German start-up SPH has installed its ThermBooster heat pump at Philip Morris International’s Italian factory, which produces high-temperature steam of 139 C. The system increases energy efficiency, reduces gas consumption by up to 50% and recovers 20-30% of the water from the exhaust.
German heat pump start-up SPH has supplied one of its steam-producing heat pumps to tobacco giant Philip Morris International.
The ThermBooster unit was installed at Philip Morris’ factory in Bologna, Italy, by Dutch system integrator JOA Air Solutions.
The system upgrades the residual heat from 36 C through a two-stage compression and heat exchange process. In the first phase, the heat pump increases the temperature to 80 C, making the energy suitable for intermediate process heating. In the second stage, the temperature is further increased to 139 C at an absolute pressure of 3.5 bar, producing steam that can be directly integrated into the plant’s drying processes.
“This is a breakthrough for the industry. A heat pump that can deliver this volume of steam and thus be seamlessly integrated into the drying process sets a new benchmark in the processing sector,” says Martin Tukker, director of JOA Air Solutions. “This is the kind of innovative technology that can support manufacturers across sectors in their climate transitions and sustainability goals, and drive further energy efficiency initiatives.”
The system maintains high efficiency and achieves a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 2.5, according to the company. It is reported that gas consumption for the main dryer at the Bologna plant can be reduced by 40-50% and 20-30% of the water from the exhaust can be recovered.
According to SPH’s website, the ThermBooster uses steam and a range of fluids, such as water, water glycol and thermal oil, as both a heat source and a heat sink. In general, the heat source temperature of the product ranges from 8 C to 120 C, while the heat sink temperature can be set to 165 C or 200 C. The power per compressor ranges from 400 kW to 1 MW, depending on the required operating point.
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