Mayekawa Unveils Circulating Heating Type Heat Pump Air Heaters

In February 2018, Mayekawa began selling circulating heating type heat pump air heaters using a non-fluorocarbon hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerant. These models are capable of supplying hot air at a maximum temperature of 85°C.

Since 2009 when the company began selling CO2 heat pump air heaters named Eco Sirocco that can heat air up to 120°C, Mayekawa has achieved good results in replacing steam boilers using fossil fuels with heat pump type products. Eco Sirocco, however, has been used only for temporary heating where the temperature difference is more than 50°C, so customers have asked the company to develop heat pumps for circulating heating.
 
As the new products adopt heat pump technology, they can reduce CO² emissions by about 70% com-pared with heating type products such as boilers using fossil fuels. In addition, with no combustion process in use, the new products can supply hot air at a maximum temperature of 85°C without generating nitrogen oxide (NOx).
 
Furthermore, the new products are circulating heating type heat pumps capable of heating air where there is a small temperature difference of 5 to 10°C. When the air temperature is 65°C at an air inlet, for example, the new product can supply hot air at 70°C by heating by 5°C.
 
When chilled air is supplied simultaneously with hot air, the combined coefficient of performance (COP) is 3.5, which means a roughly 40% reduction in running costs. Also, CO² emissions can be reduced by about 30%.
 
Mayekawa intends to deliver the first product to an automotive-related company in Japan in 2018. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mayekawa will place the emphasis on sales aimed at manufacturing processes that need drying at 50 to 85°C, such as hot-temperature rooms, painting and drying lines, etc.
 
In order to address specific operating conditions on a production line in an optimal manner, the new product is custom-manufactured after receiving an order for it.