Buffer Tank Heat Recovery for Beverage Pasteurization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat treatment systems for liquid products, such as pasteurization of beverages, face challenges in achieving uniform treatment temperatures and minimizing excess pressure, with inefficiencies in heat recovery and energy consumption, especially during varying operating states.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that involve preheating the product, corrective cooling, and intermediate storage of cooling water to utilize waste heat for heating, allowing for efficient heat recovery and averaging waste heat across different operating states, thereby optimizing energy consumption and maintaining gentle heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If heat recovery systems are used to preheat products, then energy consumption is reduced, but treatment temperature uniformity deteriorates during varying operating states
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tank pre-stores heating water at required temperatures before it is needed for product preheating. This preliminary preparation of thermal energy allows the system to maintain consistent preheating performance even when waste heat availability fluctuates during different operating states, thus resolving the contradiction between energy recovery and temperature uniformity
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer tank acts as an intermediary between the waste heat source and the product preheating process. It decouples the unstable waste heat supply from the stable preheating requirement, allowing temperature uniformity to be maintained while still utilizing recovered heat energy
2Loss of energy
If waste heat is directly used for preheating, then energy efficiency is improved, but temperature control precision deteriorates during startup and shutdown
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tank pre-prepares heating water at the exact temperature required for product preheating before the actual heating process begins. This preliminary thermal preparation ensures that during startup and shutdown phases, the product receives consistent temperature treatment even though waste heat availability is unstable, thus maintaining manufacturing precision while preserving energy efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer tank creates a thermal cushion by storing heated water in advance, which compensates for fluctuations in waste heat supply during transient operating states. This cushioning effect protects the temperature control precision from the instability of direct waste heat utilization
3Loss of energy
If heat recovery from cooling stages is implemented, then overall energy utilization is improved, but temperature uniformity in treatment stages deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tank merges heat from multiple cooling stages (container cooling and product recooling) into a single consolidated heating water source. By combining these disparate thermal streams and averaging their temperatures in the buffer tank, the system achieves both improved overall energy utilization and uniform treatment temperatures across all stages
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures consistent and gentle short-term heating of liquid products, optimizing energy use and reducing excess pressure, by effectively utilizing waste heat across varying operating conditions, ensuring a stable and efficient heat treatment process.
Implementation Method 1
intermediate storage of cooling water heated in step b) for use as heating water for step a)
Implementation Method 2
heat from the cooling water heated during recooling is transferred to the heat exchange water
Implementation Method 3
waste heat obtained during cooling of bottled product and/or during re-cooling of product that has not been bottled is supplied to the intermediately stored cooling water
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
Short-time heating of liquid product before its bottling, comprises (a) preheating the product for the short-time heating, (b) correctively cooling the short-time heated product for subsequent hot filling, and (c) temporarily storing cooling water heated in the step (b) to use as hot water in the step (a). The stored cooling water is supplied with waste heat obtained during cooling of filled product and/or during re-cooling of non-filled product. An independent claim is also included for an apparatus for short-time heating of the liquid product prior to it is bottling, comprising: a preheating unit (3) to preheat the product for heating; a corrective cooling unit (5) for cooling the short time heated product, preferably for subsequent hot filling of the product; a buffer tank (7) for temporarily storing the cooling water heated in the corrective cooling unit; a hot-water circuit (9) for connecting an output of the buffer tank with the supply line of the preheating unit; and a heat exchange circuit for supplying heat from a container cooling unit and/or a cooling unit in the buffer tank.