Addressing potash's carbon challenge: How heat exchange technology offers a pragmatic approach to decarobinization
The potash industry has an important role to play in the global pursuit of net-zero targets. As the scale of many operations continues to grow relative to soaring demand, so too has the expectation for the industry to properly manage and mitigate environmental impacts.
In the 2024 edition of Potashworks Magazine, Igor Makarenko, Chief Sales Officer at Solex Thermal Science, notes the combustion of natural gas as the single largest source of GHG emissions during the potash-making process. A recent study by University of Alberta researchers found the combustion of natural gas at this processing step represents nearly one-third of total emissions in conventional and solution mining combined.
Makarenko points to the application of heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHXs)in potash applications as a novel opportunity to recover energy from otherwise-wasted process streams and, in turn, reducing both primary energy consumption and GHG emissions.
"As an example of their application within potash applications, HPHXs can recover thermal energy from particle-laden air that is exhausted from the drying process," writes Makarenko.
"In doing so, potash producers can reduce the natural gas consumption needed for product drying . . . Alternatively, the recovered energy from the dryer can be used to pre-heat water that is used in solution mining processes.
This entry was tagged Cooling, and last updated on 2024-1-26
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