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Mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) of low-pressure steam - lift, kWh/t, COP and steam cost against boilers

Electric compression of low-pressure waste steam to a useful pressure: saturation lift (IAPWS-IF97), kWh per tonne and COP on the DOE method, installed CAPEX on the TNO/Klop scale law, and the steam cost in EUR/t against gas and electric boilers, with the CO2 avoided.

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CurrencyEUR 2015
Battery limitinstalled
88 documented assumptions
Updated2 Nov 2026

Mass and energy balance

What the asset draws and delivers for the case and load you choose.

Reference case

Full-load hours91.3 %

Equivalent hours per year at the rated steam output. TNO assumes 8,000 h (baseload). MVR follows a continuous waste-steam source; below 7,000 h the capital term rises fast and no part-load data was sourced, so the range stops there.

Flows

Annual quantities at the current usage. Band width: share of energy in; non-energy flows are not to scale.

Steam output

Saturated steam delivered at the discharge pressure, after desuperheating (injection water included). TNO gives about 1 t/h as the practical minimum; Spilling steam compressors cover 1 to 20 t/h, up to 60 bar g. Costs are sourced between 2.6 and 43 MWth (about 4.5 to 75 t/h at 4 bar); outside, the CAPEX is an extrapolation and the page flags it.

Compressor electric power: — kW
Latent heat delivered: — MW
Low-pressure steam taken: — t/h
Compression stages: — stages

CAPEX

Specific cost at this size, what backs it, and how it behaves with scale.

Specific CAPEX at this size

—

Reference size 2.647 t/h

Derived from TNO

CAPEX source

Model value: the reference case CAPEX scaled to the thermal output. Customized: your own installed figure (vendor or EPC quote), used as is at every size and no longer sourced.

Specific CAPEX (installed) by steam output

Ex-factory
Installed· this figure
Fully financed

CAPEX at the battery limit—

Working capital, contingencyproject level

Included

Equipment
Installation, civil works and engineering

Not included

Working capital
Contingency

Added at project level

Working capital layer, from the project settings
Contingency, from the project settings

Project figures

Values passed to project mode when this asset is added to a project.

Mechanical vapour recompressor (steam MVR)Concept sketch, not to scale · drag to rotate

Electricity in: —
Low-pressure steam (suction) in: —
Desuperheating water in: —
Recompressed saturated steam outMain product: —
CAPEX to the battery limit: —
Fixed O&M: —
Variable O&M, excluding feedstocks: 0 EUR/year
Asset lifetime: 10 years

Steam cost (MVR)

A standalone indicator for a quick read. Project mode recomputes it for the whole system.

—

Steam cost - capital—
Steam cost - fixed O&M—
Steam cost - electricity—

Linked to the balance above

Full-load hours91.3 %

Suction pressure

Absolute pressure of the low-pressure steam at the compressor inlet, taken as saturated. DOE recommends an inlet above atmospheric. Sub-atmospheric evaporator vapour (fans) is outside this range.

Pressure ratio

Discharge over suction pressure. DOE: below 2 per stage; TNO: about 3 in practice, guideline maximum 6. The page counts the stages at 2 per stage.

Compressor efficiency (overall)

Overall isentropic, wire-to-steam efficiency. 75 % is the DOE table basis. Fans and centrifugal machines quote higher impeller efficiencies, but not on the same basis.

Electricity price (all-in)

Delivered price excluding VAT and recoverable taxes. Default 121.7 EUR/MWh is Eurostat's EU27 band IF for 2025-S2; range from France band IG (61.4) to the EU band IC (183.7).

Natural gas price (GCV)

For the gas boiler benchmark only. Delivered price on a gross calorific value basis, excluding VAT. Default 48.3 EUR/MWh is Eurostat's EU27 band I4 for 2025-S2.

CO2 price

For the gas boiler benchmark only. Default 73.43 EUR/t is the 2025 average EU ETS allowance price (Instrat).

Gas boiler efficiency (NCV)

For the benchmark and the CO2 avoided. 87 % is the IEA (2025) figure; 93 % the DEA annual average for a gas heat-only boiler.

Grid emission factor

CO2 per MWh of electricity drawn by the compressor. 0.224 is the EU 2023 average (SDES after IEA); 0.363 Germany 2024 (UBA); 0 for a renewable supply contract.

Fixed O&M (share of CAPEX)

Yearly O&M as a fraction of the investment. TNO (after Navigant 2019): 1 to 4 %; the default is the middle of that range.

Real discount rate

Real rate for the capital annuity, as a fraction. Default 5 % is SINTEF's (2025). Costs are constant euros, so the rate is real. The annuity runs over the TNO service life of 10 years.

Steam cost (MVR) by full-load hours

Benchmarks

This model's figures against published references and reference cases.

COP, -

3.5 TNO MIDDEN factsheet

10 TNO MIDDEN factsheet

Electricity as share of boiler heat, %

5 DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11

10 DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11

Specific CAPEX (installed), EUR/kWth

260 TNO MIDDEN factsheet

600 TNO MIDDEN factsheet

Specific work (DOE units), Btu/lb

72.6 DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11

Reference cases at this size and usage

All results

Every model output at the current settings, grouped, with the sensitivity charts.

76 outputs · 6 groups · 18 also shown above, dimmed

Steam cost

Steam cost (MVR): ComputingEUR/t
Steam cost - capital: ComputingEUR/t
Steam cost - fixed O&M: ComputingEUR/t
Steam cost - electricity: ComputingEUR/t
Electricity share of steam cost: Computing%
Cost per MWh of latent heat: ComputingEUR/MWh

Against boilers

Gas boiler steam cost (fuel and CO2): ComputingEUR/t
Gas boiler - gas: ComputingEUR/t
Gas boiler - CO2: ComputingEUR/t
Electric boiler steam cost (energy): ComputingEUR/t
Saving against the gas boiler: ComputingEUR/t
Saving against the electric boiler: ComputingEUR/t
Yearly saving against the gas boiler: ComputingEUR/year
Breakeven electricity price against gas: ComputingEUR/MWh
Boiler duty per tonne: ComputingMWh/t
Electricity as share of boiler heat: Computing%
Gas price (NCV): ComputingEUR/MWh
Gas CO2 factor: Computingt/MWh
Gas boiler fuel per tonne: ComputingMWh/t
Electric boiler electricity per tonne: ComputingMWh/t

CO2

CO2 avoided per tonne: Computingkg/t
CO2 avoided per year: Computingt/year
Gas boiler CO2 per tonne: Computingkg/t
MVR indirect CO2 per tonne: Computingkg/t

Compression

Specific power: ComputingkWh/t
COP: Computing-
Saturation temperature lift: ComputingK
Isentropic specific power: ComputingkWh/t
Efficiency penalty: Computingratio
Specific work (DOE units): ComputingBtu/lb
Specific work per kg delivered: ComputingkJ/kg
Discharge pressure: Computingbar
Suction saturation temperature: ComputingC
Discharge saturation temperature: ComputingC
Compression stages: Computingstages
Pressure ratio per stage: Computingratio
Ratio above common practice: Computingbool
Property fit extrapolated: Computingbool
Isentropic work: ComputingkJ/kg
Compression work: ComputingkJ/kg
Superheat at discharge: ComputingkJ/kg
Injection water per kg of suction steam: Computingkg/kg
Steam delivered per kg of suction steam: Computingkg/kg
Suction steam enthalpy: ComputingkJ/kg
Delivered steam enthalpy: ComputingkJ/kg
Latent heat at discharge: ComputingkJ/kg

Flows

Compressor electric power: ComputingkW
Latent heat delivered: ComputingMW
Low-pressure steam taken: Computingt/h
Injection water flow: Computingt/h
Steam delivered per year: Computingt/year
Low-pressure steam per year: Computingt/year
Injection water per year: Computingt/year
Electricity per year: ComputingMWh/year
Latent heat per year: ComputingMWh/year
Compression losses: ComputingMWh/year
Full-load hours used: Computingh/year
Capacity factor: Computing%

Capital and O&M

Specific CAPEX (installed): ComputingEUR/kWth
Total CAPEX (installed): ComputingEUR
Total CAPEX: ComputingMEUR
Bare equipment (implied): ComputingEUR
Installation (implied): ComputingEUR
CAPEX per kW of compressor power: ComputingEUR/kW
Installed to bare equipment ratio: Computingratio
Installed CAPEX at 2.6 MWth: ComputingEUR/kWth
Installed CAPEX at 43 MWth: ComputingEUR/kWth
Scale exponent from the TNO anchors: Computingratio
TNO small anchor thermal size: ComputingMW
TNO large anchor thermal size: ComputingMW
Size outside cost anchors: Computingbool
Capital recovery factor: Computing1/year
Annualised CAPEX: ComputingEUR/year
Fixed O&M: ComputingEUR/year
Electricity cost per year: ComputingEUR/year
Total annual cost: ComputingEUR/year

Sensitivities

6 charts

MVR steam cost components vs full-load hours

Steam cost vs electricity price: MVR against gas and electric boilers

COP and specific power vs pressure ratio

Saturation temperature lift vs suction pressure

Specific CAPEX and steam cost vs steam output

CO2 avoided vs grid emission factor

Sources

88 documented assumptions · 11 sources

About

Calculator context

A screening model of mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) of steam: an electric fan, centrifugal or piston compressor, one or more stages, takes low-pressure waste steam or evaporator vapour, raises it to a useful pressure, and a water spray brings it back to saturation. It is built for a feasibility study that has to stand in front of a lender, and it answers one question: what does a tonne of recompressed steam cost against raising it in a gas or an electric boiler. Saturation temperatures at suction and discharge come from the IAPWS-IF97 saturation equation (Eq. 31, reproduced on the IF97 check values). The compression work is the ideal-gas isentropic work from saturated suction divided by an overall wire-to-steam efficiency, followed by water injection to saturation, the basis of the U.S. DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11 table (75 % efficiency, 80 F water). This is an independent check, not a calibration: the model gives 19.1 to 74.1 Btu/lb at ratios 1.2 to 2.0 from 15 psig, against DOE's 18.6 to 72.6 (+2 to +3 %). Enthalpies come from linear fits of the NIST saturation table between 1 and 10 bar (under 0.5 % error); above 10 bar of discharge they are extrapolated, and the page flags it. The COP is the latent heat of the delivered steam divided by the electricity per tonne.

The installed CAPEX follows the TNO/PBL MIDDEN factsheet (Marsidi 2018, after Klop 2015, 2015 EUR): bare equipment 302 EUR/kWth at 2.65 MWth and 132 EUR/kWth at 43 MWth, installed at twice the bare cost (the printed 260-600 EUR/kWth range) or three times (the factsheet text, second reference case), scaled on the latent heat delivered with an exponent of 0.703 derived from those two anchors. A customized installed figure is used as is. O&M is 1-4 % of CAPEX a year (TNO), the annuity runs over TNO's 10-year service life at a real rate. The low-pressure steam and the injection water are taken at zero cost: the result is a service cost, and project mode prices the waste steam through its inlet if it has a value on your site.

At 10 t/h, 2 to 4 bar abs, 75 % efficiency, 8,000 h, 121.7 EUR/MWh (Eurostat EU band IF, 2025-S2), 5 % and 2.5 % O&M, the model lifts the saturation temperature by 23.4 K for 48.0 kWh per tonne, a COP of 12.3, and an installed CAPEX of 2.81 MEUR (476 EUR/kWth); the steam costs 11.3 EUR/t, about half of it electricity. The same steam costs 50.1 EUR/t in gas and CO2 alone in an 87 % gas boiler (48.3 EUR/MWh GCV, 73.43 EUR/t CO2) and 78.2 EUR/t in electricity in a 99 % electric boiler. Recompression uses 7.6 % of the boiler heat, inside DOE's 5-10 %, and avoids 137 kg of CO2 per tonne at the EU 2023 grid factor, about 11,000 t a year.

Read it with its limits. The CAPEX is in 2015 euros, not escalated, and excludes the grid connection; outside 2.6-43 MWth it is an extrapolation of the scale law, and the page flags it (1 t/h is about 0.6 MWth). The boilers are counted on energy and CO2 only, without their own capital, which favours them. The single-compression work formula slightly overstates multistage machines with interstage injection. Full-load hours below 7,000 h are left out: no part-load data was sourced.

Model

169 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

169 variables shown of 169

Value	Unit	Depends on
10	t/h	—
8000	h/year	—
1	—	—
0	—	—
600	EUR/kWth	—
2	bar	—
2	—	—
75	%	—
121.7	EUR/MWh	—
48.3	EUR/MWh	—
73.43	EUR/t	—
87	%	—
0.224	t/MWh	—
0.025	ratio	—
0.05	ratio	—

Variable	Formula	Unit	Depends on
	`if((<=)+(<=)+(>)+(!=)(!=)+(<)+(>)+(>=)(<=)+(<)+(<=)+(*>=)+(<=)+(>)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<=)+(>)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(>=)>,,)`	bool
	`(*)^`	—
	`++`	—
	`*++`	—
	`*++`	—
	`/(--sqrt(-**))`	—
	`(+-sqrt((+)(+)-(+*)))/`	K
	`(*)^`	—
	`++`	—
	`*++`	—
	`*++`	—
	`/(--sqrt(-**))`	—
	`(+-sqrt((+)(+)-(+*)))/`	K
	`*`	kJ/kg

Variable	Formula	Unit	Depends on
	`clamp(,,)`	h/year
	`/*`	%
	`*`	bar
	`-`	K
	`-`	C
	`-`	C
	`max(ceil(ln()/ln()-),)`	stages
	`^(/)`	ratio
	`if(>,,)`	bool
	`if(>,,)`	bool
	`+*(-)`	kJ/kg
	`+*(-)`	kJ/kg
	`+*(-)`	kJ/kg
	`/(-)***(^((-)/)-)`	kJ/kg
	`/max(,)`	ratio
	`*`	kJ/kg
	`+-`	kJ/kg
	`max(,)/max(-,)`	kg/kg
	`+`	kg/kg
	`/*/`	kWh/t
	`*`	kWh/t
	`*/`	kJ/kg
	`/`	Btu/lb
	`/max(,)`	-
	`/`	t/h
	`-`	t/h
	`*`	kW
	`**/`	MW
	`*`	t/year
	`*`	t/year
	`*`	t/year
	`*/`	MWh/year
	`*`	MWh/year
	`(-)//`	MWh/year
	`*`	MW
	`*`	MW
	`+ln(/)/ln(/)`	ratio
	`if(==,,)`	ratio
	`*`	EUR/kWth
	`*`	EUR/kWth
	`if(>=,,clamp(*(/)^(-),,))`	EUR/kWth
	`if((<)+(>)>,,)`	bool
	`**`	EUR
	`/`	MEUR
	`/max(,)`	EUR
	`-`	EUR
	`/max(,)`	EUR/kW
	`if(<,/,(*(+)^)/max((+)^-,))`	1/year
	`*`	EUR/year
	`*`	EUR/year
	`*`	EUR/year
	`++`	EUR/year
	`/max(,)`	EUR/t
	`/max(,)`	EUR/t
	`/max(,)`	EUR/t
	`++`	EUR/t
	`/max(,)*`	%
	`/max(,)`	EUR/MWh
	`(-)*/`	MWh/t
	`/max(,)`	%
	`/max(,)`	EUR/MWh
	`*/`	t/MWh
	`/max(*,)`	MWh/t
	`*`	EUR/t
	`**`	EUR/t
	`+`	EUR/t
	`/max(*,)`	MWh/t
	`*`	EUR/t
	`-`	EUR/t
	`-`	EUR/t
	`*`	EUR/year
	`(--)/max(/,)`	EUR/MWh
	`**`	kg/t
	`*`	kg/t
	`-`	kg/t
	`*/`	t/year

Assumptions

88 assumptions used in the calculations

Protects divisions against a zero denominator; small enough to leave every result unchanged.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
0.000001
Numerical constant
Used in guards and flags, so no number is written inline.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
0
Numerical constant
Used in the CRF, ratios and flags.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
1
Numerical constant
Factor 2 of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation (Eq. 31).
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
2
Numerical constant
Factor 4 of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation (Eq. 31).
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
4
Numerical constant
Exponent 1/4 of the IF97 reduced pressure beta = (p / 1 MPa)^0.25 (Eq. 29b).
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
0.25
Numerical constant
Converts fractions to percent.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
100%
Unit convention
Converts percent inputs to fractions.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
0.01
Unit convention
Hours in a non-leap year; upper limit of the full-load hours.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
8760h/year
Unit convention
Kilograms per tonne.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
1000kg/t
Unit convention
Kilojoules per kilowatt-hour.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
3600kJ/kWh
Unit convention
Kilojoules per megawatt-hour.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
3600000kJ/MWh
Unit convention
Kilowatt-hours per megawatt-hour.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
1000kWh/MWh
Unit convention
Kilowatts per megawatt.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
1000kW/MW
Unit convention
Euros per million euros.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
1000000EUR/MEUR
Unit convention
Terajoules per megawatt-hour (3.6 GJ per MWh).
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
0.0036TJ/MWh
Unit convention
Megapascals per bar, to feed the IF97 equation written in MPa.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
0.1MPa/bar
Unit convention
Kelvin to Celsius offset (ITS-90).
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
273.15K
Unit convention
1 Btu/lb = 2.326 kJ/kg exactly (International Table Btu), to set the DOE table next to the model.
Market range Not applicable (exact constant).
2.326kJ/kg per Btu/lb
Unit convention
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
1,167.052145
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
-724,213.167032
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
-17.073847
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
12,020.824702
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
-3,232,555.032233
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
14.915109
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
-4,823.265736
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
405,113.405421
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
-0.238556
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Coefficient of the IF97 saturation-temperature backward equation, used to get Tsat at suction and discharge.
Market range Not applicable (exact coefficient of an international standard).
650.175348
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Above the critical pressure there is no saturated steam: the input is refused.
Market range Not applicable (physical limit).
220.64bar
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Below the triple point there is no liquid-vapour equilibrium: the input is refused.
Market range Not applicable (physical limit).
0.006112bar
IAPWS-IF97 Region 4
Gas constant of the ideal-gas isentropic work.
Market range Not applicable (physical constant).
0.461526kJ/(kg K)
IAPWS-IF97
Isentropic exponent of the ideal-gas work. Real steam near saturation is not an ideal gas; the DOE table check below shows the resulting error is +1 to +3 %.
Market range
1.33
Derived from NIST cp/cv
Shown with the isentropic exponent it supports.
Market range Not applicable (property value).
2.0789kJ/(kg K)
NIST WebBook
Shown with the isentropic exponent it supports.
Market range Not applicable (property value).
1.5551kJ/(kg K)
NIST WebBook
Origin of the linear h_fg(T) and h_g(T) fits.
Market range Not applicable (property value).
372.88K
NIST WebBook
Intercept of the latent-heat fit h_fg(T) = 2257.1 - 3.03 (T - 372.88).
Market range Not applicable (property value).
2,257.1kJ/kg
NIST WebBook
Slope of the latent heat with saturation temperature.
Market range Not applicable (fitted coefficient).
-3.03kJ/(kg K)
Derived from NIST
Intercept of the vapour-enthalpy fit h_g(T) = 2675.1 + 1.271 (T - 372.88).
Market range Not applicable (property value).
2,675.1kJ/kg
NIST WebBook
Slope of the saturated vapour enthalpy with saturation temperature.
Market range Not applicable (fitted coefficient).
1.271kJ/(kg K)
Derived from NIST
Threshold of the property-fit flag.
Market range Not applicable.
10.056bar
NIST WebBook
Boilers in the benchmark raise steam from deaerated feedwater at 105 C.
Market range 20 C cold make-up (84 kJ/kg) would raise the boiler duty by about 15 %.
441kJ/kg
NIST WebBook
Enthalpy of the injection water, h_w = 4.18 x T [C].
Market range
4.18kJ/(kg K)
NIST WebBook
Temperature of the desuperheating water injected after the compressor.
Market range Condensate at 60-100 C would raise the injected mass slightly; the effect on kWh/t is under 1 %.
26.7C
DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11
Sets the number of stages: ceil(ln r / ln 2).
Market range 2 per stage (DOE); fans 1.2-1.5, centrifugal compressors up to about 2-3 per stage.
2
DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11
Above it the page flags the case as beyond common practice.
Market range Guideline maximum 6 (TNO).
3
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Physical service life of the installation: annuity period of the CRF and lifetime exported to project mode (replacement schedule).
Market range No independent range cited.
10years
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Bare-equipment cost at the small anchor (2.647 MWth). Multiplied by the installation ratio of the reference case.
Market range
302EUR/kWth
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Bare-equipment cost at the large anchor (43.12 MWth).
Market range
132EUR/kWth
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Electric input of the small cost anchor.
Market range Not applicable.
0.257MW
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
COP of the small cost anchor, used to put it on a thermal basis.
Market range TNO: COP 3.5-10, sometimes higher.
10.3-
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Electric input of the large cost anchor.
Market range Not applicable.
4.4MW
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
COP of the large cost anchor.
Market range TNO: COP 3.5-10, sometimes higher.
9.8-
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Reference size of the CAPEX scale law, on thermal output.
Market range Not applicable.
2.647MW
Derived from TNO
Installed-to-bare ratio of the default reference case (total = 2 x bare).
Market range x2 (printed range) to x3 (text reading), TNO.
2
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Installed-to-bare ratio of the conservative reference case.
Market range x2 (printed range) to x3 (text reading), TNO.
3
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Economy of scale on thermal output: compressor size follows the volume flow, which follows the steam flow, not the shaft power. Above 43 MWth and below 2.6 MWth the law is extrapolated.
Market range
0.703
Derived from TNO
Keeps the scale law finite; set well outside the slider box.
Market range Not applicable (guard).
100EUR/kWth
Numerical guard
Keeps the scale law finite; set well outside the slider box.
Market range Not applicable (guard).
2500EUR/kWth
Numerical guard
Case 1: TNO total installed cost = 2 x bare equipment (printed 260-600 EUR/kWth range).
Market range Not applicable.
1
Selector code
Case 2: TNO text reading, installation twice the equipment, total = 3 x bare.
Market range Not applicable.
2
Selector code
Converts the Eurostat gas price (GCV) to an NCV price for an NCV boiler efficiency.
Market range
0.9
IPCC 2006
Emission factor of the gas boiler benchmark.
Market range
56100kg/TJ
IPCC 2006
Efficiency of the electric boiler benchmark.
Market range
99%
DEA Technology Data
Lower published COP, set against the model COP.
Market range
3.5-
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Upper typical published COP, set against the model COP.
Market range
10-
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Lower end of the DOE energy share.
Market range
5%
DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11
Upper end of the DOE energy share.
Market range
10%
DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11
Lower end of the TNO installed range.
Market range
260EUR/kWth
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Upper end of the TNO installed range.
Market range
600EUR/kWth
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Published value set against the model's Btu/lb output at the DOE configuration (1 barg suction is close to 15 psig = 2.03 bar abs).
Market range
72.6Btu/lb
DOE Steam Tip Sheet #11
Ideal-gas isentropic work from saturated suction, divided by the efficiency, then desuperheating by water injection back to saturation at the discharge pressure. The efficiency is overall wire-to-steam, as in the DOE example: there is no separate motor efficiency. Multistage machines with interstage injection need slightly less work; the single-compression formula is kept because it is the one the DOE table validates.
Market range Not applicable.
—
Method
Saturation temperatures at suction and discharge come from the IF97 backward equation, valid from the triple point to the critical point.
Market range Not applicable.
—
Method
COP = latent heat of the delivered steam at the discharge pressure / electricity per kg delivered. It is a heat-pump COP, not a boiler efficiency.
Market range Not applicable.
—
Definition
The suction steam and the injection water are taken at zero cost: the steam cost is a service cost. If the low-pressure steam has a value on your site, project mode prices it through the inlet flow.
Market range Not applicable.
—
Cost boundary
The CAPEX is installed, without grid connection: exported to project mode with battery_limit = installed, so the project adds only its working layer and contingency. It is in 2015 euros, not escalated to today: add escalation through the Customized CAPEX if your study is in current euros.
Market range Not applicable.
—
CAPEX boundary
Both boilers raise the same saturated steam at the discharge pressure from 105 C feedwater, and are counted on energy and CO2 only: their own capital and O&M are left out. The MVR steam cost carries its capital, so the comparison favours the boilers.
Market range Not applicable.
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Benchmark scope
Over the whole slider box the specific power stays between about 10 and 147 kWh/t, the COP between 3.5 and 60, the lift between 5 and 82 K and the CO2 avoided between about 90 and 155 kg/t. The steam cost stays between about 2.8 and 47.5 EUR/t: it exceeds 40 EUR/t only at a ratio of 6 with the highest electricity price (183.7 EUR/MWh), and reaches its 47.5 EUR/t maximum, outside the 45 EUR/t bound, for a 1 t/h machine in the 3 x bare CAPEX case at 70 % efficiency, 7,000 h, 4 % O&M and 8 %. The property fits are extrapolated above 10 bar of discharge (flag), and the CAPEX law outside 2.6-43 MWth (flag). Full-load hours below 7,000 h are left out: the capital term grows as 1/hours and no part-load operating data was sourced.
Market range Not applicable.
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Validity domain
Constant prices over the life, real discount rate, nothing escalated. The CAPEX keeps the TNO money year (2015); energy prices are 2025.
Market range Not applicable.
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Real terms convention
Default of the discount rate input (0.05).
Market range
5%
SINTEF 2025
Default of the electricity price input.
Market range
121.7EUR/MWh
Eurostat
Default of the gas price input.
Market range
48.3EUR/MWh
Eurostat
Default of the CO2 price input.
Market range
73.43EUR/t
Instrat
Default of the gas boiler efficiency input.
Market range
87%
IEA 2025
Default of the grid emission factor input.
Market range
0.224t/MWh
SDES / UBA
Default of the O&M input.
Market range
0.025ratio
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Default of the full-load hours input.
Market range
8000h/year
TNO MIDDEN factsheet
Catalogue product inside the size slider.
Market range
20t/h
Spilling product page

Mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) of low-pressure steam - lift, kWh/t, COP and steam cost against boilers

Mass and energy balance

CAPEX

Included

Not included

Added at project level

Project figures

Steam cost (MVR)

Benchmarks

COP, -

Electricity as share of boiler heat, %

Specific CAPEX (installed), EUR/kWth

Specific work (DOE units), Btu/lb

All results

Steam cost

Against boilers

CO2

Compression

Flows

Capital and O&M

Sensitivities

Sources

About

Model

User inputs · 15

Constants · 64

Intermediate calcs · 14

Exposed outputs · 76

Assumptions