Blog

Industrial process heating is the process of making anything by using heat. A significant quantity of energy is used in manufacturing operations. Industrial process heating may be defined as the process of using heat to make or generate anything. Flange tubular heater activities account for a large portion of the energy consumption in the industrial sector. We will describe industrial process heating, along with the sectors that use it and the specifications it needs.

What is heating in an industrial process?

Industrial process heating is the conversion of electrical energy to heat thermal energy that is directly used for the preparation or treatment of materials used in the production, processing, or modification of produced items. The joule heating concept is useful by an electric heater to transform electrical energy into heat. The industrial sector uses a wide variety of operations that include different kinds of heating systems. All industries need solutions for process heating. Many different sectors, including the automotive, chemical, oil and gas, food processing, defense, packaging, automotive, and plastics industries, employ process heating.

Process Heating Types 

This heating can divide into four categories based on the kind of energy used: fuel-based, steam-based, electric-based, and hybrid systems (a mix of several energy kinds). Process heating is the use of radiation, conduction, or convection—or a mixture of these—to heat a material by transferring heat from a heat source. 

Steam-based

Steam-based heating systems use heat pipes or tubes that come into direct contact with the process fluid to inject steam into the system either directly or indirectly to speed up heat transfer. 

Fuel-based

These systems use the combustion of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels to create heat energy, which can then transfer to fluids for processing by direct or indirect heating.

Hybrid-based

For effective heat transfer, hybrid-based heating systems often combine many energy sources. It is the best choice because of its improved production rate and increased efficiency. 

Electric-based

Heat is transferable by both direct and indirect means in electric process heating systems. In the procedure, electric current transforms into heat by an electric heater that operates on the joule heating principle. By forcing an electrical current through the material, heat comes as a result of resistance in the direct technique. 

In contrast, the indirect approach uses mechanisms like conduction, convection, or radiation to transport heat. Electric heating systems are most frequently usedful for melting, forming, drying, curing, and heating, among other things. 

Process heating is required in industries

There is a severe shortage of non-renewable energy sources as a result of their over-exploitation, which also produces dangerous NOx and carbon emissions. Consequently, there is a critical need to replace fossil fuels with low- or zero-carbon energy in electrified heating systems to decarbonize industrial production processes. 

Energy may be extracted and transforms into heat from a variety of sources, including steam, electricity, and renewable energy sources like solar energy and biomass. After the procedure, very little residual ash product is behind for disposal. When it comes to low-to-medium temperature applications, band heater provider can offer efficient solutions.