Phase Change Storage for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery

An industrial site recovering heat from process exhaust and a solar thermal collector loop faced a mismatch between when heat is produced and when the process can use it. The project added a phase change thermal storage unit on the recovery loop, so surplus heat is absorbed during peak supply and released when supply drops or demand rises.

The storage medium was selected for a melting range that matches the loop working temperature, so the unit charges and discharges across a narrow temperature band and does not disturb the existing process conditions. The integration keeps the original pipe network, adding a branch through the storage module with isolation valves so the loop can still run directly when storage is not needed.

Instrumentation covers inlet and outlet temperature, state of charge and flow, giving operators a clear view of when the store is charging or discharging. The control logic shifts the recovered heat to storage first and releases it to the process during the low-supply period, which reduces the demand on the backup heat source.

The site can now extend the usable window of recovered heat across the working day, using the same collector and exhaust heat capture already installed rather than adding new generation capacity.