Disruptive pathways for radiative and contaminated High temperature gas waste heat recovery

• Problem: Industrial processes such as furnaces, kilns, gasifiers, and combustion systems generate significant amounts of high-temperature waste heat through two distinct sources. First, substantial energy is lost as radiative heat directly emitted from high-temperature equipment surfaces (e.g., furnaces and reactors). Second, large amounts of heat are carried by very high-temperature flue gases that are often contaminated with particulates, corrosive species, or fouling compounds and are often available inttermitently. In both cases, these harsh conditions severely limit the applicability and efficiency of conventional heat recovery technologies. As energy efficiency and decarbonization targets become more stringent, there is a growing need for breakthrough solutions capable of recovering this challenging waste heat under extreme operating conditions.

• Context: Unlocking efficient recovery from these two waste heat sources would significantly improve overall process efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, and lower CO₂ emissions across multiple industrial sectors. Capturing radiative losses from hot equipment and recovering energy from contaminated high-temperature gas streams would enable the valorization of currently untapped energy, support process electrification strategies, and contribute to more resilient and cost-effective energy systems, while complying with increasingly strict environmental and operational constraints.

• Type of solution searched for:  We are seeking disruptive technologies and concepts targeting both,

• Radiative heat losses from high-temperature equipment (e.g., furnaces), including advanced materials, coatings, or radiative heat capture systems.

• Heat recovery from contaminated, high-temperature gas streams, requiring novel heat exchanger designs, fouling-resistant solutions, or entirely new paradigms capable of operating under particulate-laden and corrosive environments.

Particular interest is placed on scalable, energy-efficient approaches that minimize maintenance and degradation, and that can be integrated into existing industrial processes.

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