【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】New generation prototype of ultra-high temperature heat pump developed by the Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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The team led by Luo Ercang, a researcher at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, systematically analyzed and studied the future technological pathways for the development of high-temperature heat pumps. They successfully developed the world’s first prototype of an electrically driven double-acting free-piston heat pump with a pumping temperature exceeding 200°C, as well as a thermally driven thermoacoustic ultra-high-temperature heat pump. The relevant research findings were recently published in Nature Energy, Applied Physics Letters, and Energy. In current industrial production, industries such as papermaking, printing and dyeing, brewing, and pharmaceuticals require heat energy or steam at temperatures ranging from 100°C to 200°C, while sectors like ceramics, metallurgy, and petrochemicals need high-temperature heat energy of 200°C to 1000°C or even higher. However, traditional heat pump technology is facing severe challenges; existing vapor compression heat pumps find it difficult to operate at temperatures above 200°C, and there is a shortage of environmentally friendly and safe working fluids. At the same time, the use of carbon dioxide heat pump technology, which has a lower greenhouse effect, faces challenges such as excessively high system operating pressure and low energy efficiency. “Developing ultra-high temperature industrial heat pumps that can efficiently utilize energy will be one of the key pathways to achieving the ‘dual carbon’ goals. ”Luo Ercang said. Over the past decade or so, Luo Ercang’s team has focused on thermosonic Stirling technology that uses environmentally friendly working fluids such as helium, argon, and nitrogen, in order to develop a new generation of heat pump technologies with broad application prospects. The research team summarized the studies on several potential high-temperature heat pump technologies, including thermosonic Stirling heat pump technology, and provided suggestions and prospects for the development of key materials and technologies related to high-temperature heat pump technologies in the future. At the same time, the team innovatively proposed electric phase modulation, thereby establishing a \"reverse-phase operation\" sound field phase modulation mechanism for dual-action heat pumps. This approach enabled the reverse transfer of acoustic energy within the system as well as the reversal of the functions of the high-temperature and low-temperature heat exchangers, ensuring the compressor could operate at low temperatures. It thus solved the challenges associated with the development of ultra-high temperature compressors, leading to the successful creation of the world’s first prototype of a dual-action free-piston type thermoacoustic Stirling ultra-high temperature heat pump, with a heat pump temperature exceeding 200°C. In addition, the team also studied a thermosonic heat pump with no moving parts at all; the experimental prototype, driven by thermal energy, is capable of pumping low-grade heat at around 140°C to a heat source above 270°C. “Next, the research team will conduct studies on heat pump technologies for high-temperature industrial processes such as petrochemical, metallurgical, and ceramic industries, which require higher temperatures. For instance, heat sources such as the heating temperature of merely around 300°C from pressurized water nuclear reactors, or the 400°C to 500°C heat generated by solar parabolic trough collectors, can be raised to 500°C to 800°C through super-high-temperature thermoacoustic heat pump technology. This offers a completely new technological pathway for zero-carbon high-temperature heat utilization in heavy industries. ”Luo Ercang said.