A NEW CONCEPT IN GAS-FIRED HEAT-PUMP REVERSED RECTIFICATION HEAT-PUMP

The reversed rectification heat pump (RRHP) is a novel type of absorpt ion heat pump developed at Laboratoire des sciences du genie chimique (LSGC) in the research group of Professor Le Goff. The distinctive cha racteristic of the RRHP is that both the separator and the absorber ar e multi-stage gas contacting units of a type commonly used in the proc ess industry and each composed of the multi-stage contactor, an evapor ator and a condenser. The separator is a conventional rectification un it in which the working fluid is separated into a rich and a lean phas e which are recombined in the absorber. The absorption is an exact rev ersal of the rectification, both units having inverted flow diagrams; for this reason the absorption is refered to as reversed rectification . This heat pump can produce simultanious heat and cold and provides s ignificant primary energy savings and reduction of harmful environment al effects.