Heat pump assisted distillation. III: Experimental studies using an external heat pump |
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Authors: | S Supranto Ishwar Chandra M B Unde P J Diggory F A Holland |
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Abstract: | An experimental study has been carried out on a continuously operated pilot fractional distillation column equipped with an external heat pump. The distillation column was a 15 cm diameter glass unit containing eleven single bubble cap plates. A methanol-water mixture was fed to the column and the heat pump working fluid was R114. The actual coefficient of performance (COP)A of the heat pump increased with an increase in the mass flow rate of the working fluid. A maximum (COP)A value of 4–3 was obtained with a gross temperature lift of 41–3°C. The performance of two reciprocating compressors was compared. The experiments have shown that continuous heat pump assisted distillation using an external working fluid can greatly reduce the energy used in a distillation process. No control problems were encountered in the experiments. |
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Keywords: | Heat pump distillation experiments |
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