How much fuel does recovering condensate from jet dyeing machines save?
About 46.6 t of pet coke a year across three jet dyeing machines in BEE's Pali report, half from flash steam and half from hot condensate now drained away. A steam-driven pump costs Rs 3.08 lakh installed and saves Rs 3.50 lakh: payback about 11 months at 2010 prices.
What goes down the drain
Only 3 audited units recovered condensate. Jet dyeing machines, calenders, felt machines and steam traps drained hot condensate to waste and let flash steam escape. Each jet machine in the report uses 150 kg of steam an hour, round the clock for 300 days: 7,200 hours.
The two savings
- Flash steam: 10% of 450 kg an hour, 28,800 kcal an hour. x 7,200 hours / 8,200 kcal a kg = 25.3 t of coke.
- Condensate: 90% returned, 405 kg an hour at 100 C instead of 40 C feed water: 24,300 kcal an hour = 21.3 t.
- Total 46.6 t x Rs 7,500 = Rs 3.50 lakh a year.
- The sum divides by the coke's calorific value with no boiler efficiency. At the 70% used in other Pali reports the coke saved would be higher.
The equipment
- A diaphragm pump driven by steam, using 5 kg of steam per tonne of condensate, about 2 kg an hour here.
- A flash vessel and insulated return pipes. Steam traps and other loads can join the same return.
- Rs 2.28 lakh equipment with duties, Rs 0.72 lakh erection, Rs 0.08 lakh interest during the work: Rs 3.08 lakh. Two days of downtime; life over 10 years.
Three jet machines, one year
- Flash steam 25.3 t + condensate 21.3 t = 46.6 t of coke
- Payback: 3.08 / 3.50 = 0.88 years
- CO2: 46.6 t x 3.17 = 147.8 t
- The report says 98 t, about 2.1 t per tonne of coke, which is too low for pet coke
Pet coke at the IPCC 2006 default, 3.17 t CO2 a tonne (32.5 GJ a tonne x 97.5 kg CO2 per GJ). An estimate; a lab analysis of your own coke is better.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads your pet coke invoices into monthly tonnes, each linked to its bill, so the drop after condensate starts coming back is dated. It has no pet coke factor, so apply the 3.17 above. The green loan check lists what a lender asks for.
- Green loan readiness check
- Condensate recovery: fuel and CO2
- Pet coke emission factor in India
- Jigger auto temperature control
- Jet dyeing pump VFD
Sources: BEE, Detailed project report: condensate recovery pump in jet dyeing machine, Pali textile cluster (2010, SAMEEEKSHA), IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy, Tables 1.2 and 2.3
Last reviewed 2026-11-01. Report figures are from a BEE SME programme project report; costs and paybacks are at the report year's prices. Check today's fuel and power prices and a current quote before you rely on the payback.