Absorption Heat Transformer and Vapor Compression Heat Pump as Alternative Options for Waste Heat Upgrade in the Industry

Giorgio Villa, Josè Luis Corrales Ciganda, Gianluca Abrami and Tommaso Toppi ()
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Giorgio Villa: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy
Josè Luis Corrales Ciganda: TECNALIA, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20730 Azpeitia, Spain
Gianluca Abrami: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy
Tommaso Toppi: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: Increasing the temperature of waste heat is crucial to enable its recovery. Vapor compression heat pumps and absorption heat transformers are the two heat upgrade technologies most commonly used for this purpose. Heat pumps have the advantage of entirely recovering the waste heat and the disadvantage of requiring electricity as input. Heat transformers need a negligible amount of electricity but reject at part of the waste heat input at low temperature. Due to these differences, the choice between the two options depends on the application. In this work, the environmental and economic performance of heat pumps and heat transformers are compared in some relevant applications. Indications about the most suitable technology are provided based on the availability of the waste heat, of the CO 2 content of the electricity and of the electricity–gas price ratio. Heat pumps perform better when the waste heat availability is limited compared to the upgraded heat requirements and has a better environmental profile when the electricity has low carbon content. Heat transformer results are often economically convenient, especially when the availability of waste heat is large.

Keywords: waste heat; heat pump; absorption heat transformer; industrial heat; data center; district heating; environmental impact; economic analysis; technology comparison (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: 2025
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