Thermodynamic analysis and heat exchanger calculations of transcritical high-temperature heat pumps

Heating in industrial processes is responsible for approximately 13% of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. Switching from fossil-fuel based boilers to heat pumps can help mitigate the effect of global warming. The present work proposes novel high-temperature transcritical heat pump cycles targeted at heating air with a mass flow rate of 10 kg/s up to 200 °C for spray drying processes. Four low-GWP refrigerants, R1233zd(E), R1336mzz(Z), n-Butane, and Ammonia are considered as the candidate working fluids. The pressure ratio of the compressor is optimized to achieve a maximum coefficient of performance (COP) for the four working fluids. A shell & tube heat exchanger is considered as the gas cooler. Using a generalized version of the ϵ-NTU method, the gas cooler is sized and a second law analysis is conducted. Striking a balance between the first- and second-law performance and size of the gas cooler, the R1233zd(E) transcritical heat pump cycle with a COP of 3.6 is judged to be the most promising option. •Transcritical heat pump cycles designed to heat air up 200 °C are proposed.•Four working fluids, R1233zd(E), R1336mzz(Z), n-Butane and ammonia are compared.•Shell-tube heat exchangers are sized to be used as gas coolers.•R1233zd(E) cycle is found to be the most promising one.