OPERATING SITE WITH AN ELECTRICITY/HEAT GENERATOR WHICH FUNCTIONS ON A COMBUSTION BASIS

Abstract

An operating site (1) with an electricity/heat generator (2, 3) which functions on a combustion basis, the waste heat of which generator is to some extent used to heat the operating site (1), wherein the operating site further has at least one thermal treatment chamber (20-25) for the subjecting of products arranged therein to heat and is set up for the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2, 3) to flow directly through the at least one thermal treatment chamber (20-25). In this case, at least one additional heater (26-32) which functions on a combustion basis for heating of the treatment chamber (20-25) is provided and the exhaust gas which flows through the thermal treatment chamber (20-25) and the exhaust gas of the at least one additional heater (26-32) can be fed to a common post treatment.

Description

This application claims priority of German application 102007051474.5 filed Oct. 27, 2007.

The present invention relates to an operating site with an electricity/heat generator which functions on a combustion basis, the waste heat of which generator is to some extent used to heat the operating site, wherein the operating site further has at least one thermal treatment chamber for the subjecting of products arranged therein to heat.

Operating sites of this type, in which the electricity/heat generator which functions on a combustion basis is used by exploiting the principle of power/heat coupling on the one hand to supply at least one part of the operating site with electrical energy and on the other hand to provide ambient and/or process heat, are sufficiently known from the prior art. For example, reference is made to the agricultural sector, where, in corresponding operating sites, electrical energy is produced on the one hand and heating and process heat (e.g. for drying animal feed in a thermal handling chamber) is produced on the other hand by using a biogas plant with a gas engine as electricity/heat generator. The waste heat of the biogas plant is, in the process, fed to a heating circuit and the thermal treatment chambers via heat exchangers.

In the context of the present invention by contrast one is, in particular, thinking of those operating sites in which the products arranged in the thermal treatment chamber—unlike e.g. animal feed—are not especially sensitive with regard to the chemical composition of the atmosphere prevailing within the thermal treatment chamber. The object of the present invention consists, in this case, in providing an energy-efficient operating site of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which a particularly effective thermal treatment of the products is achieved with a high degree of flexibility with regard to the energy flows and with as little expenditure as possible on plant technology.

This object is achieved with an operating site according to Claim 1, which—in addition to the features which have already been mentioned at the beginning—stands out in particular in that it is set up for the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator to flow directly through the at least one thermal treatment chamber, wherein at least one additional heater which functions on a combustion basis for supplementary heating of the treatment chamber is provided and wherein the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator which flows through the thermal treatment chamber and the exhaust gas of the at least one additional heater can be fed to a common post treatment.

Flowing the hot exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator directly through the treatment chamber means that its thermal energy (heat which can be felt) is used in a particularly simple and effective manner. The expenditure on plant technology is reduced in comparison with the variants for producing process heat known from the prior art, as, in the present case, no heat exchanger need be provided for this purpose.

Further, the combination of the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator, which gas flows through the treatment chamber, and of the at least one additional heater in the thermal treatment chamber means that a particularly effective subjecting of the products to heat which can be controlled well can be guaranteed, wherein the expenditure on plant technology is—in comparison with the known methods from the prior art for power/heat coupling in operating sites—even further minimized, in that the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator which flows directly through the treatment chamber and the exhaust gas of the additional heater which likewise functions on a combustion basis are fed to a common post treatment. In the process, it can be provided in an advantageous manner within the framework of the invention, that the at least one additional heater “fires” to a certain extent directly into the treatment chamber, whereby the exhaust gas of the additional heater also gets directly into the treatment chamber and can be fed to the common post treatment with the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator in a simple manner. Within the framework of the common post treatment, care is, in particular, to be taken that pollutants that may be formed in the treatment chamber, such as, for example, fine dust, are effectively removed in compliance with the relevant valid legal emissions guidelines.

Overall, in the context of the present invention, an operating site with particularly effective exploitation of the principle of power/heat coupling is therefore produced. Suitable fans in the treatment chamber can contribute to a targeted and, as far as possible, uniform subjecting of the products to the hot exhaust gases.

In a particularly preferred configuration of the present invention, it is provided that the operating site is a production plant for glass fibre products, wherein the at least one thermal treatment chamber serves for drying the glass fibre products produced in the operating site, in particular in the form of glass fibre mats, or is set up for this purpose. In this context, the realization that drying glass fibre products such as glass fibre mats and/or non-wovens with the aid of polluted exhaust gas is possible without relevant losses in quality of the end product is of importance. In the treatment chamber, glass dust which is mixed in with the exhaust gas is removed again from the latter in the context of the exhaust gas post treatment. A gas engine generator unit represents a preferred type of electricity/heat generator which is particularly suitable for an operating site according to the invention.

Further, it is provided, in accordance with a preferred development of the invention, that at least one controllable valve for regulating the throughput quantity of the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator which is to be channelled through the treatment chamber is provided for achieving the desired process temperature in the at least one treatment chamber, wherein temperature fluctuations of the exhaust gas which is flowing through the treatment chamber that may arise can be compensated by means of the at least one additional heater. A suitable regulation apparatus is to be provided for this purpose. Thereby, an operating site is also provided which is optimized with respect to a best possible controllability of the temperature exposure in the treatment chamber.

In a further advantageous configuration of the present invention, it is provided that a plurality of thermal treatment chambers are provided, each with at least one additional heater, wherein the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator is, by means of suitable distribution and combining means, distributed to the various treatment chambers and subsequently combined again for common post treatment with the exhaust gases of the additional heaters. The particular advantage here consists in the fact that, in an operating site, a number of thermal treatment chambers can be supplied with the exhaust gas of the at least one electricity/heat generator.

In the previously mentioned case, once again in a preferred manner, a separately controllable or regulatable exhaust gas throughput quantity regulation valve can be provided for each treatment chamber, so that the exact nature of the temperature exposure in each treatment chamber can hereby also be set individually.

The previously mentioned plurality of thermal treatment chambers need not necessarily be treatment chambers which are spaced apart from one another, but rather they may also, if appropriate, be various treatment zones of a larger treatment chamber, through which the products produced successively pass in the context of their thermal treatment.

And finally, it is preferably provided in the context of the present invention that the post treatment of the exhaust gases is a mechanical or chemical cleaning of the combined exhaust gas stream. A corresponding post treatment plant therefore only needs to be present once in the context of the present invention, which in addition to the plant technology expenditure also minimizes the corresponding maintenance and servicing expenditure.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in more detail below on the basis of the drawing.

An operating site 1 for glass fibre products is illustrated schematically in the drawing—in any case insofar as this is relevant for the present invention. Two gas engine generator units 2, 3 are available for electricity and heat generation, to which—according to the arrows 4, 5—the gas provided for combustion is fed. The gas engine generator units 2, 3 provide both electrical energy 6 and, via their cooling circuits, waste heat for heating the operating site 1. A heat exchanger 8 is provided in the usual manner for heating the operating site 1, that is to say for providing ambient heat, which heat exchanger is connected on the one hand with a conduit system 7 which carries the heated cooling water of the gas engine generator units 2, 3 and on the other hand with a heating circuit 9 of the operating site in order to heat the latter. Further, preheating the combustion air for the additional heater (see below) can also be realized by using a second heat exchanger 10.

The exhaust gases of the two gas engine generator units 2, 3 are, by means of a conduit system 11, 12, 13-19, distributed through the wall W to six different thermal treatment chambers 20-25 and introduced directly into the latter. Each treatment chamber 20-25 is assigned at least one additional heater 26-32 which works on a combustion basis, which additional heater fires directly into the respective treatment chamber 20-25. In addition, two fans 33 are assigned to each treatment chamber 20-25 to ensure the desired air and heat flow within the respective treatment chambers or zone 20-25. The thermal treatment chambers serve as heaters for the subjecting of glass fibre mats to heat in a temperature range of 150° C.-250° C.

Finally, the exhaust gases of the two gas engine generator units 2, 3 and the additional heaters 26-32 leave the respective treatment chamber and are combined again by a conduit system 34-41, in order to subsequently be fed together—according to arrow 42—to a chemical post-treatment or cleaning apparatus 43, before they then escape into the atmosphere.

A separately controllable or regulatable valve 44-49 is connected upstream of each treatment chamber for regulating the exhaust gas throughput through the individual treatment chambers 20-25, using which valve—in co-operation with the respective additional heaters 26-32—the temperature in the respective treatment chamber 20-25 can be set to a predeterminable value. Temperature fluctuations of the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generators 2, 3 which may arise are compensated, if appropriate, by the additional heaters 26-32 which can likewise be regulated in terms of their heating output.

In order to be able to operate the two gas engine generator units 2, 3 to provide electrical energy and ambient heat, even when no exhaust gas throughput through the thermal treatment chambers 20-25 is desired, e.g. during a maintenance period for the treatment chambers 20-25 or in the event of a fault, the exhaust gases can be diverted out of the conduits 11, 12 by means of suitable flow/locking valves 50, 51, 52, 53, via the conduits 54, 55—in accordance with arrow 56—to an emergency chamber 57, where the exhaust gas is preferably subjected to a mechanical exhaust gas cleaning, before it escapes into the atmosphere. Additionally, an exhaust gas reservoir can also, if appropriate, be provided, in which a certain quantity of the exhaust gas produced by the gas engine generator units 2, 3 can be stored, in order, after the treatment chambers 20-25 have been brought back into use, to feed it again, if appropriate, to the conduit system 11-19 which leads to the treatment chambers 20-25 and therefore to the more efficient chemical cleaning.

Claims

1. Operating site (1) with an electricity/heat generator (2, 3) which functions on a combustion basis, the waste heat of which generator is to some extent used to heat the operating site (1), wherein the operating site further has at least one thermal treatment chamber (20-25) for the subjecting of products arranged therein to heat, characterized in that it is set up for the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2, 3) to flow directly through the at least one thermal treatment chamber (20-25), wherein at least one additional heater (26-32) which functions on a combustion basis for supplementary heating of the treatment chamber (20-25) is provided and wherein the exhaust gas which flows through the thermal treatment chamber (20-25) and the exhaust gas of the at least one additional heater (26-32) can be fed to a common post treatment.

2. Operating site according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating site (1) is a production plant for glass fibre products, wherein the at least one treatment chamber serves for drying the glass fibre products produced, in particular in the form of glass fibre mats.

3. Operating site according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one controllable valve (44-49) for regulating the throughput quantity of the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2, 3) which is to be channelled through the treatment chamber (20-25) is provided for achieving the desired process temperature in the at least one treatment chamber (20-25), wherein temperature fluctuations of the exhaust gas which is flowing through the treatment chamber (20-25) that may arise can be compensated by means of the at least one additional heater (26-32) to achieve a constant temperature in the treatment chamber (20-25).

4. Operating site according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of thermal treatment chambers (20-25) are provided, each with at least one additional heater (26-32), wherein the exhaust gas of the electricity/heat generator (2, 3) is, by means of suitable distribution and combining means (11-19; 34-41), distributed to the various treatment chambers and subsequently combined again for common post treatment with the exhaust gases of the additional heaters (26-32).

5. Operating site according to claim 3 and claim 4, characterized in that for each treatment chamber (20-25), a separate valve (44-49) for regulating the throughput quantity of the exhaust gas to be channelled through the respective treatment chamber (20-25) is provided, so that the temperatures in the various treatment chambers (20-25) can be set separately and independently of one another.

6. Operating site according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the post treatment is a mechanical or chemical cleaning of the exhaust gas.