Direct Contact Water Heaters
I Overview
Direct contact water heaters allow flue gases to come in direct contact with the water that they heat. This stands in contrast to more conventional water heaters and boilers, which use heat exchangers to heat water indirectly. Therefore, these devices will often have a smaller footprint than indirect contact heaters.
II Applications
Direct contact water heaters find many applications in food processing, commercial laundries, textile, beverage, dairies and institutional hot water users. The process water they generate can also be used as a solvent or as a crystallization/fermentation/reaction medium.
III Equipment Options
Direct contact water heaters can be connected to a variety of devices that generate flue gases including boiler flue gases and power generation exhaust streams. Contact between the flue gases and the process water may be made in spray towers, packed towers, flooded columns, and other means.
IV Resources
1. Equipment Manufacturer Database
2. Boiler Burner Consortium
3. Distributed Generation Consortium