Projeto do sistema de distribuição de vapor para uma indústria de derivados de cana de açúcar

Abstract

To remain competitive in the market, a food industry needs to optimize its production chain, thus, evaluating the energy efficiency of the steam distribution system is essential from the perspective of cost reduction. Associated with this, aspects such as operational safety and the environment are of paramount importance when analyzing industrial plants that operate with steam in their distribution lines. Starting from an economic, safety and environmental analysis, the main, secondary and condensate return pipes were resized, calculations were made of the ideal insulation thickness and the selection of valves and accessories. As a basis for the elaboration of the project, concepts of heat transfer, fluid mechanics and thermal systems were used. The calculations led to the selection of pipe internal diameters of 51.20 mm for the main line, 32.80 mm for the secondary line, 38.10 mm and 25.40 mm for the return lines. The selected insulating material was glass wool with different insulation thicknesses. The safety adjustments were made following the specific NR's and NBR's for this type of industrial application. Finally, the energy consumption of the current plant was compared with the projected one and there was a reduction of 18.31% in energy consumption, reflecting 26.18 tons of less firewood to be burned per year. It was concluded that, through the results obtained, it is possible to reduce costs, increase operational safety, have greater control of the production process and reduce environmental impacts.