Simulation and Economic Research of Circulating Cooling Water Waste Heat and Water Resource Recovery System

Li Yang, Yunfeng Ren, Zhihua Wang, Zhouming Hang and Yunxia Luo
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Li Yang: Key Laboratory for Technology in Rural Water Management of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou 310018, China
Yunfeng Ren: Zhejiang Pyneo Technology Limited Company, Hangzhou 311121, China
Zhihua Wang: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China
Zhouming Hang: College of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou 310018, China
Yunxia Luo: Key Laboratory for Technology in Rural Water Management of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou 310018, China

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Industrial circulating cooling water contains a large amount of low-quality energy, which is lost to the environment through cooling towers. It is of great significance and potential to recover the waste heat to improve energy-saving effects and economic efficiency. However, the effect of common water harvesting and energy saving devices is not significant. Heat pumps have been shown to be effective in improving low-quality heat energy in energy conversion systems, although there are not many applications of heat pump scenarios in engineering practice. Based on this, a recovery solution of circulating cooling water waste heat and water resource using lithium bromide absorption heat pump has been put forward. The energy-saving performance of the recovery system was simulated and analyzed using Aspen Plus V10.0 (Bedford, MA, USA) to explore the effects of the parameters of the working medium in evaporators, condensers, absorbers, generators, heat exchangers, etc., and the modelling results indicated that the evaporation pressure and temperature have a great influence on the system COP (coefficient of performance) and can raise the thermal economy of the system. The heat from driving steam and heating capacity both increased with the increase in generating temperature, while the increase in temperature difference between evaporation and condensation inhibits the COP of heat pump systems. Furthermore, economic analyses and comparisons of the recovery solutions were conducted and the recovery solution of circulating cooling water waste heat with heat pump had the best economic performance due to the annual income from the recovery of waste heat and water resource. The static payback period results indicate that the recovery solution from circulating cooling water waste heat with a heat pump has better economic performance than the scenario with a cooling tower. The waste heat recovery solution with a heat pump can improve the thermal economy of the system and has a great guiding significance for engineering practice.

Keywords: heat pump; Aspen Plus; waste heat; COP; economic 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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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