Thermodynamic and Optimization Comparison of a Solar-Powered Compressor-Assisted Combined Absorption Refrigeration and Power Systems

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 3, 267 - 282, 17.09.2024

Chinedu F. Okwose , Mustafa Tunay , Mohammad Abid , Michael Adedeji Victor Oluwatobi Adebayo , Tahir Abdul Hussain Ratlamwala , Muhammad Asif Rabbani

https://doi.org/10.31202/ecjse.1434603

Abstract

The operation and performance of three different combined absorption refrigeration and power systems is presented in this study. The systems are based on the single, double, and triple effect absorption refrigeration cycles with ammonia-water as working fluid pairs all powered by solar thermal energy. The thermodynamic performance of these modified combined absorption cycles have been analyzed for typical thermal boundary conditions and design parameters. The simulation results show that when the compressor pressure ratio increases from 1 to 2, the heat source inlet temperatures can be reduced by 27% (111.3 oC to 81.1 oC) in the single effect system, 16% (182.1 oC to 152.5 oC) in the double effect system, and 34% (228.3 oC to 150.3 oC) in the triple effect system. The exergy efficiency of the triple effect system increases from 38% to 64% for a 75-kW cooling load system. These proposed systems provide a better way to optimise the utilisation of heat sources with moderate temperatures.

Keywords

Absorption Refrigeration, Compression Ratio, Power, Cooling, Triple Effect

References

• [1] Molly, ‘‘Proof of climate change: How do we cool a heating world?,’’ Sept. 2018.
• [2] H. Chua, H. Toh, A. Malek, K. Ng, and K. Srinivasan, ‘‘A general thermodynamic framework for understanding the behaviour of absorption chillers,’’ International Journal of Refrigeration, vol. 23, no. 7, pp. 491–507, 2000.
• [3] S. A. Khan, ‘‘Comparative analysis of single and double effect libr-water absorption system,’’ in 4th International Conference on Recent Innovations in Sciences Engineering and Management, 2016.
• [4] Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, ‘‘Chlorofluorocarbons (cfcs) and hydrofluorocarbons (hfcs).’’
• [5] J. Wang, B. Wang, W. Wu, X. Li, and W. Shi, ‘‘Performance analysis of an absorption-compression hybrid refrigeration system recovering condensation heat for generation,’’ Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 108, pp. 54–65, 2016.
• [6] G. Shu, J. Che, H. Tian, X. Wang, and P. Liu, ‘‘A compressor-assisted triple-effect h2o-libr absorption cooling cycle coupled with a rankine cycle driven by high-temperature waste heat,’’ Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 112, pp. 1626–1637, 2017.
• [7] V. H. F. Flores, J. C. Román, and G. M. Alpírez, ‘‘Performance analysis of different working fluids for an absorption refrigeration cycle,’’ American Journal of Environmental Engineering, DOI, vol. 10, pp. 1–10, 2014.
• [8] J. Deng, R.Wang, and G. Han, ‘‘A review of thermally activated cooling technologies for combined cooling, heating and power systems,’’ Progress in energy and combustion science, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 172–203, 2011.
• [9] V. Eveloy and D. S. Ayou, ‘‘Sustainable district cooling systems: Status, challenges, and future opportunities, with emphasis on cooling-dominated regions,’’ Energies, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 235, 2019.
• [10] A. Shirazi, R. A. Taylor, G. L. Morrison, and S. D. White, ‘‘Solar-powered absorption chillers: A comprehensive and critical review,’’ Energy conversion and management, vol. 171, pp. 59–81, 2018.
• [11] J.-S. Kim, F. Ziegler, and H. Lee, ‘‘Simulation of the compressor-assisted triple-effect h2o/libr absorption cooling cycles,’’ Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 295–308, 2002.
• [12] M. Udayakumar et al., ‘‘Studies of compressor pressure ratio effect on gaxac (generator–absorber–exchange absorption compression) cooler,’’ Applied Energy, vol. 85, no. 12, pp. 1163–1172, 2008.
• [13] W. Chen et al., ‘‘Investigation of
• [mmim]dmp/ch3oh absorption refrigeration thermodynamic performances,’’ Journal of Engineering Thermophysics, vol. 34, pp. 689–693, 2013.
• [14] D. Boer, M. Valles, and A. Coronas, ‘‘Performance of double effect absorption compression cycles for air-conditioning using methanol–tegdme and tfe–tegdme systems as working pairs: Performances de cycles à compression absorption à double effet pour le conditionnement d’air utilisant les couples méthanol–tegdme ou tfe–tegdme,’’ International Journal of Refrigeration, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 542–555, 1998.
• [15] G. Demirkaya, R. Vasquez Padilla, D. Y. Goswami, E. Stefanakos, and M. M. Rahman, ‘‘Analysis of a combined power and cooling cycle for low-grade heat sources,’’ International Journal of Energy Research, vol. 35, no. 13, pp. 1145–1157, 2011.
• [16] G. P. Kumar, R. Saravanan, and A. Coronas, ‘‘Simulation studies on simultaneous power, cooling and purified water production using vapour absorption refrigeration system,’’ Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 132, pp. 296–307, 2018.
• [17] S. Aghniaey and S. M. S. Mahmoudi, ‘‘Exergy analysis of a novel absorption refrigeration cycle with expander and compressor,’’ Indian Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 1, pp. 815–822, 2014.
• [18] D. S. Ayou, J. C. Bruno, and A. Coronas, ‘‘Integration of a mechanical and thermal compressor booster in combined absorption power and refrigeration cycles,’’ Energy, vol. 135, pp. 327–341, 2017.
• [19] C. F. Okwose, M. Abid, and T. A. Ratlamwala, ‘‘Performance analysis of compressor-assisted two-stage triple effect absorption refrigeration cycle for power and cooling,’’ Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 227, p. 113547, 2021.
• [20] C. F. Okwose, M. Abid, and T. A. H. Ratlamwala, ‘‘Performance evaluation of compressor assisted multi-effect absorption refrigeration cycles for power and cooling using evacuated tube collectors,’’ International Journal of Exergy, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 227–248, 2020.
• [21] K. E. Herold, R. Radermacher, and S. A. Klein, Absorption chillers and heat pumps. CRC press, 2016.
• [22] V. Zare, S. Mahmoudi, and M. Yari, ‘‘An exergoeconomic investigation of waste heat recovery from the gas turbine-modular helium reactor (gt-mhr) employing an ammonia–water power/cooling cycle,’’ Energy, vol. 61, pp. 397–409, 2013.
• [23] R. Misra, P. K. Sahoo, and A. Gupta, ‘‘Thermoeconomic evaluation and optimization of an aqua-ammonia vapour-absorption refrigeration system,’’ International Journal of Refrigeration, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 47–59, 2006.
• [24] S. Salehi and M. Yari, ‘‘Exergoeconomic assessment of two novel absorption-ejection heat pumps for the purposes of supermarkets simultaneous heating and refrigeration using nascn/nh3, lino3/nh3 and h2o/nh3 as working pairs,’’ International Journal of Refrigeration, vol. 101, pp. 178–195, 2019.
• [25] A. Yıldız and M. A. Ersöz, ‘‘Energy and exergy analyses of the diffusion absorption refrigeration system,’’ Energy, vol. 60, pp. 407–415, 2013.
• [26] A. Vidal, R. Best, R. Rivero, and J. Cervantes, ‘‘Analysis of a combined power and refrigeration cycle by the exergy method,’’ Energy, vol. 31, no. 15, pp. 3401– 3414, 2006.
• [27] X. Zhang, L. Cai, and T. Chen, ‘‘Energetic and exergetic investigations of hybrid configurations in an absorption refrigeration chiller by aspen plus,’’ Processes, vol. 7, no. 9, p. 609, 2019.
• [28] D. S. Ayou, J. C. Bruno, and A. Coronas, ‘‘Combined absorption power and refrigeration cycles using low-and mid-grade heat sources,’’ Science and Technology for the Built Environment, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 934–943, 2015.
• [29] R. Ventas, A. Lecuona, A. Zacarías, and M. Venegas, ‘‘Ammonia-lithium nitrate absorption chiller with an integrated low-pressure compression booster cycle for low driving temperatures,’’ Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 30, no. 11-12, pp. 1351–1359, 2010.