Energy saving and abatement of gas emission in the wood industry

The analysis of heat losses and thermal efficiency of the steam system used for plywood dryers before and after its modernization has been presented. In the wood industry, mainly pressure-free condensate return systems are used. An existing open condensate return system has been improved by the application of a closed condensate tank in order to eliminate secondary steaming. The tested system consisted of three basic parts. One of them was a boiler plant producing superheated steam. Steam and condensate transfer grids connecting the boiler plant with the dryer constituted the next part of the tested steam system. The latter element was a processing device for plywood drying. The application of the closed condensate return system has increased the efficiency of the tested steam system by 15.5%. This resulted in lower emissions of contaminations to the atmosphere. The results of the test were also used to define basic economic indicators of the system in order to determine profitability of its installation.