Practical applications of heat pumps in food industry

Abstract

Heat pumps have become increasingly important in the world as a technology to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. In particular, industrial heat pumps (IHP) offer various opportunities for all types of production processes and operations. In the food industry there is a wide variety of heat sources and potential users; thus, there are various applications for industrial heat pumps such as: drying and dewatering; evaporation; washing, cleaning; cooking; sterilization, pasteurization. A central technology needed to improve energy efficiency is the application of heat pumps to recover heat from waste streams to raise temperatures, replace steam and, in some cases, simultaneously provide process cooling.