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

Technical Report · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 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
• Resource Relation: Other Information: See also PB--85-174894
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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