Simulations of two incineration processes, with and without flue gas recirculation, have been carried out performing an exergy analysis to investigate the most critical equipment unit in terms of second-law efficiency. Flue gas from the economizer outlet is employed to partially replace secondary combustion air to reduce, at the same time, incinerator temperature and oxygen concentration. Conversely, in the proposed configuration, the recirculated flue gas flow rate is used to control incinerator temperature, while the air flow rate is used to control the oxygen content of the fumes, leaving the incinerator as close to 6% as possible—i.e., the minimum allowed for existing plants to ensure completion of the combustion reactions and according to environmental regulations—and determines the corresponding minimum flue gas flow rate. The flue gas recirculation guarantees a larger level of energy recovery (up to +3%) and, at the same time, lower investment costs for the lower flow rate of fumes actually emitted if compared to the plant configuration without flue gas recirculation. Various operating parameters were varied (incinerator’s effluent gas temperature, air flowrate and flue gas recirculation flowrate) to investigate their influence on process exergy efficiency. Exergy analysis allowed the individuation of the equipment units characterized by larger exergy destruction and demonstrated that the flue gas recirculation led to an overall process exergy efficiency increase of about 3%.
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