Thermodynamic analysis of a novel high-temperature heat pump cycle configuration based on the reversed Brayton cycle

Abstract

High-temperature heat pumps offer a promising approach to deliver CO$_2$-neutral process heat by upgrading waste heat with electricity from renewable resources. In this work, a heat pump configuration including multiple heat sinks and sources is presented and compared to the recuperated Brayton cycle. An exergy analysis is conducted by using numerical simulations to provide process heat at 250°C and process cooling at -30°C simultaneously. The results show, that a multi-stage compression leads to an improved overall performance for simultaneous heating and cooling. A parametric study presents the influence of the isentropic efficiency, heat exchanger effectiveness and heat sink and source inlet temperature on the second law efficiency. This study serves as a basis to gain a better understanding on the physics of the novel cycle, highlighting the potentials of improving the efficiency of Brayton heat pumps with cycle layouts adaptation and identify the most important components for minimizing exergy losses.