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The Applica ions o Ammonia-Wa e Abso p ion-Comp ession
High-Tempe a u e Hea Pumps in Eu opean Food Indus y
Shuai Ren, Ma cel Ul ich Ah ens, A min Ha ne
No wegian Uni e si y o Science and Technology - NTNU,
Depa men o Ene gy and P ocess Enginee ing, T ondheim, No way,
shuai. en@n nu.no
Keywo ds:
High- empe a u e hea pump, ENOUGH p ojec , ammonia-wa e mix u e, ood indus y, GHG
emissions educ ion
Abs ac
Food sys ems a e globally esponsible o a ound 21-37% o o al g eenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The ENOUGH p ojec , unded by he EU G een Deal ini ia i e p ojec aims o con ibu e o he clima e-
neu al ood business by mi iga ing clima e change, educing ene gy use, and inc easing ene gy
e iciency in p ocessing, dis ibu ion, conse a ion, and ood p epa a ion. The e is a la ge amoun o
was e hea a ailable in he ood supply p ocesses and a pa icula ocus o NTNU wi hin he ENOUGH
p ojec is o in eg a e he he mal p ocesses in he ood supply chain o u ilize he was e hea and
maximize he ene gy e iciency in he cooling, hea ing, and eezing p ocesses.
The high- empe a u e hea pumps (HTHPs) which can combine bo h hea ing and cooling p ocesses ha e
been applied in many indus ial p ocesses o was e hea eco e y and hea supply. In he ood supply
chain, a la ge amoun o ossil uels is consumed o ho wa e and s eam gene a ion, which gi es ise
o bo h economic and en i onmen al conce ns. P e ious s udies showed ha hea sink empe a u es up
o 100°C-150°C a e ealizable wi h indus ial HTHPs (A pagaus e al., 2018; Jensen e al., 2015) so ha
he HTHPs a e deemed as a p omising eplacemen o he s eam boile s owing o hei high ene gy
e iciency and sus ainabili y.
The HTHPs using na u al e ige an s as wo king luid such as ammonia and wa e has gained pa icula
in e es om esea che s in ecen yea s due o hei low global wa ming po en ial (GWP) and known
en i onmen al impac s (Ah ens, Lo h, e al., 2021; Jensen e al., 2015; Ma eu-Royo e al., 2021). The
ammonia-wa e abso p ion-comp ession high- empe a u e hea pump (ACHP) in NTNU is designed
based on he Osenb ück cycle aiming o achie e high- empe a u e li s and do ha e gliding hea ejec ion
empe a u es, as shown in Figu e 1. I combines he echnologies o an abso p ion and apo
comp ession hea pump wi h a mix u e o ammonia and wa e as he wo king luid. Hea is ex ac ed
and eleased a non-cons an empe a u e glides and he necessa y comp ession a io is lowe compa ed
o con en ional apo comp ession hea pumps. High hea sink empe a u es up o 150°C can be
achie ed wi h compa a i ely high COPs. In addi ion, he capaci y can be con olled by changing he
o e all composi ion o he wo king luid mix u e, which ensu es high sys em lexibili y and adap abili y.
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These p ope ies make he ACHP sys em in e es ing o he use in a ious sec o s wi h high empe a u e
hea demands in he ood supply chain, such as mea p ocessing, ish p ocessing as well as in dai ies.
Figu e 1: Simpli ied ep esen a ion o a combined abso p ion-comp ession hea pump cycle
In mea p ocessing, e ige a ion sys ems a e u ilized o cool down e ige a ed chambe s o mea
s o age, apid cooling unnels and building ooms (I en e al., 2021), while he s eam boile s which a e
accoun able o he mos in ensi e he mal ene gy consump ion, a e applied o he ho p ocesses such as
scalding, smoking, cooking, s e iliza ion and pas eu iza ion. The hea equi ed in hese ho p ocesses a e
all in he ange o 60°C-160°C which is wi hin he wo king domains o he ACHPs (Jensen e al., 2015).
Be gamini e al. (2019) e alua ed he pe o mance o h ee HTHP cycles wi h ou di e en na u al
e ige an s o boile subs i u ion. Compa ed wi h na u al gas boile s, he HTHPs exhibi good
pe o mance in deli e ing hea up o 180°C, especially o he cycles wi h R717 (ammonia) and R718
(wa e ) as e ige an s. In dai y p oduc ion, he p ocesses such as d ying, pas eu iza ion, s e iliza ion,
UHT ea men and cleaning in place (CIP) a e he majo consume s o ho wa e and s eam (Rami ez
e al., 2006). The ully in eg a ed dai y ene gy sys em wi h ACHPs is capable o p o iding all
empe a u e le els o hea ing and cooling demands and ob aining signi ican ene gy sa ings compa ed
o con en ional dai y sys ems. The achie able was e hea eco e y a e is up o 95% and he achie able
GHG emissions educ ion is up o 23.2%-91.7% by employing ACHPs wi h na u al e ige an s
(Ah ens, Foslie, e al., 2021). An in eg a ed ene gy sys em combining he cold p ocesses and ho
p ocesses wi h he ACHPs can eco e he was e hea om he e ige a ion sys ems ae well as he
medium empe a u e p ocesses and p o ide high empe a u e hea supply o he ho wa e and s eam
consume s in he ood plan , such as smoking, scalding, d ying, pas eu iza ion, s e iliza ion, cleaning,
s eaming & cooking and ul a-high empe a u e (UHT) ea men , as shown in Figu e 2.
The ACHP es ig in NTNU can p o ide a lexible expe imen al sys em o he in es iga ion and
op imiza ion o he ope a ing pa ame e s, condi ions and componen s o he ACHP applica ions in
di e en ood p ocesses. I se es as a s a ing poin o u he esea ch by combining heo e ical
app oaches, possible solu ions, and expe imen al esul s.
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In he ame o ENOUGH, he applicabili y o he ACHP o he ood supply chain will be in es iga ed
and i s pe o mance will be op imized. The sys em modelling and expe imen al alida ions will be
conduc ed a NTNU. The in eg a ion o he ACHP be ween sec o s o he ood chain will be analyzed
and he eplicable app oach will be discussed. The easibili y, eliabili y, and pe o mance o he ACHP
in he applied ield will be demons a ed o a ious s akeholde s.
Figu e 2: Possible applica ions o ACHP in ood p ocesses
Re e ences
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empe a u e hea pumps and he mal s o age anks o combined hea ing and cooling in he
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Ah ens, M. U., Lo h, M., Tols o eb o , I., Ha ne , A., Kabelac, S., Wang, R., & Eike ik, T. M. (2021).
Iden i ica ion o Exis ing Challenges and Fu u e T ends o he U iliza ion o Ammonia-Wa e
Abso p ion–Comp ession Hea Pumps a High Tempe a u e Ope a ion. Applied Sciences,
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Be gamini, R., Jensen, J. K., & Elmegaa d, B. (2019). The modynamic compe i i eness o high
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Ma eu-Royo, C., A pagaus, C., Mo a-Babiloni, A., Na a o-Esb í, J., & Be sch, S. S. (2021). Ad anced
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