Vapour Absorption Ashrae
Vapour Absorption Ashrae
Vapour Absorption Ashrae
Column 13. The effect of subcooling in the subcooler on sys- Path 2-4. Cold, concentrated solution (2) absorbs low-pressure
tem performance is primarily on the irreversibilityof the subcooler refrigerant (8 and 9) in the absorber in equilibrium with the evapo-
and on the main expansion valve. Increased heat transfer in the rator pressure.
subcooler results in a corresponding increase in its irreversibility. Path 4-5. Solution (4) is pumped to the generator via the heat
This is offset by the decrease in irreversibility of the expansion exchanger, where it is heated (5) by the solution leaving the
valve. Increasing the amount of subcooling decreases the total generator.
irreversibility of the system and changes irreversibility in other Path 5-1. Hot, dilute solution (5) enters the generator, where heat
components. is added to distill refrigerant (6). Hot, concentrated solution leaves
the generator (I).
Recommendations Path 6-7. Hot, high-pressure refrigerant vapor (6) condenses (7).
These analyses illustrate a method of systems analysis; iden-
tifying sources of irreversibilities in a system provides a basis GENERATOR CONDENSER
for selecting design parameters. However,optimum system design
considers the cost of system components G\ndthen compares the
cost of improving the performance of a given component with the
cost of improving all other components in the system.
An extension of this work, the mathematical modeling of the
system components, allows study of a given system for a range of HEAT
steady-state operating conditions. An additional extension, the HEAT
OUT
consideration of thermal properties of the system components, EXCHANGER
allows calculation of transient operating conditions.
ABSORPTION
REFRIGERATION CYCLES RESTRICTOR
Path 7-8. Hot, liquid refrigerant is expanded into the evaporator, ature to which it might be subjected. If a solid forms, it presumably
whereit is evaporated at low pressure and temperature with heat would stop flow and cause equipment shutdown.
from the cooled space. Cold, low-pressure refrigerant vapor (8) is Volatility ratio. The refrigerant should be much more volatile
absorbed by the solution in the absorber (3). than the absorbent so the two can be easily separated. Otherwise,
cost and heat requirements can prohibit separation.
ABSORPTION CYCLES IN PRACTICE Affinity. The absorbent should have a strong affinity for the
refrigerant under conditions in which absorption takes place
Inefficienciesin the basic absorption cycleare caused by sensible (Buffington 1949). This affinity (1) causes a negative deviation
heat losses, heats of solution, and vaporization characteristics of from Raoult's law and results in an activity coefficient of less than
the absorbing fluid. Conveying hot absorbent from generator into unity for the refrigerant; (2) reduces the amount of absorbent to
absorberwastesconsiderablethermal energy.A liquid-to-liquid heat be circulated and, consequently, the waste of thermal energy from
exchanger transfers energy from this stream to the refrigerant- sensible heat effects; and (3) reduces the size of the liquid heat
absorbent solution being pumped back to the generator, saving a exchanger that transfers heat from absorbent to pressurized
major portion of the energy. Use of this liquid heat exchanger is refrigerant-absorbent solution in practical cycles.Calculations by
shown in the flow diagram for a water-lithium bromide cycle Jacob et al. (1969)indicate that strong affinity has disadvantages.
(Figure 20a) and for an ammonia-water cycle (Figure 21). This affinity is associated with a high heat of dilution; conse-
Modifications for the basic cycle do not bring the coefficient quently, extra heat is required in the generator to separate refriger-
of performance over a threshold of unity, e.g., heat required to ant from absorbent.
generate a kilogram of refrigerant is not less than the heat taken Pressure. Operating pressures, largely established by physical
up when this kilogram evaporates in the evaporator. Performance properties of the refrigerant, should be moderate. High pressures
can be improved by using the double-effect evaporation principle necessitate use of heavy-walled equipment, and significant elec-
and a double-effect generator (Whitlow and Swearingen 1958). trical power may be required to pump the fluids from low side to
With the water-lithium bromide pair, two generators can be used: high side. Low pressures (vacuum) necessitate use of large volume
one,at high temperature and pressure, heated by an external source equipment and special means of reducing pressure drop in
of thermal energy; a second, at lower pressure and temperature, refrigerant vapor flow.
heated by condensation of the vapor from the first generator. Stability. Almost absolute chemical stability is required, because
Condensate from both generators moves to the evaporator. fluids are subjected to severe conditions over many years of serv-
ice. Instability could cause the undesirable formation of gases,
CHARACTERISTICS OF solids, or corrosive substances.
REFRIGERANT-ABSORBENT PAIR Corrosion. Since the fluids or substances created by instability
can corrode materials used in constructing equipment, corrosion
The materials that make up the refrigerant-absorbent pair inhibitors should be used. •
should meet the following requirements to be suitable for absorp- Safety. Fluids must be nontoxic and nonflammable if they are
tion refrigeration: in an occupied dwelling. Industrial process refrigeration is less crit-
Absence of solid phase. The refrigerant-absorbent pair should
ical in this respect.
Transport properties. Viscosity, surface tension, thermal diffu-
not form a solid phase over the range of composition and temper-
sivity, and mass diffusivity are important characteristics of the
REFLUX COIL refrigerant and absorbent pair. For example, low viscosity of the
fluid promotes heat and mass transfer and reduces pumping
problems.
CONDENSER
Latent heat. The refrigerant's latent heat should be high so the
circulation rate of the refrigerant and absorbent can be kept at a
HEAT OUT
minimum.
No known refrigerant-absorbent pair meets all requirements
TOWER listed. Ammonia-water and water-lithium bromide are two pairs
in extensive commercial use. The ammonia-water pair meets most
requirements, but its volatility ratio is too low, and it requires
high operating pressures. Furthermore, ammonia is a Safety
bJCD
CD _HEAT
GENERATOR
IN
Code Group 2 fluid (ASHRAE Standard 15-1989),restricting its
indoor use.
Advantages of the water-lithium bromide pair include high
safety, high volatility ratio, high affinity, high stability, and high
EVAPORATOR
latent heat. However, this pair tends to form solids. Since the
refrigerant turns to ice at O°C, the pair cannot be used for low-
10
temperature refrigeration. Lithium bromide crystallizes at moder-
11 ate concentrations, especially when it is air cooled, limiting the
ASSORa'R pair to applications where the absorber is water cooled. However,
HEAT
OUT
PERIODIC SPILLOVER using a combination of salts as the absorbent can reduce this crys-
tallizing tendency enough to permit air cooling (Macriss 1968,Weil
HEAT IN
1968, Rush 1968).Other disadvantages of the water-lithium bro-
mide pair include the low operating pressures it requires and the
lithium bromide solution's high viscosity. Proper equipment
design can overcome these disadvantages.
Other important refrigerant-absorbent pairs include the
following:
Fig. 21 Ammonia-Water Single-Stage • Ammonia-salts (Blytas and Daniels 1962,Robertson et al. 1966)
Absorption Refrigeration Cycle • Methylamine-salts (Robertson et al. 1966, Macriss et al. 1969)
1.22 1993 Fundamentals Handbook (SI)
lithium bromide-water solutions and the COP are reduced for the
Enthalpy kJ/kg
same delivered chilled water temperature and available cooling
Of (9) h, 20.97
tower water temperature. At lower cooling tower water tempera-
Of (2) h, 174.52
tures, the concentrations and COP can be maintained, even
Of (4) h, 106.15
though the available heat source temperature for the generator is
Of (5) h, 193.48
reduced, within the practical limits for a given design.
Of (1) h, 261.85
Of (6) hv 2685.30
AMMONIA-WATER CYCLE
Material and heat balances at each component follow:
Absorber
Figure 21 diagrams an ammonia-water single-stage refrigera-
Heat in kJ/kg tion cycle. This resembles a lithium bromide-water refrigeration
(2) 4.118784 x 174.52 719.0
1081.1
cycle except, in large systems, the relative volatilities of ammonia
(8) (.4406/1.025) x 2515
.2 and water require a fractional distillation, accomplished with a
(9) (.4406/1.025) x 0.025 x 20.97
packed tower, a bubble tower, or a tower with sieve trays. Reflux
Subtotal = 1800.3
purifies the ammonia vapors coming off the top of the tower and
Heat out assures the least possible water content of the refrigerant. The
(4) 4.5603 x 106.15 484.1 concentrated solution of ammonia-in-water (aqua), after being
Absorber load (difference) 1316.2 heated by the heat exchanger, is fed at some intermediate point
Generator generally near the lower portion of the tower (or rectifier/ana-
Heat out kJ/s lyzer). The same required evaporator duty should be assumed
(1) 4.1197 x 261.85 1078.8 when analyzing the system and comparing it with a lithium
(6) .4406 x 268.3 1183.1 bromide-water cycle.
Subtotal = 2261.9 In smaller systems, the degree of ammonia vapor purity off the
Heat in top of the tower (or rectifier/analyzer) is generally less than that
(5) 4.5603 x 193.5 882.4 in the following example. As a result, tower and condenser pres-
Generator load (difference) 1379.5 sure is less, but water contamination of the refrigerant must be
Condenser constantly bled by liquid spillover from the evaporator to the
Heat in kJ/s absorber. (In larger systems, a high purity of ammonia vapor off
(6) .4406 x 2685.3 1183.1 the tower is maintained, and spillover from the absorber can be
Heat out a periodic occurrence.) To bleed refrigerant, the valve in the vapor
(7) .4406 x 188.7 83.1 line off the evaporator is throttled to establish a slight pressure
1100.0 differential between the evaporator and the absorber. Then, the
Condenser load (difference)
valve in the liquid spillover line is cracked open until the ammo-
Evaporator nia in the evaporator is purified sufficiently (detected by check-
1000 kW x I = 1000 kJ/s ing the pressure in the evaporator versus the temperature of the
Heat Balance liquid in the evaporator).
Heat in kJ/s In large systems, a vertical liquid leg under the evaporator
Evaporator load 1000.0 provides a relatively inactive area and accumulates ammonia rich
Generator load 1379.52 in water. The spillover line is tapped into this liquid leg. At an
Subtotal = 2379.5 evaporator pressure of 517 kPa, a 10070by mass water content
Heat out increases the refrigerant temperature from 5.1to 7.7°C for a 2.6°C
Absorber load 1316.2 penalty (Jennings and Shannon 1938).For pure ammonia offthe
Condenser load 1100.0 top of the tower (attained by keeping the superheat near 3.9°C),
2416.2 the operating pressure and temperatures for the tower, generator,
Balance within 1.52070 and condenser are relatively high, established by the coolant tem-
Evaporator Load perature available at the condenser.
COP = ------ = 0.725 In lithium bromide-water systems, the cooling tower water is fed
Generator Load
to the absorber and then to the condenser. In ammonia-water
With 2070heat loss to ambient, COP = 0.710 systems, the cooling t0wer water is fed first to the condenser and
The rate of steam flow or hot water flow to the generator can be deter-
then to the absorber. In both cases, coolant can be in parallel to
mined by the enthalpies of steam and hot water available with assumed improve efficiencies; however,this requires high coolant flow rates
condensate and hot water temperatures off the generator. For saturated and excessively large cooling towers.
steamat 170kPa and 2°C, subcooling of steam condensate in the gener- In the ammonia-water cycle, the reflux can be created by a
ator, the steam rate is: separate condenser or by the main condenser. Reflux can flow by
gravity or pump to the tower.Ammonia-water systems do not have
1379.5 x 1.036
----- = 0.643 m3 Is of steam at 170 kPa the potential crystallization of solution problem of lithium
(2698 - 474) bromide-water systems, and the controls can be simpler. Also, the
corrosion characteristics of ammonia-water solutions are less
and for hot water at 115°C with a 5.6 °C water range, the flow rate of hot
water is: severe,although inhibitors are generally used for both types of sys-
tems. Whereas lithium bromide-water systems use combinations
1379.5 x 0.001056 of steel, copper, and copper-nickel materials for shells and heat
------ = 0.06937 m3 Is of hot water
(482.9 - 461.9) transfer surface, no copper-bearing materials can be used in
ammonia-water systems.
The actual temperatures of the generator's heat source vary with For the ammonia-water cycle, Equation (67) determines the
the design heat transfer surface available and the application. For refrigerant flow rate, and Equation (70)develops the solution flow
lowertemperatures of steam or hot water, the concentrations of rate per unit refrigerant rate:
1.24 1993 Fundamentals Handbook (Sf)
WFSA (X) - WFSG (X - 1) (70) The enthalpy of (2) hi is determined by a mass-enthalpy flow rate
balance, as follows:
where
For 6070split (43070 WA):
WFS A = mass fraction of ammonia in solution from absorber
WFSG = mass fraction of ammonia in solution from generator
X = mass of solution from absorber per unit mass of refrigerant
166.2 - 9.5 [112.4 - (- 65.9)]18.5 = - 33.1 kJ/kg
flow
X - I = mass of solution from generator per unit mass of refriger-
ant flow For 30070split (19070WA):
For large systems, a reasonable pressure drop between the
evaporator and absorber is 10 kPa. 509.1 - 2.7 [112.4 - (-65.9)]11.7 = 2t5.9 kJ/kg
Example 6. A large ammonia-water absorption plant operating accord-
ing to the flow diagram of Figure 21 has the following conditions:
These enthalpy values correspond to the following temperatures for
1. Refrigeration load, 1758.4 kW solution entering the absorbers: for 6070 split-47.8 DC; for 30070
2. Evaporator temperature (point lO), 5.0°C split-83.1 DC.
3. Evaporator pressure (point lO), 517 kPa For a given strong ammonia (SA) concentration, tower pressure and feed
4. Absorber pressure (point 11), 507 kPa temperature, and purity of ammonia produced in the main condenser at
5. Strong aqua solution temperature (point 3), 41°C a given tower pressure, there is a minimum reflux rate to the top of the tower
6. Condenser temperature (point 8), 38°C that requires an infinite number of trays or infinite tower height. For
7. Condenser and tower pressure (point 7), 1460 kPa
ammonia-water mixtures using the enthalpy-concentration diagram of IGT
8. Concentration split (WFSG - WFS A)' 6070by mass (1964) and the procedure of Brown and Associates (1956), this minimum
9. Cooling tower water temperature, 29.4 °C reflux ratio for 49070SA at the feed condition of 78.8 °C for the tower pres-
Chapter 17 shows the enthalpy-concentration diagram for ammonia- sure of 1460 kPa is 0.0658 kg/kg of 99.95070 ammonia refrigerant feed to
water mixture and the ammonia (R-717) properties table. Assume a 3070 the evaporator. The practical reflux rate for a reasonable tower height is
increase in the theoretical refrigerant flow rate to accommodate heat losses at least 1.15 times this ratio or 0.0758 kg/kg refrigerant.
from the high-temperature shells and heat gain through insulation for the By constructing flow lines for fluid streams entering and leaving the
evaporator. tower, generator, and condenser, the combined condenser and reflux coil
From the ammonia-water diagram at 507 kPa and 41°C from the loads, as well as the generator load, can be determined with a mass enthalpy
absorber, assuming no subcooling of solution, the strong aqua (SA) has balance calculation.(Figure 22).
a concentration of 49070by mass of ammonia. A 6 to 8070concentration
split allows sufficient flow and adequate wetting of plain horizontal tubes Enthalpy kJ/kg
up to 25 mm in diameter in optimum arranged absorbers when using
gravity feed for large systems. It also ensures reasonable maximum liquid of (point 7) h;o 1468.80
flows for cost-effective exchangers and towers and a practical minimum of (point lO) h v 1450.26
temperature of heat source for the generator. Large splits reduce the flow . of (point 8) hi 361.27
rate, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of absorbers and exchangers and Difference (lO - 8) I1h lO88.99
raise the required temperature of the heat source, unless a device minimiz-
ing these effects (a solution-cooled absorber) is used. With a 6070split, the Refrigerant flow rate:
concentration of ammonia in the weak aqua (WA) from the generator or
tower will be 43070by mass. At a 30070split, the concentration of WA will 1.03 x lOoo kW/1088.99 = 0.946 kg/s
be 19070by mass ammonia. Use of Equation (70) develops the solution flow
rates: .--------._-----.-----.------.
II
For 6070split: II
0.49X - 0.43 (X - 1) = 1 (!) :CONDEN8ER
0.06 X + 0.43 = 1
or X = 0.57/0.06 = 9.5
X - 1 = 8.5 REFLUX COI.
CD
For 30070split:
0.49X- 0.19(X-1) = 1
0.30X + 0.19 = 1
or X = 0.81/0.30 = 2.7
X - 1 = 1.7 TOWER
Rush, W.E 1968. The stability of LiBr-LiSCN solutions in water. AGA Whitlow, E.P. and 1.S.Swearingen. 1958.An improved absorption refriger-
Symposium on Absorption Air-Conditioning Systems, Chicago, ation cycle. Gas Age 122(9):19.
February.
Stewart, R.B., R.T.Jacobsen, and S.G. Penoncello. 1986.ASHRAE Ther- BIBLIOGRAPHY
modynamic properties of refrigerants. ASHRAE, Atlanta, GA.
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Swers, R. 1968.A thermodynamic analysis of a basic compression refriger- tion in ammonia-water absorption refrigeration. ASHRAE Trans-
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Swers, R., Y.P. Patel, and R.B. Stewart. 1972. Thermodynamic analysis
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