Thermodynamic analysis of an ammonia/water absorption–resorption refrigeration system

Abstract

Ammonia/water absorption–resorption refrigeration systems are an interesting technological alternative to conventional absorption systems thanks to their additional degree of freedom, which makes operation more flexible and can significantly reduce the typically high working pressure, so cheaper assembly materials can be used. This paper aims to review the theoretical and experimental works carried out so far on these systems, paying special attention to the experimental plants currently operating and recent progress in improving system control.This paper reports how to determine the operational pressure range when the temperatures of the main components of the ammonia/water single-stage cycle are fixed and how the pressure range changes when these working temperatures are varied. As a result of the theoretical study of the base case selected, the cycle performance was evaluated without rectification after the generator in order to reduce the size and cost of the system without reducing the performance. Finally, it should be pointed out that the effectiveness of the resorption solution heat exchanger plays an important role in the performance and operating conditions of the cycle because the cycle cannot work below certain values of effectiveness.