Is this a verified measured project?

No. Evidence level is anonymized field reference: author site survey notes and photographs plus plant-reported economics. Independent metering was not performed for this publication.

How does this differ from other food ammonia HP cases on the site?

This case centers on Central China meat-plant hot water displacing purchased steam, with documented preheater / condenser-evaporator / auxiliary-receiver coupling and first-year oil / cleanliness lessons from a 2024 field survey—not a published parameter-table summary of a different region.

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Central China meat plant A: ammonia HP recovers refrigeration heat for plant hot water

Author field survey (2024-05): ammonia mid-temp heat pump coupled to the plant refrigeration train via preheater + condenser-evaporator; plant-reported ~400–500 m³/day hot water displacing purchased steam.

Engineering data

Case type: Anonymized field reference
Data status: anonymized_field_reference
Industry: Food
Source temperature: 28–35°C
Sink temperature: 55–75°C
Temperature lift: ≈ 20 K
Heating or cooling duty: Not disclosed
Architecture: Ammonia mid-temperature heat pump coupled to live refrigeration via preheater + condenser-evaporator + auxiliary receiver liquid path
Result status: Overall operation reported as good; steam purchase displaced for a large share of plant hot-water duty
Key risk: First-year oil change mandatory for the surveyed lubricant grade; piping cleanliness; prefer skid-packaged preheater + condenser-evaporator for future builds
Existing system: Purchased steam for process / sanitation hot water; ammonia refrigeration reject heat available on the discharge / condenser side
Refrigerant: R717 (ammonia)
COP: Not disclosed
Annual savings: Plant-reported: ~¥130k/month (~¥1.56 M/year) steam-cost savings vs purchased steam — not independently metered here
Estimated payback: Plant-reported: CAPEX ~¥2.6 M/set; static payback under ~1.8 years — site-specific tariffs

Outdoor ammonia heat-pump package with insulated vessels under a shed — Field survey photo (anonymized): ammonia heat-pump package recovering refrigeration reject heat for process hot water.

Ammonia discharge header interface to preheater and condenser-evaporator — Field survey photo (anonymized): ammonia discharge piping tied into the preheater (outer) and condenser-evaporator (inner header).

Liquid drain piping from heat exchangers toward the auxiliary receiver — Field survey photo (anonymized): liquid drain path from the preheater / condenser-evaporator toward the auxiliary receiver.

Heat-pump HMI operating-status screen during site survey — Field survey photo (anonymized): operating-status panel observed on site (not an independent metering audit).

Side-by-side comparison of used and fresh compressor oil samples — Field survey photo (anonymized): first-year oil condition check — used oil vs fresh charge.

Project background

A Central China meat-processing plant needed large volumes of process hot water while rejecting ammonia refrigeration heat. The author surveyed the ammonia heat-pump retrofit in May 2024. Customer identity is omitted.

Source / inputs

Source: ammonia discharge / condenser heat via preheater + condenser-evaporator. Sink: plant hot water, plant-reported ~400–500 m³/day. Heating capacity and COP not published as independently metered values on this site.

Heat pump solution

An ammonia mid-temp heat pump evaporates against refrigeration reject heat and delivers heat to the plant hot-water loop. Liquid from the preheater and condenser-evaporator returns via the auxiliary receiver path. Field notes also flag packaging the two exchangers as one skid and simplifying the inlet header for future designs.

COP & savings

Field survey by the author; economics and daily hot-water volume as reported by the plant — not independently metered on this site. HMI snapshots from the visit show the package in normal running status; they are observational evidence only.

Investment / ROI notes

Plant-reported figures: ~¥130k/month steam savings (~¥1.56 M/year) against CAPEX ~¥2.6 M/set, implying static payback under ~1.8 years. Tariffs, hours, and steam price are site-specific; treat as site-reported, not verified ROI.