Abstract
In keeping with the current demand for energy conservation, Kobe Steel has commercially produced air compressors with a radial steam turbine, named "ECOCENTRI", which utilize excess or waste steam in factories and thereby save electrical power consumptions. In this work, we developed a high-efficiency compact superheater which is connected directly to the upper stream of radial steam turbine in order to enhance recovery power from excess or waste steam and extend available range of expansion ratio. The said integrated system was incorporated into the process steam line of Kobe Steel's Kakogawa Works and evaluated for turbine performance, heat efficiency of superheater and so on. We could recognize from these operation data that the integraeted system drastically improved its performance compared with conventional power recovery compressor.
