Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)
45Heat Application Technology byCentrifugal Heat Pump ETW Series for Hot Water- Continuous Supply of Hot Water at temperature of 90°C SEIICHI OKUDA*1

KENJI UEDA*1

SEIJI SHIBUTANI*2

YOSHINORI SHIRAKATA*3NORIYUKI MATSUKURA*3

YOSHIE TOGANO*3

From the perspective of reducing CO2 emissions and saving energy, heat pumps, which makethe best use of waste heat, are attracting attention and are beginning to enter into industrial use.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) began to sell the centrifugal heat pump ETW-L model lastyear, which extended the application range of heat source water to the low temperature range(10°C to 50°C) and can still handle hot water up to a maximum temperature of 90°C. This paper
introduces the specifications and features of our heat pump products and heat recovery
technologies together with specific application examples and also describes the effects of CO2
emissions and running cost reduction through the adoption of a heat pump.

|1. Introduction
Applications of heat and high temperature water for heating, disinfection and washing can be
widely found in factories, plants, etc. Although the combustion of fossil fuels including heavy oil,natural gas, etc., has been used for these heat applications until now, from the perspective of savingenergy and reducing CO2 emissions, heat pumps, which make the best use of waste heat, areattracting attention and are beginning to enter into industrial use in applications such as heating andwashing in processes, air conditioning and other uses. This technology extracts heat from theatmosphere and thermal effluent and generates hot water, making effective use of heat.
MHI first developed a centrifugal-type compressor type heat pump (MHI product model:ETW-H) that allowed hot water of up to 80°C to be continuously supplied by recovering the heatthat is emitted from the cooling water tower of a factory to the atmosphere, as well as the waste
heat that is cooled to 35-50°C and discharged to the sewer system, etc., after being discarded inprocesses and other purposes. The company then developed and began to sell a new heat pump(MHI product model: ETW-L) in July 2010 that is useful for factory processes and that enables hotwater of up to 90°C to be continuously supplied by extending the application range of the heatsource as low as 10°C.
The features and performance of the centrifugal heat pump ETW-L, as well as various
specific application examples, are introduced herein. We also introduce the effects of reducing CO2
emissions and running costs through the adoption of the ETW-L as an example.

|2. Features and performance of the centrifugal heat pump ETW-L
2.1

Basic principle

The basic principle of the centrifugal heat pump ETW-L is shown in Figure 1. The heatpump has a centrifugal-type compressor and adopts a two-stage compressor and a single-stage
economizer cycle. In the vaporizer, which is a plate-type heat exchanger, the temperature of theheat source water flowing inside it is higher than that of the surrounding refrigerant flowing in
between the plates, so that the quantity of heat Q1 is transferred from the heat source water to therefrigerant.
*1

Manager, Centrifugal & Absorption Chiller Department, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Systems Headquarters*2

Engineering Manager, Centrifugal & Absorption Chiller Department, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Systems Headquarters*3Centrifugal & Absorption Chiller Department, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Systems Headquarters

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)
46Figure 1

Basic principle of centrifugal heat pump ETW-L

The refrigerant is vaporized at a temperature corresponding to the saturated vapor pressure
within the vaporizer, and then suctioned into the centrifugal-type compressor to be compressed by
the primary impeller, which rotates at high speed. After being cooled down by the refrigerant fromthe economizer, it is further compressed by the secondary impeller to be sent to the condenser.
Then electric power W, which is input into the centrifugal-type compressor, becomes heat energy
to be transferred to the refrigerant, which is warmed up and pressurized to be sent to the condenser(the heat exchanger).The hot water flowing between the plates, the temperature of which is lower
than that of the refrigerant gas, removes the heat from the refrigerant gas within the condenser. It isthen condensed at a temperature corresponding to the saturated vapor pressure within thecondenser. At that time, the hot water is warmed up by the refrigerant with the quantity of heat Q2= Q1 + W; the heat from the heat source water is transferred to the hot water. In addition, thecondensed refrigerant liquid is sent to the economizer, and after being cooled down by therefrigerant that was decompressed by a sub-expansion valve, it is further decompressed by the main
expansion valve into the vaporizer to be vaporized again.
The refrigerant that was decompressed by the sub-expansion valve becomes a gas and issuctioned into the secondary impeller and thereby one cycle is completed. The same process iscontinuously repeated, so that heat is continuously transferred from the heat source water to the hotwater.

2.2Features

2.2.1 Comparison with the ETW-H
The ETW-L has some advantages compared with the ETW-H, which preceded it on themarket. Notable items are described below.
(1) Adoption of high head type impeller
The ETW-L adopts a high head type impeller, which is based on the impeller of theETW-H and is adaptable for low temperature heat sources and can handle high pressure
differences.
(2) Adaptable for a wide temperature range of heat source water and practicable to provide hotwater of up to 90°C.
Figure 2 shows the application range of the ETW-H and ETW-L.

Figure 2 Application range ofcentrifugal heat pumpETW

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)47

The application range of the ETW-L is greater than that of the ETW-H; the entering
temperature of the heat source water ranges from 10-50°C and the leaving temperature of thehot water ranges from 50-90°C. Extending the entering temperature of the heat source water as
low as 10°C enables chilled water for air conditioning use to be supplied at the same time as hotwater.
In addition, because the ETW-L adopts a high head type impeller and while theapplication range of the ETW-L covers that of the ETW-H, the ETW-H has an advantage interms of heating capacity and COP, over the ETW-L in the application range of the ETW-H.
(3) Selectable hot water leaving temperature control or heat source water (chilled water)
leaving temperature control
The leaving temperatures of the hot water and heat source water (chilled water) can bechosen and controlled within a certain range, but the leaving temperature not selected becomes
uncontrolled.
2.2.2 Modifications from conventional heat pump
Modifications from the specifications of a conventional heat pump are mainly conducted
as follows:(1) Reduction of size and weight
Table 1 shows the major items of the specifications. The size has been reduced byshrinking the components, changing the cycle, reviewing the piping layout and through othermeasures, resulting in an approximately 30% reduction of the installation area and a roughly
24% drop in weight compared with a conventional heat pump, making the system theequivalent size of a small once-through boiler.
Table 1 ETW-L specifications
ItemSpecification

ItemSpecification

Heating capacity

547 kW

Legal refrigeration ton109

Temperature of hot water

80°C in/90°C out

COP

3.7

Flow rate of hot water

48.3 m3/h

LxWxH

Temperature of heat source water

50°C in/45°C out

Basic machine mass

2,400 kg (3,150 kg)

3

1.55 m x 1.2 m x 2.0 m(2.2 m x 1.2 m x 2.1 m)

Flow rate of heat source water

70.9 m /hOperating mass

2,700 kg (3,610 kg)

Electric power consumption

147.6 kW

Refrigerant

HFC-134a(2) Facilitating close installation
By modifying the layout of the interior equipment so as to provide access formaintenance from the control panel and nozzle side, making it unnecessary to access theequipment from the side, close installation of multiple ETW-Ls with no space between them ispossible, with the aim of reducing the installation area (Figure 3).

Figure 3Equipment layout

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)
48(3) Unification of power source
Although a conventional heat pump needs a 400V class power source as the main supply
in addition to a 200V class power source for the control system, the ETW-L can be operated
just with a 400V class power source by mounting a transformer therein.

2.3

Performance

The centrifugal heat pump ETW-L has a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.7, based on
inverter input power under the conditions where the leaving temperature of the hot water is 90°C
and the entering temperature of the heat source water is 50°C, in addition to including the power
consumption of the oil pump and control system. As a result, when replacing a boiler, a substantial
reduction of CO2 emissions and significant energy savings can be realized.
Figure 4 shows a map of heating capacity. While the application range of the entering
temperature of the heat source water is 10-50°C, with the entering temperature being more than35°C, hot water of 90°C can be output. When the entering temperature of the heat source water is10°C, the leaving temperature of the hot water can be up to 70°C. In addition, when the leaving
temperature of the hot water is constant, the higher the entering temperature of the heat source
water, the larger the heating capacity.

Figure 4Heating capacity map of ETW-L

Figure 5 shows a map of the COP. The higher the entering temperature of the heat source
water and the lower the leaving temperature of the hot water, the higher the COP. A heating COP ofup to 7.0 can be output, as can a combined COP of up to 13.0 that takes cooling capacity intoaccount.

Figure 5

COP map of ETW-L

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)49|3. Application Example
3.1

Application example at a beverage factory
Figure 6 shows an application example of the centrifugal heat pump ETW.

Figure 6

Example of system

In a beverage factory, hot water produced by a boiler is used in large quantities for warming,
disinfection, etc. On the other hand, in the case that hot waste water is produced simultaneously andthe plant simply drains the hot waste water into the drainage system, introducing the centrifugal
heat pump ETW into the waste water system allows hot waste water to be effectively employed asheat source water, enabling the installation of a system producing hot water of up to 90°C.

3.2

Application example for desiccant air conditioningFor industrial air conditioning use such as in a food factory or battery factory, etc., desiccant
air conditioning is typically seen. In addition, for general air conditioning use, the energy savingfeature of desiccant air conditioning is attracting attention, such that desiccant air conditioning isbeing introduced in recent years. On the other hand, because a heat source for regeneration isnecessary for desiccant air conditioning, a boiler is mainly adopted particularly in industrial use
when there is no hot waste heat available. Figure 7 shows an example of the system.
Figure 7(a) shows a conventional desiccant air conditioning system in which hot water
generated by a boiler is used as a heat source for regeneration. In addition, the cooling of intake air
including pre-cooling is in this case conducted by a centrifugal chiller. On the contrary, Figure 7 (b)shows an example of the ETW system in which the centrifugal heat pump ETW is used for theregeneration heat source instead of a boiler. The cooling water of a centrifugal chiller is used forthe heat source water for the ETW. Furthermore, to cope with the imbalance between the thermalload and the cold energy load, a cooling tower is installed in the heat source water line.

Figure 7 (a) Example of desiccant system using a boiler

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)50

Figure 7 (b) Example of desiccant system using ETW

3.3

Other application examples(1) Washing unit
Many production lines, such as in food factories or machine shops, etc., contain washingsteps using hot water. By utilizing the heat from various cooling water and waste water
processes after washing for the centrifugal heat pump ETW, the improvement of production
line system efficiency can be expected.
(2) Application for coating and metal plating
In pre- and post-coating and metal plating processes such as degreasing, washing, drying,etc., the need for heat can be expected. The centrifugal heat pump ETW can provide a wide
range of hot water temperatures that can cope with processes that require various temperatures
depending on the material and use.
(3) Preheating of boiler feedwater
When hot water or steam of more than 90°C is required, boiler feedwater can first be
warmed up by the centrifugal heat pump ETW before being heated to the target temperature by
the boiler. This can contribute to a reduction of fossil fuel consumption and improve overall
efficiency in harmony with a boiler.
(4) Hot water supply and heating
By employing heat from hot spring waste hot water and cooling water from refrigerators
as a heat source, hot water and heating can be provided for lodging and bath facilities. For
example, an efficient system in combination with a hot water storage tank can be constructedand used in hot spring facilities in applications such as additional heating for cold springs.
(5) Applications of river water or seawater
Through indirect heat exchangers, depending on the water quality conditions, the use of aheat source from river water or seawater is also possible, meaning that applications tolarge-scale systems such as district heating can be anticipated.
(6) Utilization of terrestrial heat
Because the temperature of the heat source can be as low as 10°C, terrestrial heat such as
the heat of underground water, which is generally said to be around the annual averagetemperature of the area, can be used as a heat source to construct a heat pump system.
(7) Utilization of heat from sewage
When the utilization of urban waste heat is considered, as a means to bridge the physicaldistance between waste heat from air conditioning facilities through the year and the need forheat source water such as hot water and heating, a method of employing the sewer system,
which is existing infrastructure, as a heat highway can be conceived. Since the temperature ofsewage is stable in the range of 10-30°C throughout the year, heat exchange between physicallyseparated locations can have the flexibility, for instance, to release waste heat at one location
and utilize sewage as a heat source at another. This is a useful application for the future.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 48 No. 2 (May 2011)51|4. Effect of CO2 emissions reduction and economic benefits
We make a comparison between CO2 emissions reduction and economic benefits using theabove example of a desiccant air conditioning system. Data used in the calculation of economic
benefits are shown in Table 2, under the conditions of being operated 24 hours a day, 365 days ayear and a boiler efficiency of 0.85. In this calculation, the energy consumption volume of the air
conditioner, heat source equipment and auxiliary equipment (pump, etc.) that makeup the system
are calculated for both a boiler system and the ETW application system, and then the amount of
CO2 emissions and running cost are determined using the unit CO2 emissions volume and unit costfrom Table 2.
Table 2
Item
Electricity
Town Gas (13A)

Unit CO2 emissions rate
0.324 kg-CO2/kWh (1)2.19 kg-CO2/Nm3 (3)Basic data
Unit cost
12.9 yen/kWh (2)58.71 yen/Nｍ3 (4)Calorific value
40.6 MJ/Nｍ3 (5)Figure 8 shows the calculated amount of annual CO2 emissions. The ETW application
system can reduce CO2 emissions by roughly another 32% annually compared with a boiler-usedsystem, and in a running cost comparison with the same conditions, can also reduce running cost by
about 11% annually (Figure 9). In the annual running cost calculation, only the energy
consumption of each equipment configuration is considered, but water cost is not taken into
account because the heat source water of the ETW is used in a centrifugal chiller as cooling water,
so water cost can also be reduced.

Figure 8 Comparison of annual amount of
CO2 emissions

Figure 9Comparison of annual running cost

|5. Conclusion
The centrifugal heat pump ETW series has been developed based on the technologies thathave been accumulated in MHI centrifugal chillers. The centrifugal heat pump ETW-H that isalready on the market has a good reputation in various plants as a product that can efficiently utilize
the waste heat of a factory and effectively provide hot water. With the addition of the ETW-L to theMHI lineup, hot water can cover high temperature ranges up to 90°C. Furthermore, the extension of
the range of heat source water to temperatures as low as 10°C widens the range of the utilization ofwaste heat. As a result, applications to not only heating use for processes or air conditioning, butalso cold energy use for various locations, can be expected.
As was described above, by widely meeting user needs in various applications through theuse and enhancement of the ETW series, we will continue to develop an even better product andpresent a new system that can contribute to energy and cost savings.

References
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5.

The website of Tokyo Electric Power Company (http://www.tepco.co.jp/eco/report/glb/02-j.html)
The website of Tokyo Electric Power Company(http://www.tepco.co.jp/e-rates/custom/shiryou/yakkan/pdf/jukyuk03-j.pdf)
The website of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (http://www.tokyo-gas.co.jp/env/gas/category08.html)
The website of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (http://e-com.tokyo-gas.co.jp/ryokin/Default.aspx?tik=1)
The website of Japan Society of Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers(http://www.jsrae.or.jp/annai/yougo/153.html)