Abstract
•Importance of energy efficiency on perlite process is discussed.•Effects of perlite production on 3E, namely, energy, environment and economics is presented.•The system must be replaced with the developed technology and the return of the investment would be less than 18months.
In this study, energy and exergy assessments of a perlite expansion furnace in a plaster factory are performed. Chemical properties of the perlite and its application areas are described. Energy and exergy relations according to the First and Second Law of Thermodynamics are derived. Energy and exergy efficiencies, losses and exergy destructions are calculated based on the measurements obtained from the system. Evaluations of environmental impact, energy management and economic are finally generalized according to the obtained results. Energy and exergy efficiencies of the furnace are determined to be 66% and 26%, respectively. Reference temperature effects on exergy efficiency, destruction and sustainability index are also presented. The results showed that the furnace has not been well designed in terms of thermal aspects due to high energy and exergy losses and the manufacturer producing the perlite expanded should establish an energy management structure.