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Large heat pumps to ‘decarbonise’ steam in paper making
Aleading pulp and paper maker in Europe will soon use ‘decarbonised’ steam produced with energy from a large high-temperature heat pump installed by Turboden, which is part of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries group.
The heating upgrade system, based on the integration of a Turboden Large Heat Pump and a mechanical vapour compressor, will exploit low-grade heat ranging between 10 and 20 deg C to produce electricity from renewable sources, and generate 12 MWth of superheated steam at the 170 deg C needed in the paper production process. The heat upgrade system has been developed by Turboden and its customer to match with the production process’s needs.
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“This project is an important milestone for establishing Turboden leadership in large heat pump solutions for customers with high demand of steam or high temperature heat in industrial process-es,” says Paolo Bertuzzi, chief executive of Brescia, Italybased Turboden SpA, which has a non-disclosure agreement with the paper maker.
The project is also an example of corporate synergies within Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group. The Turboden LHP system uses a compressor from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation (MCO).
“MCO is very pleased to provide our compressors to Turboden for the realisation of this innovative large heat pump. Thanks to our long experience in the market, we will provide a cutting-edge proven technology in order to achieve outstanding performances with the highest reliability,” said Masahiro Kobayashi, director of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation.
The move into the paper industry follows Turboden’s development of LHP systems for the Italian steel industry.
A joint working group between members of the European paper and heat pump industries has calculated that potential energy savings in paper drying of more than 50 per cent are possible by using heat pumps. A joint paper published by the Confederation of European Paper Industries and the European Heat Pump Association details how heat pumps could be integrated into paper mills.
