Adsorbent materials for low-grade waste heat recovery: Application to industrial pasta drying processes

In this work, the industrial pasta production process has been studied and possible plant design options identified, including an innovative adsorption cycle to recover waste heat from the drying process. The thermodynamic processes involved in pasta drying plants have been quantitatively analysed to assess the energy savings that can be achieved by using adsorbent materials such as MOFs. Results point to thermal energy savings in the range 40-50%.