In the present study, a suitable composition of parameters has been obtained to provide an efficient process of cooling flue gas with complete condensation of water vapour from air-water vapour mixture on a water film in co-current upward flow in the tube of the direct contact heat and mass exchanger. The results showed that the value of the irrigation density depends on the velocity of the air-water vapour mixture and the initial vapour content and should be calculated from an empirical equation. The active pipe height depends on the velocity of the air-water vapour mixture and the initial vapour content and should also be calculated from an empirical equation. For example, if the initial vapour content of the air-water vapour mixture is 11%, the velocity of the mixture is 20.8 m/s the height of the channel should not exceed 0.460 m. The value of the water heating limit temperature increases from 46◦C to 62◦C with a change in the initial vapour content from 11% to 30%. The present experimental results could be helpful in the design of direct contact heat and mass exchangers for waste heat recovery.

Energy efficiency improvement and ecological safety of heat power plants are urgent problems, which require scientifically grounded approaches and solutions. These problems can be solved partly within the presented heat-and-power cycles by including contact energy exchange equipment in the circuits of existing installations. A significant positive effectis obtained in the contact energy exchange installations, such as gas-steam installation ‘Aquarius’ and the contact hydrogen heat generator that also can use hydrogen as a fuel. In these plants, the efficiency increases approximately by 10–12% in comparison with traditional installations, and the concentration of toxic substances, such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in flue gas can be reduced to 30 mg/m3and to 5 mg/m3, respectively. Moreover, the plants additionally ‘generate’ the clean water, which can be used for technical purposes.