Design and Performance Analysis of a Multi-Source Complementary and Intelligently Regulated System for Air Compressor Waste Heat

Against the backdrop of the “dual carbon” goals and the green transformation of industries, a large quantity of low-grade waste heat generated during the operation of air compressors is frequently wasted. To address this issue, this paper proposes a comprehensive waste heat utilization system for air compressors, which realizes efficient energy recovery through a coordinated process encompassing waste heat capture, thermal grade elevation, multi-energy complementarity, and intelligent regulation. Taking a stratified hot water storage tank as its core component, the system integrates three key functions: waste heat upgrading from compressors, direct solar heating, and an electric auxiliary heating backup circuit. All these components are managed by an intelligent control unit to ensure optimized operation. Performance verification results, including field testing at an industrial plant in Yuncheng County, Shandong Province, show that the system achieves a waste heat utilization rate of over $85 \%$, an overall energy efficiency improvement of more than $40 \%$, and a net carbon reduction of 555 tons over the system lifespan. Comparative analysis demonstrates superior performance over conventional single-source recovery technologies. A 55 kW air compressor as the application object, the investment payback period of the system is 2.8 years.