Implementation and Verification of a Condensing Heat Recovery System at Dairy Farmers of America Facility: A Detailed Analysis of Energy Savings and Environmental Benefits
Beverage production is an energy intensive process involving substantial natural gas use to produce steam for heating and cleaning. Approximately 18 percent of the heat energy is lost when superheated gases leave the boiler exhaust stack. Without the use of economizers to recover this energy, waste gases are exhausted at high temperatures, representing a significant amount of wasted energy and excess greenhouse gas emissions.
The primary objective of the Condensing Heat Recovery Project was to install a condensing heat recovery system to capture and reuse waste heat from the boiler exhaust, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. PepsiCo partnered with the Dairy Farmers of America facility in Ventura, California, to implement this advanced technology.
Prior to this project, the facility's steam boilers operated at an efficiency level of 80 percent with significant energy losses through the boiler stack. The newly installed heat recovery system captured both latent (heat energy required for a substance to change phases without changing temperature) and sensible heat (heat energy that causes a change in temperature of a substance without a phase change) from the exhaust gases that were then used to preheat boiler make-up water and process water, resulting in a notable reduction in natural gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Based on limited operational data due to the facility’s unanticipated closure, the system demonstrated annual savings of 57,282 therms of natural gas and a reduction of 304 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. By annualizing data from a month that was less impacted by the shutdown, estimated savings increased to 107,063 therms and an approximate reduction of 567 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
The project demonstrated the viability of heat recovery technologies in the food production sector, providing a model for similar initiatives. It highlighted the importance of integrating advanced monitoring and control systems to optimize energy use and performance and also had positive economic impacts on the local community.
