Heat Recovery Systems & CHP Vol. 15, No. 4, pp.

327-332, 1995
© 1995ElsevierScienceLtd
Pergamon 0890-4332(94)00042-5 Printed in Great Britain.All rights reserved
0890-4332/95 $9.50+ .00

ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ABSORPTION HEAT

PUMP-TRANSFORMERS

VINCENZO TUFANO
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, Universit~idi Napoli Federico II, p. le V. Tecchio, 80125 Napoli,
Italy

(Received with revisions 24 June 1994)

Abstract--A simplified mathematical model has been used to compute the performance of an absorption
heat pump-transformer (HPT). This two-stage apparatus, which consists of a heat transformer driven by
low-temperature cooling water and of a heat pump driven by high-temperature steam, has been compared
with a simpler absorption heat pump.
Different indices of performance show that the HPT may give a better performance at a competitive
cost. In particular, the upgraded heat load can be produced at a markedly higher temperature. The main
drawback of the HPT consists of the smaller values of the ratio between upgraded and recovered heat
loads.

NOMENCLATURE
H enthalpy [kJ kg- i ]
M mass flow rate [kg s- t ]
Q heat load [kW]
T temperature [K]
X mass fraction
Subscripts
A absorber
C condenser
D drive
E evaporator
F feed
G generator
H high concentration
L low concentration
M minimum
R recovered
T heat transformer
P heat pump
U upgraded
W waste
* reference value

INTRODUCTION

Several strategies can be w o r k e d o u t in o r d e r to i m p r o v e the energetic efficiency o f industrial

processes. A m o n g these, a growing i m p o r t a n c e is expected for the recovery o f waste energy by
m e a n s o f heat u p g r a d i n g .
O n one hand, it can be a s s u m e d that the process uses the h e a t l o a d QF at the feed t e m p e r a t u r e
TF, while discharging the waste heat l o a d Qw at Tw < TF. O n the o t h e r hand, the heat u p g r a d i n g
device ( H U D ) u p g r a d e s the recovered heat l o a d QR at T = TR to the useful heat l o a d Qu
at Tu > TR, by m e a n s o f mechanical energy ( c o m p r e s s i o n heat p u m p s ) , a h i g h - t e m p e r a t u r e
h e a t l o a d ( a b s o r p t i o n h e a t p u m p s ) a n d / o r a l o w - t e m p e r a t u r e heat l o a d ( a b s o r p t i o n heat
transformers).
It a p p e a r s that a correct c o u p l i n g between process a n d H U D requires the m a t c h i n g o f the
t e m p e r a t u r e s , i.e. o f the pairs (TF, Tu) a n d (Tw, TR) a n d o f the h e a t loads, in o r d e r to decrease
the u n r e c o v e r e d ( Q w - Qg) a n d / o r the m a k e - u p ( Q F - - Q u ) heat loads.

327
328 v. TUFANO

The industrial processes are characterized by very different temperature levels and ratios Qw/QF.
As an example, Qw may be larger than QF when the process uses high-quality energy (from
chemical, mechanical or electric sources) and the heat losses are small. In contrast both the
temperature lift Tu - TR and the ratio Qu/QR strongly depend on the H U D configuration.
On the basis of the recent work by Ziegler and Reisch [I], it appears that different industrial
applications can be hypothesized for absorption HUDs. Whereas single-stage heat pumps and
transformers are now commercially available, there is some interest in the development of
multi-stage absorption HUDs, which can be designed to best fit the industrial requirements
discussed above. Thus, the analysis of their performance on the basis of simplified mathematical
models can be useful to assess their technical feasibility. In this paper, the heat pump-transformer
(HPT) is considered [2], which exploits both a "negative drive" (cooling water) and a "positive
drive" (high-temperature steam).

MATHEMATICAL MODEL

The HPT is a two-stage apparatus, as schematically shown in Fig. 1. The first stage (heat
transformer) is coupled with the second stage (heat pump) by imposing that the heat load QTA,
produced in the absorber of the first stage, equals the heat load QPE required in the evaporator
of the second stage. Both stages include two economizers between absorbers and generators, not
shown in the figure.
The mathematical model consists of the equations of conservation for mass and energy written
for the single cycle components, and is derived on the basis of few simplified assumptions discussed
in a previous work [3]. In order to allow a fair and direct comparison with those results, the
water-sulphuric acid pair was considered also in the present model.
The few experimental data available in the literature [4, 5] show that the effective coefficient of
performance (COP) of absorption H U D s is not very different from the theoretical value, computed
with simple mathematical models. Nevertheless, in order to obtain a more realistic evaluation of
the different indices of performance, correction factors are included to account for non-ideal heat
and mass transfer.
Thus, non-zero minimum temperature differences ATu are introduced between cycle components
or temperature levels labelled i and j, according to the general criteria previously discussed [6]. In
particular, it is set that AT u = 4°C for the condensers and the evaporators, AT u = 6°C for the
generators and the absorbers and AT o = 12°C for the economizers. Moreover, it is hypothesized
that the solutions leaving the generators and the absorbers do not attain the equilibrium
compositions X ° and X ° . More realistic values of XL and XH are computed assuming a non-zero
driving potential for mass transfer (concentration difference) at the outlet section of these items.
This difference amounts to a fixed f r a c t i o n f o f the concentration difference established at the inlet
section; it results in
f_ X ° - XH (generators) (1)
xo-xL

f _ XL --X ° (absorbers). (2)

x. x o

I I~ ~ ~ ~
HEATPUMP

Qu M
HEATTRANSFORMER
~QTC IQR
Fig. 1. Absorption heat pump-transformer(schematic).
 On the performanceof absorption HPTs 329

Solving for Xn and Xt, one obtains

xo+fx o
xL = (3)
l +f
X oH + ¢J "yx 0L
XH - (4)
1 +f
Since a detailed design of the H P T is outside the purpose of this paper, a realistic (although
empirically chosen) value for f was used ( f = 0.2). The inclusion of non-zero temperature
differences in the heat exchangers affects the computed results more markedly than the hypothesis
of non-equilibrium absorbers and generators. Nevertheless, this last correction gives a more correct
evaluation of the operating domain and of the mass flow rates of solutions. As discussed in the
following, this information can be used to estimate the fixed costs of heat transformation.
The driving heat load QDO is given at the pump generator by condensing Mo kg/s of saturated
steam available at To > Tu. Thus
MI~ = Qo~/AHv, (5)
where AHv is the appropriate enthalpy of vaporization. The useful heat load Qu can be increased
by cooling the resulting saturated liquid from To to TeA + ATm, (Fig. 1). This incremental load
QDA is non-negligible when To >> Tu and its recovery does not require an additional consumption
of primary energy if the saturated liquid at TD is in any case cooled before being recycled to the
boiler.

T H E P E R F O R M A N C E OF T H E H P T

After fixing the temperature in the condenser of the transformer stage (TTc = 30°C) and the
external temperatures, the H P T model above presents one degree of freedom, whose physical
meaning is the splitting of the load (i.e. of the temperature lift Tu - TR) between the first and the
second stage. Thus, this degree of freedom can be eliminated by fixing the temperature TXA in the
absorber of the transformer stage.
Before attempting the definition of a suitable optimality criterion, in order to evaluate the best
value of TXA, the operating domain of the H P T can be defined with reference to Fig. 2, where the
heat upgrading rate, defined as H U R = Q u / Q R , is plotted as a function of TXA. This index is more
useful than the coefficient of performance (COP = Qu/QD) in order to evaluate the match between
the H U D and the process.
The operating domain shows an upper boundary at T~A ~ 146°C, irrespective of TD. This
boundary is determined by the working limit of the transformer stage, which corresponds to
QrA = 0 and Qu = 0. On the contrary, at the lowest TD considered (curves C and D), the lower
boundaries observed are determined by the working limit of the pump stage, which is unable to
operate when the feed temperature TpE = TTA- ATAE is tOO lOW. In these conditions, the HUR,

C D
HUR SSF -

1.5 .3

I .2

0,5 .I
C D
0 i l i 0 i
100 120 140 ~A 100 120 140 TTA

Fig. 2. Heat upgrading rate, HUR, as a function of the Fig. 3. Steam saving factor, SSF, as a function of the
temperature in the absorber of the transformer stage, Tr^, temperature in the absorber of the transformer stage, Tr^,
°C. TR= 90°C, Tu = 150°C(A, TD- 275°C; B, TD= 250°C; °C. TR= 90°C, Tu = 150°C(A, TD= 275°C; B, TD= 250°C;
C, To = 225°C; D, TD= 200°C). C, To = 225°C; D, TD= 200°C).
330 v. TUFANO

which also equals the ratio (QR + QD)/QR, tends to infinity because QD tends to infinity. As
expected, the lower the drive temperature TD, the higher the minimum TTA utilizable.
In order to evaluate the performance of the HPT, optimal values of TTA must be fixed. A first
optimality criterion can be based on the operating costs, which essentially depend on the mass flow
rate of the driving steam, MD. Conversely, in the absence of the HPT, a larger flow rate:

M . = Qu/(HD -- Hu), (6)

is necessary to supply the useful load Qu, by exploiting the enthalpy difference between saturated
steam at To (H = HD) and saturated liquid at Tu + ATDu (H = Hu). Thus, the energy savings
obtained when introducing the H P T can be measured by the steam saving factor:

SSF = 1 - MD/M, , (7)

which represents a simplified application of the P E R (primary energy rate) concept [1].
As shown in Fig. 3, the SSF approaches zero at the lower working limits defined above and,
at constant TD, slightly increases on increasing TTA, because the pump stage makes use of a higher
feed temperature. No upper boundary for the operating domain is evident from these data because
the working limit of the transformer stage corresponds to a sharp interruption of the curves. In
effect, the decrease of QTA is not observable in this diagram because it does not affect the ratio
QDG/Qu.
The plotted data also show that, at constant TTA, larger values of S S F are obtained at lower
values of To. In effect, on increasing To, larger values of M o are determined by the decrease of
AHv and by the slight increase of the heat load at the pump generator, QDG"This load increases
because the larger temperature difference T m - Tr,c produces an increase of the heat load at the
pump condenser, Qr,c. In contrast, the reference flow rate Mo increases less markedly because the
small increase of Qu = Qr,c + Or,A is balanced by the increase of the steam enthalpy HD.
The S S F cannot represent a suitable optimality criterion, because it is unable to single-out the
poor performance expected in the proximity of the upper working limit. A different optimality
criterion can be based on the heat storage capacity:

H S C = Qu/(Mr,. + MTH ), (8)

which has been proposed as a simplified criterion for evaluating the fixed costs of absorption
HUDs [7].
Figure 4 shows that both the working limits observed above correspond to small values of H S C ,
i.e. to large values of the solution flow rates (respectively, MpH at the lower boundary and MTH
at the upper boundary). On the basis of this behaviour, the optimal values of TTAcan be tentatively
defined as those corresponding to the maxima of H S C .

Hsc
.6
L SSF

.3
/ f-
- / /
.3
I /
.3 I /
1 I I
A B A
0 I I I 11 I L I I J I 0 ,I,1,1,1,1,1,1,1~[,
100 120 140 ~a 180 200 220 240 260

Fig. 4. Heat stora~ capacity, HSC, as a ~nction of the Fig. 5. Steam saving factor, SSF, as a function of the drive
temperature in the absorber of the tmns~rmer sta~, ~^, temperature, TD, °C. To = 150°C (dashed lines: AHP; A,
°C. ~=90°C, ~ = 150°C(A,~= 275°C; B , ~ = 250°C; TR=80°C; B, TR= 100°C; continuous lines: HPT; A,
C. ~ = 225°C; D, ~ = 2~°C). r~ = 8ooc; a, r~ = lOOOC).
 On the performance of absorption HPTs 331

50 70 go I I0 TR
HSC _
I I , I, I , I I I, I, I ,
TD, .6 /
T/. /
.4
(
0 ,I~I,I,I,111,I,I,I,
150 , I , I , I , I , I , I , I , 180 200 220 240 260 TO
140 160 180 200 Tu
Fig. 7. Heat storage capacity, HSC, as a function of the
Fig. 6. Minimum drive temperature TDM, °C, as a function drive temperature, To, °C. Tu = 150°C(dashed lines: AHP;
of the temperature of the recoveredheat TR, °C, and of the A, TR= 80°C; B, TR= 100°C; continuous lines: HPT; A,
temperature of the upgraded heat Tu, °C (dashed line: AHP; TR= 80°C; B, TR= 100°C),
continuous line: HPT).

C O M P A R I S O N W I T H THE H E A T P U M P

The indices of performance which characterize the operation of the HPT can be computed at
the optimal values of TTA, defined above, and plotted as a function of TD. These data can be
compared with the corresponding values computed for a simpler single-stage absorption heat pump
(AHP), in order to evaluate more correctly the performance of the HPT.
The values of the S S F plotted in Fig. 5 indicate the existence of a lower working limit for TD,
i.e. of a minimum value of the drive temperature (TD = TDM), which allows the operation of the
H U D s for any fixed value of TR and Tu. For TD > TDM, a rapid increase of S S F is observed,
followed by flat maxima. Similar maxima were observed and explained with reference to Fig. 3.
It appears that, at constant To and TR, the HPT performs slightly better than the AHP. The
most interesting result is the possibility of exploiting driving sources of lower temperature. This
feature is negligible when the driving energy is obtained directly from a boiler, but it can be very
important if waste energy is available for this purpose.
The temperature TDM is plotted in Fig. 6 as a function of T R (upper x-axis). As expected, TDM
decreases on increasing TR, for both A H P (dashed line) and HPT (continuous line). Nevertheless,
the distance between the two curves, evaluated at constant TR, increases on increasing the
temperature of the recovered heat, because the transformer stage profits from the increasing
difference T R - TTC, which represents its driving potential. Thus, the HPT appears to be more
suitable to recover waste energy of (rather) high temperature.
The better performance shown by the HPT must be compared with the greater complexity of
a two-stage apparatus. Some indications in this respect are given by the HSC, which is plotted in
Fig. 7 for the same conditions as for Fig. 5. It appears that, at constant T o and TR, the HPT
operates at larger values of HSC. Thus, its greater complexity results in smaller dimensions and

A B A A
HUR SSF

2 .2
B
.I
C Q D B
0 ,l,l,l,l,l,Iil,l,l, o-,l,I,l,I,Itlil,l,l,
t 80 200 220 240 260 TO 180 200 220 240 260 TO

Fig. 8. Heat upgrading rate, HUR, as a function of the drive Fig. 9. Steam saving factor, SSF, as a function of the drive
temperature, To, °C. Tu = 150°C (dashed lines: AHP; A, temperature, TD, °C. TR= 100°C (dashed lines: AHP; A,
TR=80°C; B, TR= 100°C; continuous lines: HPT; A, Tu = 150°C; B, Tu= 160°C; continuous lines: HPT; A,
T R = 80°C; B, T R = 100°C). Tu = 150°C; C, Tu = 170°C; D, Tu = 190°C).
332 V. TUFANO

in smaller flow rates of the solutions flowing between absorbers and generators. Nevertheless, the
AHP curves are characterized by larger slopes, so that the advantages of using the HPT decrease
on increasing the drive temperature. It should be underlined, however, that the above conclusions
are only valid within the limits of significance of HSC as a measure of the fixed costs. For example,
at constant Qu, the HPT requires a larger total heat exchange area.
A fair comparison between the two HUDs also requires the evaluation of the ratio between
upgraded and recovered heat loads, which has been defined as heat upgrading rate, HUR. The data
plotted in Fig. 8 show that the HPT operates at HUR slightly greater than unity, so that its
application is suitable for processes in which the waste heat load Qw is almost equal to the process
heat load QF. In contrast, the AHP operates at a HUR close to 3, so that its application is suitable
for very dissipative processes (Qw<<Qv), or when a different use can be provided for the upgraded
heat load.
The above analysis of the technical feasibility of an absorption HPT can be completed by some
results referring to the sensitivity towards the temperature Tu of the upgraded heat load. As an
example, Fig. 9 shows the values computed for the steam saving factor. It appears that the HPT
gives a better performance, both in terms of larger values of SSF at constant Tu (curves A) and
of a larger operating domain in the (Tu, TD) plane. For instance, a HPT working at TD ,~ 250°C
attains Tv = 190°C (curve D), whereas an AHP only gives Tu ,~ 155°C (dashed curves A and B).
In order to allow a more complete evaluation of this last feature, the minimum drive temperature
TDM is plotted against Tu in Fig. 6 (lower x-axis). The curves show that, at constant Tu, the HPT
operates at markedly lower values of TOM,and that, at constant TaM, the HPT allows one to attain
markedly higher values of Tu. It appears that the production of an upgraded heat load of higher
quality may be very important in different applications.

CONCLUSIONS

An absorption heat pump-transformer has been compared with a simpler heat pump, on the
basis of several indices of performance computed with a simple mathematical model. The results
show that the inclusion of a "negative drive" allows one to attain a markedly better performance.
In particular, the useful heat load is produced at a higher temperature and/or a lower temperature
steam may be exploited to drive the pump stage.
A simplified evaluation of the fixed costs shows that the HPT can be competitive with the simpler
AHP. However, the two devices operate at markedly different values of the ratio between upgraded
and recovered heat loads, so that, in general, they are suitable for different applications.

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transformers, Heat Recovery Systems & CHP 7, 517-524 (1987).
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