Water vapor based heat pump systems (SteamHP)
There is a need for high temperature heat pumps in converting process heating to the el-based energy system of the future. Water vapor is an efficient and accepted working media for heat pumps above 100°C. The project will bring the development of solutions based on the Rotrex compressor to the market.
Through a mix of theoretical analyses and measurements in the laboratory, the project will contribute to ensure that future high-temperature heat pump systems based on water vapor for the industry are developed and tested. The project group, which consists of key players within this field, including heat pump suppliers, component manufacturers, and Danish Technological Institute, is going to follow the results of a previous ELFORSK project and ensure that the products reach so close to the market that the solution becomes sought after by the end-user. The aim of the project very much supports the transition, which society is currently going through, where windbased electricity replaces fossil fuels. The project is also going to focus on knowledge dissemination since players of the industry and in particular end-users (typically industrial companies requiring high temperatures in their processes) are made aware of the benefits of high-temperature heat pumps based on water vapor. Some of the technical ob-tacles addressed in this project are critical for the distribution of the technology and the documentation of life time, efficiency, etc.
In this project, an evaporator using water as refrigerant has been developed and built. The evaporator aims to test the newly developed Rotrex compressor using water. The project has shown that it is possible to build a functioning evaporator by using a Roots blower with satisfactory results.
Furthermore, a turbo compressor from Rotrex has been further developed during the project. The compressor has been tested and verified for long-term operation using air under extreme conditions. It has been researched how steam differs from air, and new components for the Rotrex turbo compressor have been developed based on these investigations. This has resulted in a double sealing system for the high-speed shaft with a lip seal and a piston ring seal ensuring that no steam enters the gear box. The new components of the compressor will be tested by Rotrex and Sintef in Norway in medio 2022.
Danish Technological Institute and Krammer Innovation have in cooperation built a working evaporator based on the preliminary requirements from the end-users. The evaporator has been tested in numerous performance tests where it is shown that the evaporator performs as desired and is ready for tests using the Rotrex compressor with steam.
The development of the droplet separator has been underway at Krammer Innovation, but the development has not ben finalized due to the bankruptcy at Krammer Innovation who were responsible for this part of the project. The droplet separator had a minimal impact on the evaporator, and it has been possible to use the evaporator without problems.
Finally, a detailed evaporator design with all necessary components for the evaporator has been made. In addition to this, the evaporator has been described and physically examined. The evaporator is expected to continue running until the final tests have been made, which is expected to be in the end of 2022 provided continuous operation of the Rotrex compressor.
Key figures
Category
Participants
| Partner | Subsidy | Auto financing |
|---|---|---|
| ROTREX A/S | ||
| JOHNSON CONTROLS DENMARK ApS | ||
| Krammer Innovation | ||
| Pentair |
