SYSTEM FOR THE RECOVERY OF HEAT IN THERMAL PROCESSES BY MEANS OF THE SEQUENTIAL AND ALTERNATING OPERATION OF A SET OF PACKED BEDS WITH NON-ABSORBENT MATERIALS

摘要

The invention relates to a system for the recovery of heat in thermal processes by means of the sequential and alternating operation of a set of packed beds with non-absorbent materials (or materials in which absorption is not a dominant effect). The system can be used in a number of applications (drying, desalination, absorption cooling, generating mechanical energy...), which are different to one another but share the same principle: the heat that is applied or generated in a device (1) (which can also be a packed bed) is captured and recovered by packed beds which sequentially swap roles; while a bed (2) captures the residual heat of the first device (1), the second (3) preheats the fluid entering the first device (or another process) using the previously captured residual heat, and, when the capturing bed (2) reaches the determined maximum level, it swaps roles with the preheating bed (3) using connected valves, and vice versa.