Open-cycle vapor compression heat pump. Annual progress report for 1980

Technical Report · Tue May 05 00:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:5368047

Sakhuja, R; Becker, F E

Approximately 10 percent of U.S. energy is used by industry in the form of process steam at 100 psi or less. In many industrial plants, a portion of this steam is simply vented to the atmosphere or condensed after use in the process because it cannot be fully utilized or economically recovered. Also, a great amount of low-grade heat energy is wasted because it cannot be economically recovered. Recovery and upgrading of these low-grade steam or waste heat sources offers a great potential of energy conservation. Thermo Electron is developing an open cycle vapor compression steam heat pump to meet this objective. The system utilizes excess low-pressure steam or that produced from an industrial excess heat source with a waste heat boiler and compresses this steam to the desired pressure level for process use. The compressor is driven by a prime mover such as a gas turbine, gas engine, etc. The prime mover exhaust heat also can be recovered to generate additional process steam. The fuel consumption of this system can be as low as 30 to 50 percent in comparison to a direct-fired boiler over the expected range of process conditions. Simple payback periods as low as one year can be achieved.

• Research Organization: Thermo Electron Corp., Waltham, MA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: GRI-5011-342-0094
• OSTI ID: 5368047
• Report Number(s): PB-82-110503
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
HEAT PUMPS
COMPRESSORS
HEAT RECOVERY
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
OPEN-CYCLE SYSTEMS
PROCESS HEAT
STEAM
WASTE HEAT BOILERS
BOILERS
ENERGY
ENERGY RECOVERY
HEAT
RECOVERY
320303* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Equipment & Processes
320304 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Waste Heat Recovery & Utilization