Contaminated-vapor rotary-screw heat pump. Final report, August 1983-June 1986

Technical Report · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:6653309

Ruggles, A E; Becker, F E

In many industrial processes, large quantities of waste energy are often liberated in the form of low-pressure waste steam and low-grade waste heat, such as sensible heat of liquids or gases and latent heat of condensible gases. Economic recovery is often difficult due to such factors as low-temperature levels and contamination of the steam. In industrial processes that utilize steam directly, or as a mode of energy transport, waste low-grade energy can be efficiently recovered and upgraded in the form of high-pressure steam by means of a contaminated-steam heat-pump system. A prototype gas-fired steam heat pump was developed for use with contaminated steam. The system uses a rotary-screw positive-displacement compressor driven by a natural gas engine. Capable of compressing 2000 cfm of contaminated steam from atmospheric pressure up to 60 psig, the system has been successfully tested in an animal-rendering-plant application. The system has operated for more than a year, with fuel savings of 58T compared to using steam produced in a standard 80% efficient boiler.

• Research Organization: Thermo Electron Corp., Waltham, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6653309
• Report Number(s): PB-87-153920/XAB; TE-4326-98-86
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320106* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Building Equipment-- (1987-)
320304 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Waste Heat Recovery & Utilization
COMPRESSORS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY RECOVERY
GAS HEAT PUMPS
HEAT PUMPS
HEAT RECOVERY
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
POLLUTION
RECOVERY
STEAM
WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION