INTERCONNECTED ENERGY FLOW ANALYSIS AND HEAT RECOVERY STRATEGY OF THE MICHELIN BRIDGEWATER MANUFACTURING FACILITY

Abstract

This study presents the analysis of the heating and cooling systems in the Michelin Bridgewater production facility and the investigation of the interconnected effects of the heating systems. The Michelin facility has been operational for over 30 years, and does not have an in-depth understanding of how production is affected by changes in steam production. The steam production system has been modeled along with the cooling water systems. Each of the thermal energy sources and sinks has been represented in order to gain more understanding of what type of interconnection there are between processes. The amount of steam supplied to each process was calculated using simulations. Actual plant data for the total water usage and steam production were used in the model, along with measurements collected experimentally. In order to obtain simulated results that reflected the actual plant data, three individual models were created for the winter, summer and fall seasons. The simulation offers a better understanding of how the individual production areas are connected and how changing individual operational parameters affects the other systems in the facility. The simulations could be used to test operational changes, and predict what effects there will be on the heating and cooling systems, without the risk of losing production during testing. In addition to the overall plant simulation, an initial study was performed on the feasibility and potential cost savings of using the domestic hot water system as a potential heat sink. The results of this study suggest that there would be a saving of $16,513 per year of Bunker C fuel. This would be in addition to the reduced emissions from burning less fuel in order to heat the domestic hot water.