Studies on nh3 h2o absorption system for cascade applications

Abstract

Energy is one of the major global concerns in worldwide industrial growth. Most industries need either cooling or heating for their process requirements and the majority of the cooling energy needs are met through electrically driven compression refrigeration systems. Thermal cooling systems are attractive alternate options in terms of reduced primary energy newlineconsumption when compared to that of mechanical refrigeration. They also have the option of using natural refrigerants. The most commonly installed thermal cooling technology is the absorption system with ammonia and water as the working pair for sub-zero cooling applications as it covers majority of the range of temperature needed for industrial applications. The system is driven by sources such as bio-waste, solar thermal, flare gas, landfill gas or through recovery heat. The specific properties of ammonia water mixture newlineoffer the possibility of cascading application by providing conventional cooling output, along with hot water for process heating. Thus, it improves the total system performance thereby reducing the GHG emissions. In addition, the vapour absorption system can reduce the payback period and avoid separate systems for cooling and heating outputs. The overall focus of this research is to design and develop critical components of vapour absorption system for cascade application and experimentally investigate its performance in terms of compactness of the system for heating and cooling applications.To improve the performance and for better cost effectiveness, the internal components of the absorption system have been redesigned and integrated in the cycle. In vapour absorption systems, except solution pump and throttling valve, all other components are heat exchangers. The absorber and generator are the simultaneous heat and mass transfer components. newline newline