Electrothermal solutions for industrial processes: energetic and economic analysis of a baking tunnel oven

The problem of the availability and uneven distribution of fossil fuel resources, especially gas, is not only an environmental problem, but also a political, economic, and social one. In the gas phase-out, companies play a major role: many processes requiring heat from burners can be replaced by electrothermal technologies, such as induction, microwave and radiofrequency. The objective of this study is to demonstrate how electroheat technology is beneficial as it is more efficient, easily integrable with control systems, cleaner and cost-effective for rising gas prices. In this regard, the research is questioning how the advantages of the shift from gas to an electrothermal process can be demonstrated. Hence, an analysis of a real-life case of a baking tunnel oven, powered by a system of inductors and resistors was made. By means of an energy and economic analysis, the pre- and post-intervention results are reported. On site data collection, gas consumption bills, articles and books available in literature were the main source in investigating the thesis. The new electrothermal system is installed without making significant changes to the architecture of the oven itself, but the space occupied by the burners has been gained, resulting in a more compact geometry. COMSOL software was used to study the thermal transient of oven heating and the numeric computing platform MATLAB was the source to perform the analysis calculations. Future research might involve the investigation of the addition of a radiofrequency water evaporation phase to decrease cooking time and achieve better product quality due to the rapid and homogeneous de-humidification process. Moreover, an investigation on the optimal power to give to the oven in function of the load could be another interesting topic.