improve the ability of this sector to be competitive in the global market.

Project Innovation

This project demonstrates the first economically viable, low temperature industrial heat capture system with energy storage. The project's goal is to demonstrate a 15% fossil gas usage reduction at a chemical processing plant in Southern California. This project will be the first large-industrial scale demonstration of Element 16's sulfur and pressurized water product. Successful operation of this technology would indicate to the chemical industry that the heat capture systems (HCS) can reliably improve plant economics. One novel feature of the proposed HCS is heat energy storage with quick charging and discharging. By demonstrating how inexpensive and economically advantageous this feature can be, this project would establish a viable use for intermittent low grade waste heat.

Project Goals

15% fossil gas reduction at the chemical processing plant demonstration site.

Project Benefits

The recipient invented HCS, which uses pressurized superheated water and elemental sulfur to inexpensively store and transport low temperature waste heat. A unique advantage of the HCS is sulfur's solid-liquid phase change at low temperature, reducing the footprint and cost to capture and store megawatt-hours of heat. The HCS uses modular tank heat exchangers with low-cost containment materials to extract heat from an intermittent waste heat stream. The key advantages of this heat capture system are its ability to capture heat from steam, low cost ($15/kWh), small footprint, ability to store an intermittent waste heat source, and ability to deliver a continuous or on-demand heat supply.

Lower Costs

Affordability

The heat capture system has the potential to recover useful heat from low-temperature waste heat streams and deliver it for process heating applications to reduce on-site gas demand and cost at industrial facilities. For the project host-site, the project has potential to reduce sodium borate dryer fossil gas use by 15%.

Key Project Members

Project Member

Hamarz Aryafar

Subrecipients

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Exponent Failure Analysis Associates

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Brad Alan LLC.

Rocket

Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.

Rocket

Intertek AIM

Rocket

Caraway Construction Inc

Rocket

Ardent Companies

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Matt Bird Engineering LLC

Rocket

Match Partners

Rocket

Element 16 Technologies, Inc

Rocket

Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.

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Contact the Team

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