Advanced flash exhaust heat recovery

A system for a plant, the plant comprising a dryer operable to remove moisture from a wet cake and to produce an exhaust gas comprising water vapor, the plant also comprising a balance of plant, the system comprising:

• a boiler circuit operable to provide a first steam to the balance of the plant;
• a first energy recovery circuit comprising a non-contact heat exchanger operable to extract heat from the exhaust gas and to provide a second steam, having a pressure lower than a pressure of the first steam, to the balance of plant;
• a component wherein a portion of the first steam from the boiler circuit is intermixed with a flash vapor produced in the first energy recovery circuit, or a component wherein a liquid from the boiler circuit is intermixed with a liquid from the first energy recovery circuit;
• and
• a second energy recovery circuit comprising a direct contact heat exchanger disposed downstream of the non-contact heat exchanger in a flow path of the exhaust gas, the second energy recovery circuit operable to provide a heated fluid to the balance of plant.