Integration of heat pumps for decarbonization of beet sugar factories

Abstract

Decarbonization of sugar factories for minimising the CO2-footprint has become a focus for sugar factories to survive in the contemporary world. Heat pumps can be a piece of the puzzle for meeting the challenge of elaborating the path to a green future. This paper explains the technological principles and shows some exemplary scenarios for integrating heat pumps into beet sugar factories. The scenarios demonstrate reductions between 2% and 30% of the total factory’s CO2-emissions. The potentials are limited by the local electricity-gas-price-relationship, which defines a lower limit in regards to operating costs equality.