The Energy and Exergy Analysis of the Reactor Unit of Boric Acid Production Process with ChemCAD Simulation

Energy and exergy analysis of systems are of great importance to enhance the energy and

exergy efficiency of industrial production facilities. With the energy and exergy analyses

performed, the energy dependency of the production facilities and their energy consumption

can be reduced, the price of the product can decrease, and the profit margin can increase.

Additionally, it is ensured that the energy produced based on fossil fuels is used in a

controlled way. In the present study, the analysis of energy and exergy has been performed

for the production reactor unit of the Boric Acid from Colemanite. The first law of

thermodynamics and ChemCAD simulation program was used for energy analysis

calculations, and the calculations of exergy analysis were carried out by using the second

law of thermodynamics. The total energy loss of the reactor unit and the calculated energy

loss per 100 kcal input steam were calculated as 110880 kcal/h and 3.724%, and the losses of

total exergy in the reactor units and the losses of exergy calculated per 100 kcal input steam

were calculated as 225058.86 kcal/h and 30.095%, respectively. Exergy efficiency for the

reactor unit has been determined as 3.3 %. Some suggestions were given for the reactor units

of boric acid production plants to minimize system losses.