Open-cycle vapor compression heat pump

Recovery and upgrading of 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.