Experimental pure fluid and binary mixture performance in a heat pump equipped with a distillation column

An experimental heat pump system that included a distillation column, accumulator/sump, and heater was experimentally investigated using two different working fluids, R32 and a mixture of R32/134a. Performance variations with changes in sump heater power, condenser and evaporator heat transfer fluid flow, and compressor speed were examined. Heating capacity generally increased with increases in the factors tested. Heating capacity increases were generally smaller with the R32/134a tests than with the R32 tests, except with variations in sump heater power. An increase in sump heater power caused a pronounced increase in the circulating R32 concentration during the mixture tests, and the heating capacity increased markedly. The increase in heating capacity with sump heater power during the R32/134a tests was on par with the increase with compressor power during these same tests. The increase in capacity with sump heater power during the R32/134a tests also was substantial even when compared with the capacity increase with compressor speed during the R32 tests.