Integrating heat pumps into large-scale electricity-to-heat industrial processes has proven highly successful in enhancing the utilisation of renewable energy and contributing to carbon emission reductions. However, most studies focus on overall system performance, overlooking the detailed thermal behaviour of the heat pump itself. This limits the adaptability of heat pumps in dynamic industrial settings. This work proposes an equation-oriented framework that enables flexible integration of thermodynamically detailed heat pump models into industrial heat recovery systems. A superstructure-based optimisation model is developed to minimise energy costs and enhance efficiency, considering process constraints, network layout, and heat pump performance. The model dynamically optimises heat pump operation and placement to enhance waste heat recovery and overall system integration. Moreover, the approach supports the integration of low-grade utilities to further improve the energy efficiency. The proposed framework is validated through an industrial-scale case study of a crude oil distillation process. Life cycle assessment is conducted to quantify potential environmental and economic benefits. Results show that integrating heat pumps into the system recovered 50.52 % of low-pressure steam, reducing the total operating cost and annual cost by 12.88 % and 12.42 %. Additionally, total net carbon emissions decreased by 28.70 %. Lower electricity prices increase heat pump use and economic benefits but also amplify rebound effects. Furthermore, although high-temperature heat pumps operating above 150 °C tend to increase capital expenditures, they unlock greater energy efficiency, thereby accelerating the industrial decarbonisation process.

This study examines the interplay between large-scale rail infrastructure expansion and long-term vegetation dynamics in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, highlighting how integrated urban planning can mitigate or even reverse environmental degradation typically associated with rapid urbanization. Uniquely, Korea's new towns have been systematically developed as transit-oriented districts to alleviate the hyper-concentration of population in Seoul, resulting in a context where railway construction and urban growth are tightly coupled. Contrary to the prevalent narrative of inevitable green space loss, the spatial analysis reveals that several newly developed districts, designed with explicit ecological considerations, demonstrate stable or even increasing vegetation indices over the study period. By employing a combined Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression framework, we identify localized trajectories where synchronized transit investments and proactive green urbanism policies have yielded net ecological gains. These findings position Korea's policy-driven urban model as an instructive case study for reconciling infrastructure development with ecological resilience, underscoring the critical importance of integrating environmental objectives into transportation and land-use planning.