Critical Analysis of Process Integration Options for Joule-Cycle and Conventional Heat Pumps

Limei Gai, Petar Sabev Varbanov, Timothy Gordon Walmsley and Jiří Jaromír Klemeš
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Limei Gai: Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory-SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology-VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 61600 Brno, Czech Republic
Petar Sabev Varbanov: Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory-SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology-VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 61600 Brno, Czech Republic
Timothy Gordon Walmsley: Sustainable Energy and Water Systems Group, School of Engineering, The University of Waikato, Hamilton 3216, New Zealand
Jiří Jaromír Klemeš: Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory-SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology-VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 61600 Brno, Czech Republic

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: To date, research on heat pumps (HP) has mainly focused on vapour compression heat pumps (VCHP), transcritical heat pumps (TCHP), absorption heat pumps, and their heat integration with processes. Few studies have considered the Joule cycle heat pump (JCHP), which raises several questions. What are the characteristics and specifics of these different heat pumps? How are they different when they integrate with the processes? For different processes, which heat pump is more appropriate? To address these questions, the performance and integration of different types of heat pumps with various processes have been studied through Pinch Methodology. The results show that different heat pumps have their own optimal application range. The new JCHP is suitable for processes in which the temperature changes of source and sink are both massive. The VCHP is more suitable for the source and sink temperatures, which are near-constant. The TCHP is more suitable for sources with small temperature changes and sinks with large temperature changes. This study develops an approach that provides guidance for the selection of heat pumps by applying Process Integration to various combinations of heat pump types and processes. It is shown that the correct choice of heat pump type for each application is of utmost importance, as the Coefficient of Performance can be improved by up to an order of magnitude. By recovering and upgrading process waste heat, heat pumps can save 15–78% of the hot utility depending on the specific process.

Keywords: Process Integration; heat pumps; Joule cycle heat pump; Pinch Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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