| Abstract: | Abstract In this article we estimate the potential of a new chemical heat pump dryer (CHPD) application to an industrial ceramics drying process from the viewpoints of energy and cost saving. A CaSO4/H2O/CaSO4·1/2H2O hydration/dehydration CHPD system and a CaO/H2O/Ca(OH)2 hydration/dehydration CHPD system were examined. The CHPD systems store heat and simultaneously release the increased amount of heat at different temperature levels by using two chemical heat pumps (CHP) in their heat-enhancement mode. Furthermore, we propose enhanced systems using chemical heat pipes (CHPipe) for their environmental and cost merits. As a result, the consumed energy and the cost of using the CHPD systems in the industrial ceramics drying process are found to decrease to less than half of the conventional drying process using gas-fired boilers. For example, the energy efficiency and the cost of the present drying process are 28.4% and 604 × 103 (JPY/month) (JPY: Japanese Yen), respectively. The energy efficiency and the cost of the proposed CHPD system are found to be 79.7% and 216 × 103 (JPY/month), respectively, based on our experiments. |
