Vapour Absorption Refrigeration

System
 The vapour absorption refrigeration system
uses heat energy instead of mechanical
energy.
 In the vapour absorption refrigeration

system, the compressor is replaced by an

absorber, a pump, a generator and a pressure
reducing valve.
 The vapour absorption refrigeration system

needs at least two fluids. One fluid acts as a

refrigerant while the other as an absorber.
Refrigerant – Solvent Properties
Desirable properties of (absorber)solvent :-
i. The absorber should have great affinity to absorb the refrigerant.
ii. Ideal refrigerant should remain in liquid state under operating
conditions.
iii. Heat liberated during the absorption of refrigerant should be as
small as possible. This reduces the heat to be rejected in the
condenser.
iv. It should have high boiling point.
v. The solvent should have low specific heat for better heat transfer.
vi. It should have low viscosity for minimum pump work.
vii. There should be a suitable pressure temperature concentration
relationship to meet the actual practical conditions needed in the
various components of the system.
Refrigerant – Solvent Properties
 Desirable properties of refrigerant – solvent
combination :-
i. The desirable absorbent – refrigerant combination should
have the property of solubility at conditions in the
absorber but low solubility in the generator.
ii. The refrigerant should be more volatile than the
absorbent for easy separation in the generator.
iii. The desirable absorbent – refrigerant combination should
be chemically stable.
iv. The desirable absorbent – refrigerant combination should
not cause corrosion.
v. The refrigerant should have high latent heat to have low
mass flow rates.
 Characteristics of Ammonia
 Water has large capacity to absorb ammonia vapour
e.g.1 m³ of water at 13°C is capable of absorbing
1000m³ of ammonia vapour.
 The amount of NH3 vapour that water can absorb
increases with increase in pressure and decreases
with the increase in temperature.
 During absorption of ammonia vapour in water ,
more heat is liberated. It is corrosive to metals.
 Water can be induced to give up dissolved ammonia
by heating since the boiling temperature of
ammonia is -33.3°C at atmospheric pressure which
is much lower than that of water at any pressure.
Simple Vapour Absorption System
Simple Vapour Absorption System
 Ammonia is used as a refrigerant while water
is used as an absorbent.
 It consists of an absorbent , a pump, a

generator and pressure reducing valve to

replace the compressor of the vapour
compression system.
 The other components of the system are

condenser, receiver, expansion valve and

evaporator as in the vapour compression
system.
Practical vapour absorption system
Practical vapour absorption system
 Additional components like Analyzer, Rectifier and heat
exchanger are added to simple vapour absorption system
to make the system more practical.
 Analyzer – The function of the analyzer is to remove
moisture from the ammonia vapour leaving the generator.
 Rectifier – The function of the rectifier is to condense the
leftover traces of water and drain the condensate back to
the analyzer i.e. in case the water vapours are not
completely removed in the analyzer.
 Heat Exchanger – The heat exchanger provided the pump
and the generator cools the weak hot solution returning
from the generator to the absorber using the cold strong
aqua solution suppliedHeatby the aqua
absorbed pump.
in evaporator
COP =
Work done by pump + Heat supplied in generator
COP of the system is given by ,
Vapour absorption refrigeration system VS
Vapour Compression refrigeration system
 In vapour absorption system, pump is a moving part which has
small motor. Thus, operation of the system is quiet and subjected
to little wear. The vapour compression system of the same
capacity has more wear, tear and noise due to moving parts of the
compressor.
 The vapour absorption system use heat energy to change the

condition of the refrigerant from the evaporator. The vapour

compression system uses mechanical energy to change the
condition of the refrigerant from the evaporator.
 The vapour absorption system can be used where the electric

power is difficult to obtain.

 The vapour absorption system can operate at reduced evaporator

pressure and temperature. But the capacity of vapour

compression system drops rapidly with lowered evaporator
pressure.
Vapour absorption refrigeration system VS
Vapour Compression refrigeration system
 The load variation do not affect the performance of a vapour
absorption system. The load variation are met by controlling the
quantity of aqua circulated and the quantity of steam supplied to
the generator. The performance of vapour compression system at
part load is poor.
 In the vapour absorption system, the liquid refrigerant leaving the
evaporator has no bad effect on the system except that of reducing
the refrigerating effect. In the vapour compression system , it is
essential to superheat the vapour refrigerant leaving the evaporator
so that no liquid may enter the compressor.
 The vapour absorption system can be built in capacities well above
1000 TR of refrigeration. The same is not the case with vapour
compression system using compression.
 The space requirement and automatic control requirements favour
the absorption system more as the evaporator temperature drops.
COP of the ideal Vapour Absorption
Refrigeration System
Let,
Q = Desired Refrigerating Effect
L

Q = Heat given to Refrigerant in the generator

g

Q = Heat added to the Refrigerant due to pump work

p

Q = Heat to be dissipated to the atmosphere

C

T = Temperature at which heat Q is supplied to the generator

g g

T = Temperature at which heat Q is discharged to atmosphere

C C

T = Temperature at which heat Q is absorbed in the evaporator.

L L

According to first law of thermodynamics,

Q =Q  Q  Q
C g L p

Since the heat due to pump work Q is very negligible

p

Q =Q  Q
C g L
COP of the ideal Vapour Absorption
Refrigeration System
 Since the vapour absorption system can be considered as a
perfectly reversible system , the initial entropy of the system
must be equal to the entropy of the system after the change
in its condition. Q Q Q
g
 L
 C

T g
T L
T
C

Q Q Q Q
  g L g L

T T g
T L C

Q Q Q Q
  g
  g L L

T T
g
T T C C L

 1 1   1 1 
Q   Q T  
g

 T T g C
L

 C
T  L

T T  T T 
Q  Q
C g

 T T 
L C
g

 T  T g C
L

 C  L
COP of the ideal Vapour Absorption
Refrigeration System
 T -T   T ×T 
 Q =Q  L
  T -T 
C g C

 T
L
×T C  L C g

 T -T   T 
 Q =Q    T -T 
L C g


L
T  L C g

Q  T   T -T 
 COP  = =   
g C

Q  T -T   T 
L L
max

g C L g

From the above equation;

 T 
1. The expression   represents the COP of a Carnot
L

 T -T  C L

Refrigerator working between Temperature limits of T & T . L C

 T -T 
2.The expression   represents the efficiency of a Carnot
g C

 T  g

Engine working between Temperature limits of T & T . g C

Domestic Electrolux ( Ammonia-
Hydrogen ) Refrigerator

•Refrigerant- ammonia
•Three fluids-hydrogen,
ammonia, water
• Hydrogen- increase
the rate of evaporation
of liquid ammonia
•Water - absorbent
Domestic Electrolux ( Ammonia-
Hydrogen ) Refrigerator
 It is known as three fluids absorption system.
 Three fluids are namely , ammonia,

hydrogen and water.

 Ammonia acts as a refrigerant , water as an

absorbent and hydrogen gas promotes

evaporation of refrigerant in the evaporator.
 The main purpose of this system is to

eliminate the pump so that in the absence of

moving parts, the machine becomes
noiseless.
Lithium Bromide Absorption
Refrigeration System
Lithium Bromide Absorption
Refrigeration System
 In this system, water works as a refrigerant and lithium bromide
salt solution as an absorbent.
 The lithium bromide solution has strong affinity to water vapour

because of its low vapour pressure. It means that if water and

lithium bromide solution are placed adjacent to each other in a
closed evacuated system , water would evaporate.
 The main components of the system are :-

1. Generator
2. Heat Exchanger
3. Absorber
4. Solution Pump
5. Evaporator Pump
6. Condenser
7. Evaporator
Practical Lithium - bromide absorption
refrigeration system
Lithium Bromide Absorption
Refrigeration System
 Advantages :-
1. The pressure inside the system is below
atmospheric, hence the system is light in weight.
2. Water as the refrigerant is non-toxic, homogeneous
and it can be directly used for chilled coil for air
conditioning.
3. The work energy requirement are negligible since
the pressure difference between the generator and
the evaporator is very small.
4. These plants have been built with up to one lakh TR
capacity by Thermax Ltd. For various industries.
5. Operation and maintenance cost is vey low.
Lithium Bromide Absorption
Refrigeration System
 Disadvantages:-
1. Lithium bromide solution is corrosive ,
therefore inhibitors should be added to
protect metal parts against corrosion.
2. All joints should be made leak proof to
prevent leakages since the system works
under vacuum.
3. Once the system stops working , the
solution may solidify and require
replacement of the pipes etc.