Modelling of Two-Phase Water Ejector in Rankine Cycle High Temperature Heat Pumps

Abstract

Industrial high temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) can provide carbon-free process heat when operated with renewable energy sources. Using water as the working medium greatly increases the possible range of operation without the detrimental effects of traditional working fluids. One main challenge with this type of heat pump is the high compression ratio required to achieve a given temperature lift. As a result, water based heat pumps need several compression stages. Furthermore, the steam leaving the compressor is highly superheated. Ejectors driven by high pressure condensate allow to de-superheat the steam from the compressor outlet while simultaneously increasing its pressure. Thereby, the required power for compression as well as the number of compression stages can be reduced. This paper studies how the implementation of the two-phase water ejector influences the thermodynamic performance of Rankine cycle HTHP using a thermodynamic model of the ejector. Several cycle architectures are developed to study the ejector integration in the heat pump cycle, including traditional single-stage and multi-stage cycles. The cycles studies are conducted in the Modelica language, in the Modelon Impact environment. The study aims at informing about new developments in two-phase water ejectors and their application potential in Rankine cycle HTHPs. First simulations suggest an efficiency improvement of about 10% through the use of an ejector in the heat pump cycle.