Our solution is fossil-free process heat for the industry
with high-temperature heat pumps up to 250 °C
and steam generation from waste heat.
This saves up to 80 % electricity compared to electric steam boilers.
Waste heat is turned into saturated steam up to 250 °C (40 bar). Lübbers HT-H2O-HP® technology achieves performance figures of over 5, saving up to 80 % electricity compared to direct electrical heating. Lübbers HT-H2O-HP® is up to 5 times more efficient than an electric steam boiler.
Example: Dryer with Lübbers HT-H2O-HP®
More information on how it works
The Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® (patent pending) is based on a very versatile cycle process with the completely harmless and climate-neutral cycle fluid water (R-718). With the Lübbers HT-H2O-WP®, waste heat of, for example, 50 °C is upgraded to saturated 250 °C process steam (40 bar). Different waste heat sources can be combined with each other. Waste heat flows from refrigeration systems, drying processes, compressed air compressors or other processes are suitable as output waste heat.
The variably configurable Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® is scalable within very wide application limits for final temperatures from 100 °C to 250 °C and heating capacities from 1 to 20 MW and can be connected to existing steam heat exchangers. Above all, the ability to integrate into an existing steam network infrastructure simplifies modernization for a wide variety of steam-heated consumers. Both steam storage tanks and steam boilers can be connected to the Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® in tandem operation.
Very high performance figures are achieved thanks to the innovative combination of proven, highly efficient components. Different steam pressures are generated simultaneously in the multi-stage process and can therefore be controlled independently over a wide output range. This increases the overall efficiency and the primary energy consumption can be reduced by up to 80 % compared to an electric steam boiler, depending on the required temperature strokes.
If – as in the example – a Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® steam generation system is integrated into a conventional spray dryer, the specific primary energy input can be reduced to around 0.51 MWh/tonne of water evaporation compared to 3 MWh. If fossil-free electrical energy is used for steam generation, the drying process then already has ZERO CO2 EMISSION.
Example: Dryer with WKK system
More information on how it works
The Lübbers CHP system is based on CO2 heat pumps. The heat pump process optimized by Lübbers generates hot water temperatures of up to 130 °C and ice water temperatures of around 0 °C at the same time. Processes can be heated up to around 125 °C with the hot water. The hot water generated in parallel is used to preheat the process, for example.
Depending on the requirements of the connected cooling process, the cold ice water can be used as a cooling medium. This means that existing ice water systems can also be completely or partially replaced.
With the Lübbers CHP system, heat generation and cooling are optimally integrated into the connected process systems. Thanks to the high efficiency of the Lübbers CHP system, over 3 MW of process heat and over 2 MW of process cooling can be generated simultaneously per megawatt of electrical power consumption.
By integrating the Lübbers CHP system into a conventional spray dryer, the specific primary energy input can be reduced to around 0.7 MWh instead of up to 3 MWh per ton of water evaporation as was previously the case. This means that the consumption of fossil fuels (such as natural gas and oil) for the drying process can be reduced by up to 65%.
Hot water up to 130 °C and ice water for simultaneous heating and cooling requirements.
Even time decoupling is possible with storage tanks. Existing ice water systems can be replaced or substituted in this way. Thereby, a reduction in the use of ammonia is possible.
Lübbers accompanies you through your energy transformation
with sound advice, process integration, planning, delivery and installation.
Lübbers accompanies you through your energy transformation with sound advice, process integration, planning, delivery and installation.
Molkerei Ammerland eG is installing a new Lübbers spray dryer with a Lübbers WKK system at the largest milk-processing site in northern Germany.
The Lübbers WKK system will reduce the dryer’s specific gas consumption by around two thirds compared to the state of the art and reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by over 6,000 tons per year.
Molkerei Ammerland eG is installing a new Lübbers spray dryer with a Lübbers WKK system at the largest milk-processing site in northern Germany.
The Lübbers WKK system will reduce the dryer’s specific gas consumption by around two thirds compared to the state of the art and reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by over 6,000 tons per year.
Lübbers Anlagen- und Umwelttechnik GmbH
Am Fliegerhorst 19
99947 Bad Langensalza
Germany
www.luebbersgroup.com
What is a heat pump?
A heat pump is a machine with a materially closed refrigerant circuit with a heat exchanger on the refrigerant low-pressure side, a refrigerant compression from low-pressure to high-pressure, a heat exchanger on the refrigerant high-pressure side and a throttle valve between the refrigerant high-pressure and low-pressure side. There are many illustrations of this on the Internet.
Via the refrigerant circuit – driven by the compressor – the heat pump can upgrade low-value heat, for example low-temperature waste heat, to a higher temperature level by heating and vaporising liquid refrigerant in the low-pressure heat exchanger using the waste heat, this vapour is compressed by the compressor to high pressure and heated to a higher temperature level, and then cooled or condensed in the heat exchanger on the high-pressure side, whereby heat from the refrigerant is transferred to a process as higher-value heat.
What makes a heat pump so efficient?
The electrical energy required for refrigerant compression is only a fraction of the amount of energy that can be released as higher-value heat in the heat exchanger on the high-pressure side. The ratio of heat output to electrical power input is known as the coefficient of performance (COP). Heating with a heat pump with a COP of 5 therefore only requires 1/COP = 20 % of the electrical power of equivalent electrical heating and therefore saves 80 % electricity.
The higher-value heat (100 %) emitted is made up proportionally of the electrical energy for refrigerant compression (i.e. 20 % for COP 5) and the low-value heat upgraded by compression (i.e. 80 % for COP 5). If the same amount of high-value heat were to be generated solely from electrical heating instead, the consumption of electrical energy would be higher by the factor of the COP (i.e. 5 x 20 % = 100 % for COP 5). The more the heat output is upgraded by compression, the lower the efficiency of the heat pump because the proportion of electrical energy required for compression increases.
What is a high-temperature heat pump?
A heat pump is only a high-temperature heat pump if it emits heat in the so-called high temperature range, i.e. above 200 °C. Unfortunately, the term ‘high-temperature heat pump’ (HT-H2O-WP) is often incorrectly used in the low temperature range below 100 °C and the medium temperature range 100-200 °C. The Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® for generating process heat up to 250 °C is a genuine high-temperature heat pump and is used for industrial high-efficiency steam generation up to 40 bar saturated steam.
What is a high-temperature industrial heat pump?
The term industrial heat pump is not clearly defined and is used in the media in a simplified way for almost any heat pump that is more powerful than a heat pump for heating living spaces in single-family homes. While the majority of heat pumps for heating buildings are built in the range up to 20 kW, the process heat output of industrial heat pumps is in the one to three-digit MW range.
The Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® for industrial high-efficiency vapour generation up to 250 °C (40 bar) is a genuine high-temperature industrial heat pump. In our opinion, an industrial heat pump is only used to generate process heat in industrial processes, utilising waste heat from industrial processes that would otherwise no longer be economically viable and upgrading this waste heat to high-quality process heat, which in turn replaces process heat from other sources, such as the combustion of fossil fuels.
What temperature does a high-temperature industrial heat pump reach?
The Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® can generate process heat up to 250 °C. The European Commission has defined process heat temperatures between 200-300 °C as the high temperature range, between 100-200 °C as the medium temperature range and below 100 °C as the low temperature range.
In the 1970s, the term heat pump was established in society and at that time heat pumps generally achieved heat output temperatures of around 50 °C, which was sufficient for domestic heating. When improved technologies then reached heat output temperatures of over 80 °C, which was also sufficient for domestic hot water heating, the term high-temperature heat pump was coined. Even today, terms such as ‘high-temperature heat pumps’ are mistakenly used for flow temperatures of up to 130 °C, but this does not correspond to the EU definition.
Higher temperatures were only useful for industry, but industrial heat pumps were not widespread in previous decades due to cheap fossil fuels. Heat pumps for medium temperatures up to 200 °C and high temperatures above 200 °C only became interesting with the current energy transformation for climate protection reasons.
What are the advantages of a high-temperature industrial heat pump?
A major advantage is of course the energy efficiency and the reduction in primary energy consumption. While high-temperature process heat was traditionally generated by burning fossil fuels or direct electrical heating, a high-temperature heat pump can reduce the primary energy input by a high double-digit percentage, in some cases by over 80 %. However, the main advantage lies in the substitution of fossil fuels in the generation of process heat up to high temperatures. As a result, many processes can now be heated completely fossil-free.
How can the efficiency of high-temperature heat pumps be compared?
The following analogy can be used to explain this:
The coefficient of performance (COP) is often used to compare the efficiency of heat pumps. The COP is calculated as the ratio of the heat output to the drive power. However, a heat pump is never a stand-alone process, but must always be integrated into heat sources and heat sinks in order to function properly. It is therefore not helpful to assess a heat pump solely on the basis of the COP, as the COP only relates to the heat pump cycle process. For a neutral comparison of different processes with or without an integrated heat pump, the balance limit must be drawn beyond the heat pump COP by taking the primary energy input into account.
This is illustrated by the example of a spray dryer. The benefit of a spray dryer is the evaporation of water in the drying process, which requires a certain amount of primary energy to heat the drying air. The specific primary energy input, which is calculated as the ratio of primary energy input to water evaporation in MWh/t, therefore serves as a parameter for a neutral efficiency comparison of different spray dryer systems. In the food industry, for example, this parameter is often in the range of 1.2-3.0 MWh primary energy input per tonne of evaporated water for conventional state-of-the-art spray dryers – i.e. without heat pump technology. This parameter can then be used to compare different dryer systems in terms of energy efficiency.
Where is a Lübbers high-temperature industrial heat pump used?
The Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® is a high-temperature industrial heat pump and is used for industrial vapour generation up to 250 °C/40 bar. Industrial processes can include all types of stationary vapour consumers.
The variably configurable Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® is scalable within very wide application limits for temperatures from 100 °C to 250 °C and heating capacities in the single to double-digit MW range and can be connected to existing steam heat exchangers as well as integrated into an existing steam network infrastructure, which considerably simplifies retrofit installations for the most diverse types of steam-heated consumers. Both steam storage tanks and steam boilers can be connected to the Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® in tandem operation.
When is a high-temperature industrial heat pump worthwhile?
A Lübbers HT-H2O-WP® pays for itself immediately,
Lübbers Anlagen- und Umwelttechnik GmbH
Am Fliegerhorst 19
99947 Bad Langensalza, Germany
www.luebbersgroup.com
Mr Bernd Feuerriegel
Phone +49 3603 861950
sales@luebbersgroup.com
