Water vapor production is an essential process in industrial fields such as dyeing, food processing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, yet it is characterized by substantial power consumption. Against the backdrop of global carbon neutralization initiatives, high-temperature heat pumps have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional boilers, owing to their environmental friendliness and cost-saving advantages. However, developing and manufacturing such vapor production systems poses significant technical challenges: compressors must withstand extreme high pressures, heat exchangers suffer from low effectiveness during high-temperature condensation, suitable working fluids balancing low evaporation and high condensation temperatures are scarce, and components face issues like heat exchanger incrustation and insufficient compressor lubrication at high discharge temperatures. In this study, a cascade high-temperature heat pump system integrated with a flashing circulation and multi-stage preheating cycle was developed for water vapor production. The system comprises three core cycles: an R134a low-temperature heat pump cycle, an R245fa high-temperature heat pump cycle, and a two-stage preheat-evaporation water cycle. Theoretical simulations were conducted to evaluate component performance (compressors, heat exchangers, etc.) and optimize system parameters. An experimental testbed was constructed with scroll compressors (3.5kW for R134a, 5kW for R245fa) and plate heat exchangers, verifying system reliability under varied operating conditions. Results demonstrate the system efficiently produces 135°C/0.3MPa water vapor, with a Coefficient of Performance (COP) ranging from 2.1 to 3.5. COP increases with evaporation temperature and decreases with condensation temperature, with an optimal intermediate-stage temperature of 70–75°C. This system proves to be an efficient, eco-friendly industrial alternative to conventional boilers.
Published in | World Journal of Applied Physics (Volume 10, Issue 4) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11 |
Page(s) | 78-84 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
High-temperature Heat Pump, Steam Vapor Production, Cascade System, Simulation Analysis, Testbed Development
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APA Style
Yu, H., Zhao, Z. (2025). Research on High Temperature Cascade Heat Pump System for Vapor Production Employing Scroll Compressors and Multi-stage Preheat Cycle. World Journal of Applied Physics, 10(4), 78-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11
ACS Style
Yu, H.; Zhao, Z. Research on High Temperature Cascade Heat Pump System for Vapor Production Employing Scroll Compressors and Multi-stage Preheat Cycle. World J. Appl. Phys. 2025, 10(4), 78-84. doi: 10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11
AMA Style
Yu H, Zhao Z. Research on High Temperature Cascade Heat Pump System for Vapor Production Employing Scroll Compressors and Multi-stage Preheat Cycle. World J Appl Phys. 2025;10(4):78-84. doi: 10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11
@article{10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11, author = {Haihan Yu and Zhaorui Zhao}, title = {Research on High Temperature Cascade Heat Pump System for Vapor Production Employing Scroll Compressors and Multi-stage Preheat Cycle }, journal = {World Journal of Applied Physics}, volume = {10}, number = {4}, pages = {78-84}, doi = {10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjap.20251004.11}, abstract = {Water vapor production is an essential process in industrial fields such as dyeing, food processing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, yet it is characterized by substantial power consumption. Against the backdrop of global carbon neutralization initiatives, high-temperature heat pumps have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional boilers, owing to their environmental friendliness and cost-saving advantages. However, developing and manufacturing such vapor production systems poses significant technical challenges: compressors must withstand extreme high pressures, heat exchangers suffer from low effectiveness during high-temperature condensation, suitable working fluids balancing low evaporation and high condensation temperatures are scarce, and components face issues like heat exchanger incrustation and insufficient compressor lubrication at high discharge temperatures. In this study, a cascade high-temperature heat pump system integrated with a flashing circulation and multi-stage preheating cycle was developed for water vapor production. The system comprises three core cycles: an R134a low-temperature heat pump cycle, an R245fa high-temperature heat pump cycle, and a two-stage preheat-evaporation water cycle. Theoretical simulations were conducted to evaluate component performance (compressors, heat exchangers, etc.) and optimize system parameters. An experimental testbed was constructed with scroll compressors (3.5kW for R134a, 5kW for R245fa) and plate heat exchangers, verifying system reliability under varied operating conditions. Results demonstrate the system efficiently produces 135°C/0.3MPa water vapor, with a Coefficient of Performance (COP) ranging from 2.1 to 3.5. COP increases with evaporation temperature and decreases with condensation temperature, with an optimal intermediate-stage temperature of 70–75°C. This system proves to be an efficient, eco-friendly industrial alternative to conventional boilers. }, year = {2025} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Research on High Temperature Cascade Heat Pump System for Vapor Production Employing Scroll Compressors and Multi-stage Preheat Cycle AU - Haihan Yu AU - Zhaorui Zhao Y1 - 2025/10/10 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11 DO - 10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11 T2 - World Journal of Applied Physics JF - World Journal of Applied Physics JO - World Journal of Applied Physics SP - 78 EP - 84 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2637-6008 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjap.20251004.11 AB - Water vapor production is an essential process in industrial fields such as dyeing, food processing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, yet it is characterized by substantial power consumption. Against the backdrop of global carbon neutralization initiatives, high-temperature heat pumps have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional boilers, owing to their environmental friendliness and cost-saving advantages. However, developing and manufacturing such vapor production systems poses significant technical challenges: compressors must withstand extreme high pressures, heat exchangers suffer from low effectiveness during high-temperature condensation, suitable working fluids balancing low evaporation and high condensation temperatures are scarce, and components face issues like heat exchanger incrustation and insufficient compressor lubrication at high discharge temperatures. In this study, a cascade high-temperature heat pump system integrated with a flashing circulation and multi-stage preheating cycle was developed for water vapor production. The system comprises three core cycles: an R134a low-temperature heat pump cycle, an R245fa high-temperature heat pump cycle, and a two-stage preheat-evaporation water cycle. Theoretical simulations were conducted to evaluate component performance (compressors, heat exchangers, etc.) and optimize system parameters. An experimental testbed was constructed with scroll compressors (3.5kW for R134a, 5kW for R245fa) and plate heat exchangers, verifying system reliability under varied operating conditions. Results demonstrate the system efficiently produces 135°C/0.3MPa water vapor, with a Coefficient of Performance (COP) ranging from 2.1 to 3.5. COP increases with evaporation temperature and decreases with condensation temperature, with an optimal intermediate-stage temperature of 70–75°C. This system proves to be an efficient, eco-friendly industrial alternative to conventional boilers. VL - 10 IS - 4 ER -