Paper No 87 – Industrial high temperature heat pump for steam and hot water production – 14th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Chicago, USA
In industrial processes, heat is often required in the form of saturated steam. Due to their thermodynamic process, compression heat pumps are ideal for converting waste heat back into high quality saturated steam. The advantage over steam compressors is the ability to perform the phase change efficiently. An industrial high temperature heat pump capable of generating saturated steam up to approx. 6 bar absolute (approx. 160°C) or hot water at approx. 165°C is presented in this paper. For this purpose, a self-developed high-performance piston compressor is used, which was specially designed for high temperature applications with HFO refrigerants, such as R1336mzz-Z or R1233zd.The article presents two industrial applications in which large amounts of CO2 are saved or avoided by using innovative high temperature heat pumps. One is 2 bar absolute steam production from cooling water heat of combined heat and power systems, used in the gelatine production. The other is the production of 130°C hot water for a drying process in the recycling industry. The paper shows that steam production in the industry with high temperature heat pumps is possible.