Which statement about a cooling economizer is correct?

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A cooling economizer is all about reclaiming waste heat from the exhaust to preheat the feedwater entering the boiler. By passing the incoming water through a heat exchanger with the hot exhaust gases, the water is heated before it reaches the boiler. That reduces the amount of energy the boiler must add to make steam, which lowers fuel consumption and improves overall plant efficiency. It’s not about a separate fuel heater, it doesn’t cool the feedwater, and it doesn’t remove impurities—that’s handled by water treatment. So the correct understanding is that it recovers heat from exhaust to preheat feedwater, boosting efficiency.