Heat recovery is a fuel-saving winner for Wyandot.

With four tortilla chip ovens operating for three shifts, five days a week, Wyandot, Inc. saw an opportunity to utilize a vast supply of energy that had been going out the exhaust stacks.

Using a partial funding grant from its state energy conservation program, the Marion, OH snack processor purchased a Heat and Control Energy Recovery Heat Exchanger for each pair of ovens. Exhaust energy now pre-heats cooking oil before it enters the heat exchangers serving Wyandot's chip fryers.

This reduces natural gas usage by about 20% - almost 20,000 MMBTUs per year - and will provide a return on investment in two years. "This system has made a significant impact on our sustainability program,"notes plant manager, Jim Augur. In addition to fuel savings, CO2 emissions have been reduced by more than 2.2 million pounds per year, the equivalent of taking 208 cars off the road.

Source: Heat and Control