The many applications of waste heat recovery

Steam!

Steam is used in countless industries, often in continuous processes. For these applications, recovered hot water can contribute to operational energy efficiency.

Pharmaceuticals: temperature maintenance, drying, sterilization, and anti-bacterial treatment
Food & beverage/dairy: pasteurizing, scalding, drying, cleaning, and sterilizing
Textile: dyeing, spinning, weaving, and finishing
Paper: cooking pulp and drying
Chemical: breaking raw materials into base chemicals
Painting: degreasing, drying, tempering, and baking

Various industrial uses of waste heat recovery

Atlas Copco offers a range of energy recovery solutions for most types of compressors and all types of customers. These solutions include fully integrated and standalone systems that can be applied to both new and existing compressor installations. In addition to the technology itself, Atlas Copco provides expertise to support customers in selecting the most suitable application for recovered heat across different industries.

Hot air

Recovered hot air from compressors can be directly reused for:

Space heating in warehouses and workshops
Ventilation air preheating
Supplying heat to ovens, dryers, or curing equipment

This makes air-based heat recovery especially effective for facilities with continuous heating or drying requirements.

Hot water

Recovered hot water from compressed air systems is widely used in industrial processes. Typical applications include:

Process water heating
Boiler feedwater preheating
Industrial cleaning and washing processes
Sanitary facilities and space heating

Industries such as food and beverage, manufacturing, breweries, and automotive production benefit from stable hot water demand, making heat recovery particularly valuable in these environments.