In a significant advancement towards sustainable industrial practices, engineers of the iWAYS partner Tubacex have successfully installed the second Heat Pipe Condensing Economiser (HPCE) at its steel tube manufacturing facility in Spain. The innovative system, developed as part of the EU-funded iWAYS project, is designed to recover up to 30% of heat from exhaust gases, contributing to substantial energy and water savings in the steel industry. Gorka Bilbatua, Project Manager at Tubacex, expressed enthusiasm about the project’s progress: “We expect the Heat Pipe Condensing Economiser to produce significant savings in gas consumption,” said Bilbatua. “The validation phase will provide us with concrete data to assess its impact on our operations.”
Innovative Design for Sustainable Steel Production
The HPCE is a technology that captures exhaust heat and wastewater from industrial processes and transforms it into usable energy and water. Suspended freely in the air above the oven’s exit, the device utilizes a network of heat pipes, filled with a working fluid, to efficiently recover the rising thermal energy. The recovered heat is piped to a tank to heat the water for the degreasing baths.
One of the key challenges in implementing this system was the installation and commissioning process, which had to be carried out without disrupting the plant’s continuous 24/7 production schedule. The team overcame this hurdle by meticulously planning and executing the installation during scheduled maintenance windows, ensuring minimal impact on operations.
Advanced Water Treatment Systems
The recovered water from the degreasing baths is subjected to comprehensive treatment through three separate systems: PNFR (Photocatalytic Nanofiltration Reactor), MD (Membrane Distillation), and DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation). These systems ensure that the treated water meets the stringent quality standards required for reuse in the steel tube manufacturing process.
Project Timeline and Expectations
Commissioning of the HPCE system commenced in May 2025, with full operational status expected by the end of June 2025. During this period, engineers will collect and analyse data to validate the system’s performance and efficiency.
Professor Hussam Jouhara, inventor of the HPCE and Scientific Technical Director of the iWAYS project at Brunel University London, highlighted the broader implications of the technology: “The development and implementation of technologies that enable sustainable industrial progress for future generations is the driving force behind our participation in iWAYS,” he said. “We aim to make industry more sustainable, competitive, and profitable.”
About the iWAYS Project
The iWAYS (Innovative Water Recovery Solutions) project is an EU-funded initiative focused on developing technologies to recover water, energy and material from exhaust gases in industrial processes. By implementing these technologies, the project aims to reduce freshwater consumption by up to 30% and recover significant amounts of heat across various industrial sectors, including ceramics, chemicals, and steel manufacturing.
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Corinna Barnstedt
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Website: www.iways.eu
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