Heat Exchanger Networks: Applications for Industrial Integrations

Heat integration is a crucial concept in process engineering and energy management. It refers to using heat exchangers and process modifications to maximize energy efficiency, lowering cost and/or carbon emissions within industrial processes through minimizing the external heating and cooling requirements (utility savings). There are two key aspects of heat integration. “Heat Exchanger Network” is an approach to designing efficient connections among the heat exchangers to transfer heat between several hot and cold streams. “Pinch Analysis” is a systematic methodology that determines the optimal energy recovery by identifying the “pinch point” to maximize heat recovery. The paper aims to review the actual status of research in the field of application of heat exchanger networks for industrial integrations and highlight the perspectives.