Mission Innovation: Sorption Heat Pump
The aim of the research, in accordance with Mission Innovation Challenge #7 (Affordable heating and cooling of buildings) is to investigate and develop low cost heat-powered heat pumps based on sorption technology. The MI #7 Technology Assessment Document (TAD) expert report on sorption heat pumps identified 10 Action Areas. This proposal addresses three of them: Ammonia-salt resorption domestic heat pump, Novel cycles for cooling, Heat transformer based on ammonia-salt resorption, however, our emphasis is on the first area.
The technical challenges relate to development of low-cost compact reactor/heat exchangers (sorption reactors) in which ammonia refrigerant is rapidly adsorbed or desorbed by chemical salts with heat output or input respectively. Our objectives are both
a) Fundamental:- understanding/characterising reaction equilibrium and kinetics, material stability, corrosion and
b) Applied:- optimising, designing, constructing and laboratory testing of an ammonia-salt heat pump using the developed reactors.
Additionally, these outputs will enable us to investigate how these new heating and cooling technologies can be implemented in the UK, identify what potential savings can be achieved, the approach required to deliver them and to identify potential routes to implementation and policy implications.