Converting an energy source with high work potential directly into low-temperature heat wastes most of that work potential. This principle is well-known to apply to electricity, which is able to deliver a quantity of heat far beyond if its work potential is used to power a heat pump, extracting heat from the external environment. The same principle applies to chemical fuels, which have work potential proportional to the Gibbs Free Energy Change of combustion which, if properly harnessed to drive extraction of heat from the environment, can deliver heat flows far in excess of the heat produced directly by combustion. This work defines the fundamental thermodynamic limits of such a process using methane as a fuel, and presents a process design that couples a methane-fired Brayton Cycle Turbine with an air source heat pump to heat water, resulting in total heat output in excess of 120MJ/kg. By the traditional definition of thermal efficiency for a burner, this would be in excess of 200%, representing a massive increase in heat delivery over conventional boilers. The process design and performance are validated by simulation on ASPEN, indicating a reastically achievable process.
