Environmental

Thermal
Engineering

Lecture Note #6

Professor Min Soo KIM

Absorption
Refrigeration
System
 Absorption Refrigeration System
Backgrounds

❑ Vapor compression refrigeration system

(1) It uses electrical energy for compression work.
(2) Electrical energy is an advanced energy form.
(3) It demands a large amount of energy in vapor compression due
to the significant change in specific volume.

❑ To increase coolant pressure while minimizing work

▪ Vapor Compression → Liquid Compression

❑ Absorption refrigeration system

▪ Uses natural coolant such as water or ammonia
▪ Operates with gases, wasted heated or solar heat

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 Absorption Refrigeration System
Comparison
Compression Absorption
Type
(mechanical, electric drive) (Chemical, heat-driven)

Condenser
Condenser Heat
Heat Generator
Heat

Work Work
Expansion Pump
Nozzle
Diagram Valve Compressor
Strong Solution Weak Solution
Cooling Cooling
Heat
Absorber
Indoor Indoor
Evaporator
Refrigerant
Evaporator
Refrigerant
Heat Heat

Energy Gas combustion heat,

Electricity
Source Steam, Hot water

Operating Condenser : higher than atmosphere

Vacuum
Pressure Evaporator : Lower than atmosphere

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Refrigerant /
Absorbent of
Absorption system
 Refrigerant / Absorbent of Absorption system
Refrigerant / Absorbent
❑ Water Refrigerant System (H2O/LiBr)
• A binary system based on H2O/LiBr, and a advanced ternary and quaternary
system.
• Water has large evaporative latent heat, and high COP and easily acquire.
• Due to large boiling point, it is hard to air cooling.
• It cannot acquire cold heat source below 0℃.
• Due to strong corrosiveness, it is hard to manage solution.
• Recently, water receives attention as coolant/absorber of absorption
refrigerating system for solar heat.
❑ Ammonia Refrigerant System (NH3/H2O)
• Due to high operating pressure, it needs pressure vessel.
• Ammonia has adequate characteristic for coolant.
• Toxicity, flammable and explosiveness is critical defects.
• Applications : large absorption refrigerating system for industry, small absorption
refrigerant system for air conditioning.

❑ Alcohol Refrigerant System ❑ Halocarbon refrigerant System

• The latent heat of evaporation is • Use dimethylformide (DMF) as absorbent.
large and the freezing point is • Refrigerant includes R21, R22, R124, R31,
lower than that of water. R123, R133a, etc
• Flammability problem.
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 Refrigerant / Absorbent of Absorption system
Comparison

Refrigerant/
Absorbent
NH3/H2O H2O/LiBr
Refrigerant NH3 H 2O

Absorbent H 2O LiBr

COP 0.3~0.7 (Single effect) 0.7~1.2 (Single effect)

High Pressure 4~5 bar 0.01bar

Low Pressure 10~15 bar 0.07~0.1 bar

Boiling Point -33 ℃ at 1 atm 100 ℃

Freezing point -77℃ 0℃

Crystallization N Y

Piping material Steal (C.S, S.S) Steal, Copper tube

O.D.P N N

G.W.P N N

Toxicity Y N

Flammability Some (Not Explosive) N

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Cycles in
Absorption system
 Cycles in Absorption System
Components in Absorption cycle
❑ Absorber
It absolves evaporated refrigerant steam
in evaporator and sends regenerator.
Condenser Generator
❑ Generator
It absolves coolant and heats solution
from absorber, so it separates coolant
and absorbent. Evaporated coolant is
Solution Heat sanded to condenser and absorbent is
Refrigerant
Expansion Valve
Exchanger
sanded to absorber
Pump
Solution
Expansion Valve
❑ Condenser
Evaporator Absorber
It condenses refrigerant steam by heat
exchanging with cooling water.

❑ Evaporator
It sprays liquid coolant from condenser
on upper part of cooling pipe. Depriving
the heat, this liquid is evaporated and
sanded to absorber.

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Components in Absorption cycle

Ref. Modern Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Principle of Absorption System
• Absorber: Water vapor from an evaporator is
Qc Qd absorbed into a lithium bromide solution
P 7 (Strong Solution)
Condenser Desorber • 1 → 2: Increase the pressure of the solution
by pump
3 4 • 2 → 3: The temperature rises through heat
8 exchange with a dilute solution in the
solution heat exchanger.
SHX • Generator : Water vapor generation in a
high concentration solution by receiving heat
(Weak Solution)
2 5 • 7 → 8: Heat exchange with cooling water
and steam condensation in Condenser.
W
9 • 8 → 9: Pressure drop through the expansion
valve.
1 6 • 9 → 10: Evaporator absorbs external heat
and evaporates.
• 10 → 1: Steam enters Absorber and is
Evaporator Absorber absorbed into the lithium bromide solution.
10 • 4 → 5: The temperature of the diluted
Qe Qa
solution decreases through heat exchange
with the high concentration solution in the
T solution heat exchanger.
FIGURE Schematics of single effect • 5 → 6: Pressure drops through the
absorption cycle expansion device.
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 Cycles in Absorption System
Absorption System (Double Effect, H2O, LiBr)

P High temp.
Condenser P High temp.
Desorber Condenser
Desorber

High Temp.
High Temp.
SHX
SHX

P
P

Low temp. Low temp.

Condenser Condenser
Desorber Desorber

Low Temp. Low Temp.

SHX SHX

P P

Evaporator Absorber Evaporator Absorber

T T

FIGURE Schematics of double effect FIGURE Schematics of double effect

absorption cycle (Series Flow) absorption cycle (Parallel Flow)
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 Cycles in Absorption System
Absorption System (Triple Effect, H2O, LiBr)
P Condenser 1 Desorber 1

SHX
Q
P

Condenser 2 Desorber 2

SHX
Q
P

Condenser 3 Desorber 3

SHX

Evaporator Absorber

FIGURE Schematics of triple effect absorption cycle

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Basic Process of Thermodynamics

Condensing
❑ Isotropic 2-fluid mixture
line Superheat
region • Uniform composition
• It does not separated by
Temperature

mechanical ways
• It needs pressure,
Boiling temperature and
line
concentration
Subcooled liquid
region • Several saturated
temperature in each
0 x 1 pressure
FIGURE T-x diagram of isotropic 2-fluids mixture

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 Cycles in Absorption System
h(i)-x diagram

FIGURE h(i)-x diagram of isotropic 2-fluids mixture in liquid-gas region

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 Cycles in Absorption System
LiBr/H2O h(i)-x diagram

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Adiabatic mixing – Two Streams

𝑚ሶ 2 , 𝑥2 , ℎ2 ℎ2
2
2 ℎ3
ℎ 3

𝑚ሶ 1 , 𝑥1 , ℎ1 1 Mixing 3 1
ℎ1

Chamber

0 𝑥1 𝑥3 𝑥2 1

𝑚ሶ 1 ℎ2 − ℎ3 𝑥2 − 𝑥3 𝑚ሶ 2
= = 𝑥3 = 𝑥1 + 𝑥 − 𝑥1
𝑚ሶ 2 ℎ3 − ℎ1 𝑥3 − 𝑥1 𝑚ሶ 3 2
𝑚ሶ 2
ℎ3 = ℎ1 + ℎ2 − ℎ1
𝑚ሶ 3

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Example of Adiabatic mixing
❑ Adiabatic mixing
▪ Stream 1 :
➢ 𝑥 = 0.7 Sat. Vapor
➢ 4.54 kg/min 689 kPa

➢ 15.5℃
➢ 689 kPa Equilibrium g
construction line
689 kPa

▪ Stream 2 :
Sat. Liquid
➢ Saturated Liquid ℎ 689 kPa
T=43.3℃
➢ 2.27 kg/min (689 kPa)
T=93.3℃
➢ 93.3℃ 2 3
➢ 689 kPa T=15.5℃
f 1
T=43.3℃

➢ A graphical method is used to

obtain temperature and the 0 0.26 0.553 0.7 1.0
composition of state 3 𝑥

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Heating and Cooling Process
❑ To increase the purity of the water-ammonia system

Enthalpy
2

5
3

1 6

Concentration
FIGURE Simple heating and cooling processes for steady-flow conditions
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 Cycles in Absorption System
Adiabatic Throttling- Binary Liquid Mixture

g
Throttle Sat. vapor line (P2)
1 2

T2=Tf=Tg
1: High pressure, Saturated solution ℎ
t1
2: Low Pressure, Saturated condition 1
ℎ1 = ℎ2 P1
2
t2
➢ Temperature of the final state is f P2
obtained using a graphical
approach

0 𝑥1 = 𝑥2 1.0
𝑥

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Absorption Refrigeration System COP

𝑄ሶ 𝐶
③
Condenser Generator
water
40℃ vapor
②
𝑄ሶ 𝐺 LiBr-water
solution

⑤ ①
Evaporator Absorber

𝑄ሶ 𝐸 𝑄ሶ 𝐴 𝑊ሶ 𝑃

𝑄ሶ 𝐺 = 𝑚ሶ 3 ℎ3 + 𝑚ሶ 2 ℎ2 − 𝑚ሶ 1 ℎ1 𝑄ሶ 𝐸
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 =
𝑄ሶ 𝐸 = 𝑚ሶ 5 ℎ5 − 𝑚ሶ 4 ℎ4 𝑄ሶ 𝐺

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Calculation of heat in Absorption Ref. system

Refrigerant
𝑄ሶ 𝐶 only Refrigerant + Absorbent

Condenser Generator
Refrig. Strong
vapor Weak
solution solution
𝑄ሶ 𝐺
H
X
Exp.
Valve B
Exp.
Pump
Valve A
Evaporator Absorber

𝑄ሶ 𝐸 𝑄ሶ 𝐴 𝑊ሶ 𝑃

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Ideal System COP

𝑄ሶ 𝐴 + 𝑄ሶ 𝐶 = 𝑄ሶ 𝐸 + 𝑄ሶ 𝐺 + 𝑊ሶ 𝑃 𝑄ሶ 𝑂 = 𝑄ሶ 𝐴 + 𝑄ሶ 𝐶
𝑄ሶ 𝐺 𝑄ሶ 𝐸 𝑄ሶ 𝑂
∆𝑆𝐺 = − ∆𝑆𝐸 = − ∆𝑆𝑂 =
𝑇𝐺 𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝑂
𝑄ሶ 𝐺 𝑄ሶ 𝐸 𝑄ሶ 𝑂
∆𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = ∆𝑆𝐺 + ∆𝑆𝐸 + ∆𝑆𝑂 = − − + ≥0
𝑇𝐺 𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝑂
𝑇𝐺 − 𝑇𝑂 𝑇𝑂 − 𝑇𝐸
𝑄ሶ 𝐺 ሶ
≥ 𝑄𝐸 − 𝑊ሶ 𝑃
𝑇𝐺 𝑇𝐸

𝑄ሶ 𝐸 𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝐺 − 𝑇𝑂 𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝐺 − 𝑇𝑂
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = ≤ 𝐶𝑂𝑃max =
ሶ
𝑄𝐺 𝑇𝐺 𝑇𝑂 − 𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝐺 𝑇𝑂 − 𝑇𝐸

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Classification of
Various Absorption
Refrigeration
Systems
 Classification of Various Absorption Refrigeration Systems
Absorption Chiller

Ref. World energy catalog

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 Classification of Various Absorption Refrigeration Systems
Absorption Chiller

Ref. World energy catalog

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 Classification of Various Absorption Refrigeration Systems
Absorption Heat Pump – Type 1

Ref. World energy catalog

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 Classification of Various Absorption Refrigeration Systems
Absorption Heat Pump – Type 2

Ref. World energy catalog

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 Classification of Various Absorption Refrigeration Systems
Water-Ammonia system for Industry
QD
Phase Separator

QC Condenser Generator
QG

Pump

Evaporator Absorber
WP
QE QA

FIGURE Water-Ammonia Absorption refrigerating system for industry

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 Cycles in Absorption System
Solar-Powered NH3/H2O Absorption System

FIGURE Solar-Powered ammonia absorption refrigeration cycle

Ref. Cengel, Boles, Thermodynamics
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 Q&A
Question and Answer Session

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