Influence of hydrogen-permeable membranes upon the efficiency of the high-temperature chemical heat pumps based on cyclohexane dehydrogenation-benzene hydrogenation reactions

In this paper the flow diagram for a high-temperature chemical heat pump (HTCHP) based on the reversible cyclohexane dehydrogenation-benzene hydrogenation reactions is analyzed. The peculiarity of this diagram is a multipurpose use of hydrogen-permeable membranes. A thermodynamic analysis of the proposed flow diagram is undertaken in order to examine the influence of different factors on the coefficient of performance of the heat pump and on the pressure in the dehydrogenation reactor. It is shown that the new flow diagram with the hydrogen-permeable membranes allows us to improve the performance of the HTCHPs and to extend the field of their practical application. © 1993.