Vapour Absorption Refrigeration absorbent, and (b) aqua-ammonia, where ammonia (NH3) is the

refrigerant and water or aqua is the absorbent.

The absorption refrigeration system developed by Ferdinand Carre in
France. These cycles are economical where inexpensive heat energy The former combination is used in air conditioning but is not suitable
sources such as geothermal energy, solar heat and cheap natural gas for low temperature applications.
are available in abundance.
Due to the toxicity of ammonia the latter combination is not used in
SIMPLE VAPOUR ABSORPTION CYCLE air-conditioning applications. The absorbent should have a greater
affinity for the refrigerant and the two must be mutually soluble over
The simple vapour absorption refrigeration cycle, as shown in Fig. 1, the desired range of operating conditions. Ideally, the absorbent
is similar to the vapour compression cycle in many ways, however, it should have a low volatility and the refrigerant should have a
differs in the method employed for compressing the fluid. In this reasonably high latent heat.
cycle the compressor is substituted by a generator, an absorber and
a pump. There is another difference, that is, in addition to the
refrigerant another fluid known as absorbent is used in vapour
absorption cycles.

Two common combinations of refrigerant-absorbent are: (a) a

solution of lithium bromide in water, water being refrigerant and
lithium bromide (LiBr), which is a highly hygroscopic salt, being the
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Vapour Absorption and Vapour Compression Refrigeration

Fig. 1: Comparison of simple vapour compression and vapour absorption cycles

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 Absorber
ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS
In industrial systems the absorber may consist of one or more shells
The basic components of a practical vapour absorption cycle are similar to the shell-and-tube type condensers containing water
described here. In order to improve efficiency, some items of cooling tubes. The weak solution from the generator and the strong
additional auxiliary equipment are added in practical systems. solution from the evaporator are introduced to the absorber and the
resulting strong solution is drawn off from the absorber.
However, detailed studies need to be carried out to ensure the most
desirable balance between the initial cost and the operating cost. The The purpose of the cooling water in the tubes is to remove the heat of
purposes and locations of the main components and auxiliaries are condensation and heat of absorption as the vapour condenses and is
discussed in the following: absorbed by the weak solution. The lower aqua ammonia temperature
in the absorber allows more absorption of vapour, leading to a
Generator refrigerant rich solution.

The generator unit is basically a shell partly filled with a strong Heat exchanger
solution and automatically maintained at a constant level covering
the submerged steam or the hot gas/water tubes. Energy is provided The most common auxiliary is the heat exchanger (Fig. 2) located
from an external source such as process/waste steam or even solar- between the absorber and the generator to heat the cool solution
heated water. from the absorber on its way to the generator and to cool the solution
returning from the generator to the absorber.
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Sometimes a second heat exchanger may be used to sub-cool the Rectifier

refrigerant entering the expansion valve as shown later in Fig. 2.
The purpose of a rectifier is to cool further the vapour leaving the
analyzer so that the residual vapour is condensed, leaving the
This operation economises on the amount of cooling needed for the dehydrated ammonia vapour to flow into the condenser.
absorber and the amount of heat needed for the generator. Shell-and-
tube heat exchangers are commonly used in large installations. The rectifier is generally water-cooled and may be similar in
construction to conventional water cooled condensers. Temperatures
Analyzer of 40 to 50°C will usually dehydrate ammonia sufficiently.

The analyzer may be built as an integral part of the generator or as a Fig. 2 shows an aqua ammonia absorption cycle - complete with the
separate equipment. Both the strong aqua from the absorber and the basic components and all the auxiliaries including two heat
returning aqua from the rectifier are introduced from the top and exchangers.
these flow downward into the generator.

In this way the escaping water vapour is cooled by the incoming

solution and most of the vapour is condensed. As the aqua is heated
by the vapour, less heat is required in the generator, thus effecting
economy.
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 Analysis of Vapour Absorption System

Fig. 2: Absorption cycle with auxiliaries and two heat exchangers

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Aqua-Ammonia Absorption System

Aqua-ammonia vs. LiBr System

1. Two systems have comparable COPs.

2. Aqua-ammonia system can provide temperatures below 0oC, but

commercial LiBr systems are limited to temperatures higher than 3oC.

3. Auqa-ammonia system requires extra components such as rectifier &

analyser.

4. Aaqua-ammonia system operates at pressures higher than atmospheric,

LiBr systems operate at very low pressures.

5. LiBr is very corrosive, hence require special inhibitors.

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 Problem
Problems with Vapour Absorption System In an absorption system using LiBr, TG=100oC,TE=10oC,Ta=30oC,Tc=40oC.
Estimate the values of COP for the following conditions:
1. High initial cost

2. Shorter life (15 yrs for VA systems, 25 yrs for VC systems.)

1. Ideal/Carnot cycle
3. Requires more space 2. A real cycle if pump delivers 0.6 kg/s solution
3. If a heat exchanger is inserted after the pump and water enters the
4. Requires more condenser water ( 4.4 gpm/ton for VA systems, 3.0
gpm/ton for VC systems), high capacity cooling tower and water generator at 52oC.
treatment plant.
4. If condensing temperature is reduced to 34oC, is there any chance of
5. Requires chimney. crystallization?

6. Require proper maintenance and longer downtime for overhauling.

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