Thermax absorption heat pump, heat from cooling water
In brief. A Thermax absorption heat pump is driven by steam, hot water, exhaust or gas and takes heat from cooling water. The output is hot water up to 90 °C, COP 1.65–1.75, capacity 250–40,000 kW.
The Thermax absorption heat pump works on the same principle as an absorption chiller, but its purpose is heat. It receives high-temperature heat from exhaust, steam, hot water or gas and takes low-temperature heat from cooling water. The output is hot water up to 90 °C, and there is more heat than the source supplied. The cooling water is cooled at the same time without a cooling tower.
Heat from cooling water
The heat pump takes heat from exhaust or steam, picks up low-grade heat from the cooling water, and more heat goes to the heating network than the source supplied. The cooling water cools down without a cooling tower.
What are the specifications of a Thermax absorption heat pump?
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 250–40,000 kW |
| COP | 1.65–1.75 per catalog |
| Heating medium | steam, hot water, exhaust, fuel |
| Heated water | up to 90 °C |
COP here means how much heat you get at the outlet from one kilowatt of heat at the inlet. The manufacturer's explanatory note gives this example: 1 kW of steam plus 0.7 kW from the cooled water gives 1.7 kW of heated water. For a project, the data sheet for the specific model is used.
When does trigeneration need a heat pump?
If a site has warm cooling water that currently goes to a cooling tower, the heat pump puts its heat back to use. A typical place for it is a boiler house with cooling towers, where this heat is rejected to the atmosphere.
If the site needs cooling rather than heat, an absorption chiller is installed: Thermax absorption chiller. What to choose for your engine depends on what the consumer needs: cooling or hot water. See also types of trigeneration.
What is the downside?
The heat pump gives heat, not cooling, so it is not suitable for air conditioning. It works as long as there is both a source of low-grade heat and a consumer of hot water up to 90 °C. That is why the site's heat balance is calculated hour by hour first, not with average figures.
One of Thermax's projects abroad, a steam-driven heat pump in Denmark, runs with a COP of 1.7. Other schemes from around the world are collected in the world projects section. More about Thermax and NCT equipment on abxm-thermax.ru.
If you want to know whether a heat pump will help your site, submit a request for a feasibility study or look at the calculator.
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