P-REx Screw Expander

Thanks to a strict cooperation with leader companies in this sector, Zuccato Energia has developed P-REx (Pressure Reducing Expander) technology, a range of power generation modules designed to efficiently reduce pressure in steam circuits while recovering as electricity the energy lost by the steam during the pressure reduction process. 

In industrial applications worldwide, regulating and reducing pressure valves are commonly used to automatically reduce or modulate a higher upstream pressure coming from any industrial main steam distribution loop down to a constant lower downstream pressure in distribution lines, immune to flowrate and pressure changes in the main loop. This involves, of course, an energy loss proportional to the upstream/downstream pressure differential. 

Thanks to P-Rex technology, this energy loss can now be recovered as useful electric power, which can be sold to the power grid, used in place(e.g. to reduce the power consumptions of the high-pressure loop by feeding compressors or pumps), or exploited in any other way, giving an added value to the system while increasing the efficiency of the overall process. 

Our technology is based on special, single stage axial micro turbines designed to exploit waste energy derived from pressure reduction in superheated steam, saturated steam or wet steam flows, accepting steam quality up to 80%. 

P-Rex modules can be installed in parallel with the existing loop, to avoid shutting down the entire line during planned maintenance or any other necessities. 

P-Rex modules are available in a range of models with power output up to 1 MWE depending on upstream pressure, downstream pressure, and steam quality. 

Please contact us for further information on these devices and alternative solutions to recover waste heat from pressure reducing lines.