Heat Recovery for Industrial Cogeneration Plants

In this type of project, the technical complexity goes beyond the heat exchanger or heat recovery boiler alone. The system’s engineering is subject to very specific operational and hydraulic constraints:

• Allowable pressure drop ( / Back pressure): The design must be tailored to the type of gas turbine or reciprocating engine (gas, biogas, or fuel oil) so as not to adversely affect the back pressure or reduce the electrical power generated.

• Supplementary combustion integration: This allows for the absorption of peaks in process steam demand without relying exclusively on the engine or turbine load.

• Management of variable loads and thermal transients: Mechanical resistance to thermal fatigue caused by continuous fluctuations in the power generation profile.

• International regulatory compliance: Specific adaptation in markets such as Mexico to efficient cogeneration criteria, CRE requirements, Official Mexican Standards (NOM), and ASME/API codes.

AITESA is involved from the conceptual and basic design phases through to supply, revamping, or turnkey EPC execution, tailoring each solution to the actual constraints of the facility.

In industrial cogeneration systems, a significant portion of the primary energy is contained in the exhaust gases from engines and gas or fuel oil turbines. Capturing and converting this waste heat into process steam or hot water exponentially increases the overall efficiency of the facility.
The optimal equipment configuration is determined by evaluating the flow rate and temperature of the gases at the turbine or engine outlet, the plant’s required heat output, the tolerable pressure drop, and the operating mode (continuous or intermittent), ensuring seamless integration with existing auxiliary systems.

AITESA brings more than 40 years of experience in the design, supply, revamping, and integration of thermal equipment associated with gas turbines or gas/biogas/fuel oil engines.

• Expertise in critical equipment: Proficiency in HRSG boilers, WHRB boilers, economizers, heat exchangers, and supplemental combustion systems to ensure process stability and operational safety.

• Unified EPC execution: Comprehensive coordination of engineering, in-house manufacturing, procurement, installation, and commissioning, reducing interfaces between suppliers and simplifying project execution.

Cogeneration remains a key energy strategy for industrial plants with stable thermal and electrical demands, particularly those with continuous consumption of steam, hot water, or process heat.

In these environments, heat recovery must be analyzed in terms of the actual utilization of the energy contained in the exhaust gases from engines and turbines, tailoring the engineering design to the gas quality and the plant’s operating profile. AITESA provides the technical expertise needed to modernize and integrate recovery equipment tailored to local operating conditions and current regulations.