Cut costs and decarbonize with new generation heat pumps

Just a few years ago, high temperature heat pumps did not yet reach the desirable temperatures for many stakeholders. Today they do. There are steam generating heat pumps available that temperature wise open new doors for remarkably cost saving heat recovery and energy efficiency. A true Open Sesame, not least for the pulp and paper industry who need elevated temperatures to match the demanding drying process of wet pulp.

The compressors in the conventional heat pumps have until recently been a factor limiting the temperature. The usual range has long been 80-90 degrees. Adven runs energy systems reaching 130-140 degrees in different evaporation solutions, but according to the European Heat Pump Association, EHPA, new larger heat pumps will now heat up to 200°C. That is a temperature the paper manufacturing sector association Cepi says will certainly do the trick.

The chemical industry, the food and beverage industry and even sewage treatment plants are all possible first in line beneficiaries of the new generation high temperature heat pumps. Any operation where steam demand is high and stable could be a candidate. The need for huge volumes of water has a bit to do with that Mount Everest lesson from school…

There are different heat pump technologies not to mention a variety of combined solutions. However, conventional compression driven heat pumps and MVR (mechanical vapor recompression) heat pumps both rely on the fact that liquids, including water, have different boiling temperatures depending on the pressure. When lowering the pressure, we create sub pressure and make water boil at lower temperature – as on top of the mountain – or the other way around when doing the opposite. When the water is shifting, from one form to another, magic happens.

– A massive amount of energy is generated in these phase shifts, for example from water to steam. By changing the pressure, we “trick” the water to shift phase, transferring more energy from the recovered waste energy, Peter Söderblom explains.

When working with conventional heat pumps an obstacle has been a need for a relatively high starting temperature. The difference between the source’s temperature and the desired end temperature could not be too big, with obvious limitations in compressor operating envelope. When combining multiple compression steps, this is not a problem. One can add as many fans, pumps or compressors as needed to reach the desired temperature.

Modularity is another advantage that goes well with the new generation heat pumps. Something that Rolf Broekman, another concept manager of Adven’s, emphasizes.

– We now have closed cycle heat pumps at high temperature commercially available. This – in combination with familiar steam compression as in MVR – can cover a big part of the energy need in the industry.

Another success factor in the Adven calculation tool is the need for a rather large-scale plant or site. This to facilitate the desired energy saving result of at least 50 percent as the paper manufacturers in Cepi estimates. Adven’s calculation tool also includes components such as fuel supply and prices, and off course durability and a long-term perspective.

The two Peters, Söderblom and Degerström, both emphasizes that even if the upgraded heat pumps and compressors come with great possibilities as 50 percent reduced energy usage – and emissions – it´s not a piece of cake to implement them successfully. To enable an everyday production flow in real life takes expertise, practical ability and collaboration. In other words, the industry meets challenges in both financing and execution.

Adven has been around for half a century and has the advantage of extensive experience in heat pump solutions, both used as energy efficiency keys and as methods in evaporation solutions. One example is IFF FinnFeeds in Finland, where the total energy consumption has fallen by around 30% as a result of Adven’s evaporation method. Another example is Biokraft in Norway, the world’s largest site for liquified biogas production, where Adven significantly improved the site’s energy and resource efficiency.

As an investment and business manager at Adven she knows investing in sustainable energy solutions needs to be cost competitive. On top of that it is also complex, based on a combination of new and existing technologies – and that’s where the Adven business model comes into the picture. Energy as a Service offers a long-term partnership where the industry in question can completely focus on its production while Adven and its experts take full responsibility for the energy system – from investing and constructing to operating and continuously developing.

Adven’s core idea is to speed up the industrial energy transition. Not with specific products, brands, or suppliers, but with the free mind of engineering. A significant focus is spent on system analyses and on seeing the bigger picture of a plant and its surroundings. Adven’s expertise is tailor-made and locally based solutions for each partner or customer. As sustainable and cost-efficient a solution as engineering allows and always with a long-term perspective, as in decades.

The solution-oriented minds of Adven’s experts are of course eager to find out if the new and upgraded heat pumps really can meet the manufacturers’ estimations all the way. If so, the opportunities are no less than marvelous. If not, but close enough as in 180-190 degrees, they are still good to say the least.

A cloud on the heat pump sky though, is the fact that the heat pumps need electricity. This is a top-of-mind issue to many of us, and also to Rolf Broekman.

– Today everyone wants to electrify their production, getting rid of emissions. Worrying about electricity shortage comes with the territory – but using electricity effectively is exactly what you do with heat pumps!

Read more:

Business & climate hand in hand when working with water

Preparing industries for the end of carbon emissions

Sustainability and profitability in long-term partnerships