ENERGY AND EXERGY ANALYSIS OF A DAIRY REFRIGERATION HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The paper presents results of an energy and exergy analysis of a diary refrigeration heat recovery system performance. The heat recovery process involves the transfer of “waste” heat from the refrigerant of the milk cooling system into water. The input data for this analysis (refrigerant, milk and water parameters: mass flow, pressure and temperature at relevant system points) was collected on similar dairy farm heat recovery system. This information was used to describe the initial and boundary conditions in a study on the evaluation of energy utilization efficiency. Exergy analysis has provided different indicators of energy quality. Also, exergy analysis has helped detecting loss and destruction of incoming exergy for the productive process. It was concluded that integration of heat recovery unit in a complex diary process, in combination with other specific devices, must be conducted carefully, in order to obtain its maximum capacity and performance.