Industrial Application of High Temperature Heat Pumps Driven by Gas Engines

Summary

The use of reciprocating prime movers to drive compressors, be it in refrigeration or heat pump duties, is not new, and has been done routinely in both North America and Europe. However, the achievement of high condensing temperatures in heat pump systems, offering the potential for wider application areas in industry, has not received a great deal of attention.

It is believed that the ability to use a heat pump to raise steam, the heat source being in this case a liquid effluent, would benefit industrial energy conservation. A gas engine-driven compressor, with the heat from the gas engine exhaust and engine cooling system made available as steam, appears an economically viable combination.

This report describes the work carried out in 2 stages leading to the construction of a prototype for trials at the end of 1979, and discusses the economic viability of the system.

The work was funded in part by Northern Engineering Industries Ltd.