[en] The continuous-cycle absorption refrigeration device is widely used in domestic refrigerators, and recreational vehicles. It is also used in year-around air conditioning of both homes and larger buildings. The unit consists of four main parts the boiler, condenser, evaporator and the absorber. When the unit operates on kerosene or gas, the heat is supplied by a burner. This element is fitted underneath the central tube. When operating on electricity, the heat is supplied by an element inserted in the pocket. No moving parts are employed. The operation of the refrigerating mechanism is based on Dalton's law. In this study, experimental analysis was performed of a diffusion absorption refrigeration system (DARS) used alternative energy sources such as solar, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) sources. Two basic DAR cycles were set up and investigated: i) In the first cycle (DARS-1), the condensate is sub-cooled prior to the evaporator entrance by the coupled evaporator/gas heat exchanger similar with manufactured by Electrolux Sweden. ii) In the second cycle (DARS-2), the condensate is not sub-cooled prior to the evaporator entrance and gas heat exchanger is separated from the evaporator. (author)

[en] The objective of this paper is to investigate the adsorption refrigeration cycle as a promising refrigeration technique that works using clean resources. The major aim is achieving energy-efficient system compared to the traditional system. This is approached by applying the equations of heat and mass equilibrium for a two-stage adsorption refrigeration cycle, taking into consideration the climate conditions in Syria. We solved the equations numerically to study the effects of different parameters changes. It is proved that the studied cycle can reach a relatively low temperature as -32 [^oC]. Moreover, it can be operated in ambient temperature as high as 53 [^oC]. In contrast, the coefficient of performance decreases with the decrease of the internal temperature and the increase of the ambient temperature. Additionally, the study shows that increase of the cooling load causes an accelerated reduction in the coefficient of performan. (author)

[en] Graphical abstract: A novel air-cooled non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle using R290/refrigeration oil has been thermodynamically analyzed. Influences of the ejector and the non-adiabatic absorber applications on the system performance and other system operation parameters have been investigated. The simulation results will be of great help to the miniaturization and practical application of the air-cooled absorption refrigeration system. - Highlights: • A novel air-cooled non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle is proposed. • Influences of the ejector and the air-cooled non-adiabatic absorber applications on the system performance are investigated. • Variations of system performance and other system operation parameters are investigated. • R290/refrigeration oil mixture used as working pairs is analyzed. - Abstract: This paper thermodynamically analyzes a novel air-cooled non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle with R290/oil mixture driven by exhaust heat. An ejector located at the upstream of the non-adiabatic absorber is employed to improve the cycle performance. Variations of COP, circulation ratio and component heat load of the system as a function of generating temperature, pressure ratio, absorption temperature, condensing temperature and evaporating temperature have been investigated in this work. The simulation results show that, compared with the conventional absorption refrigeration cycle, this non-adiabatic ejection-absorption refrigeration cycle has higher absorption efficiency, better performance, wider working condition range and lower total heat load and its COP can reach as high as 0.5297. The implementation of the ejector and the non-adiabatic absorber helps to realize the miniaturization and wider application of the absorption refrigeration system. In addition, R290/oil mixture is a kind of highly potential working pairs for absorption refrigeration.

[en] The experiences of Proton Energy Systems Inc., in commercializing PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) technology were explored as an example of what is involved in bringing new technology to market. The venture capital market as distinct from major capital markets was described. The article pointed out the generally high risk nature of, and the low interest by venture capitalists in hydrogen projects, and the high cost of such capital in terms of ownership and control. Some of the reasons for the difficulties in finding venture capital were outlined (one of them is that hydrogen has generated a lot more 'hype' than heat). The strategies used by Proton Energy Systems to find an investor for their particular project were described

[en] The increasing energy consumption and the scarcity of energy sources require an optimization of all technical processes. Absorption chillers represent a promising technology in order to provide a cooling demand with low-energy consumption. Indeed, such chillers are driven by low-temperature heat which is often available as waste heat from industrial processes, or can be obtained by the mean of solar collectors. On the other side, absorption chillers are not yet competitive with traditional compression chiller because of their low efficiency and reliability. One way to increase the efficiency of these chillers is by the means of additives. When added in small quantities to the working fluid, they reduce the surface tension, promoting Marangoni convection at the interface of the tube bundle of the absorber. As a consequence, the heat and mass transfer is enhanced. Although several investigations have been carried out in literature, only two kinds of additives are mostly investigated. Nevertheless, enhancement mechanism is not yet fully understood, and different theories have been proposed. In the present work, the influence of additives on the dynamic surface tension of aqueous lithium bromide solution is investigated. Common additives (2-ethylhexanol and 1-octanol) as well as new additives (3-phenyl-1-propan, 3,5,5-trymethyl-1-hexanol) are used. Surface tension is measured by the pendant-drop method. Different parameters, such as additive concentration and surrounding atmosphere, are varied during the experiment. Among the four additives investigated, 2-ethylhexanol shows the fastest absorption rate, while 3-phenyl-1-propanol has no influence in reducing the surface tension. The current study is carried out in the framework of the ITN Marie Curie ''SHINE'' research program financed by the EU.

[en] Highlights: • A new trigeneration cycle was studied from a new viewpoint of exergoeconomic and thermodynamic. • Organic Rankine and refrigeration cycles are used for recovery waste heat of cogeneration system. • Application of trigeneration cycles is advantageous in economical and thermodynamic aspects. - Abstract: In this paper, a combined cooling, heating and power cycle is proposed consisting of three sections of gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator cycle, Regenerative organic Rankine cycle, and absorption refrigeration cycle. This trigeneration cycle is subjected to a thorough thermodynamic and exergoeconomic analysis. The principal goal followed in the investigation is to address the thermodynamic and exergoeconomic of a trigeneration cycle from a new prospective such that the economic and thermodynamic viability of incorporating Regenerative organic Rankine cycle, and absorption refrigeration cycle to the gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator cycle is being investigated. Thus, the cost-effectiveness of the introduced method can be studied and further examined. The results indicate that adding Regenerative organic Rankine cycle to gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator cycle leads to 2.5% increase and the addition of absorption refrigeration cycle to the gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator/ Regenerative Organic Rankine cycle would cause 0.75% increase in the exergetic efficiency of the entire cycle. Furthermore, from total investment cost of the trigeneration cycle, only 5.5% and 0.45% results from Regenerative organic Rankine cycle and absorption refrigeration cycles, respectively.

[en] This paper presents a comprehensive exergy analysis of a combined power and cooling cycle which combines a Rankine and absorption refrigeration cycle by using ammonia–water mixture as working fluid. A thermodynamic model was developed in Matlab^® to find out the effect of pressure ratio, ammonia mass fraction at the absorber and turbine efficiency on the total exergy destruction of the cycle. The contribution of each cycle component on the total exergy destruction was also determined. The results showed that total exergy destruction decreases when pressure ratio increases, and reaches a maximum at x ≈ 0.5, when ammonia mass fraction is varied at absorber. Also, it was found that the absorber, the boiler and the turbine had the major contribution to the total exergy destruction of the cycle, and the increase of the turbine efficiency reduces the total exergy destruction. The effect of rectification cooling source (external and internal) on the cycle output was investigated, and the results showed that internal rectification cooling reduces the total exergy destruction of the cycle. Finally, the effect of the presence or absence of the superheater after the rectification process was determined and it was obtained that the superheated condition reduces the exergy destruction of the cycle at high turbine efficiency values. Highlights: • A parametric exergy analysis of a combined power and cooling cycle is performed. • Two scenarios for rectifier cooling (internal and external) were studied. • Internal cooling source is more exergetic efficient than external cooling source. • The absorber and boiler have the largest total exergy destruction. • Our results show that the superheater reduces the exergy destruction of the cycle

[en] Highlights: • An exergoeconomic analysis is performed for the SCRB/ARC cycle. • Parametric analysis is performed to study the performance of the SCRB/ARC. • Performances of the SCRB/ARC and SCRBC are presented and compared. • The SCRB/ARC has better performances in comparison with the SCRBC. - Abstract: Exergoeconomic analysis is performed for a novel combined SCRB/ARC (supercritical CO₂ recompression Brayton/absorption refrigeration cycle) in which the waste heat from the SCRBC is recovered by an ARC for producing cooling. Parametric analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of the decision variables on the performance of the SCRB/ARC cycle. The performances of the SCRB/ARC and SCRBC cycles are optimized and compared from the viewpoints of first law, second law and exergoeconomics. It is concluded that combining the SCRBC with an ARC can not only enhance the first and second law efficiencies of the SCRBC, but also improve the exergoeconomic performance. The results show that the largest exergy destruction rate occurs in the reactor, while the components in the ARC have less exergy destruction. The reactor and turbine are the first and second important components from exergoeconomic aspects. When optimization is based on the exergoeconomics, the first and second law efficiencies and the total product unit cost of SCRB/ARC are 26.12% higher, 2.73% higher and 2.03% lower than those of the SCRBC. The optimization study also reveals that an increase in the reactor outlet temperature can enhance both thermodynamic and exergoeconomic performances of the SCRB/ARC. For the basic design case, the SCRB/ARC can produce 71.76 MW of the cooling capacity and 6.57 MW of the cooling exergy at the expense of only 0.36 MW of power in comparison with the SCRBC.

[en] Absorption heat pumps, first developed in the 19th century, have received renewed and growing attention in the past two decades. With the increasing cost of oil and electricity, the particular features of this heat-powered cycle have made it attractive for both residential and industrial applications. Solar-powered air conditioning, gas-fired domestic cooling and waste-heat-powered temperature boosters are some of the applications on which intensive research and development has been conducted. This paper describes the operation of absorption systems and discusses several practical applications. It surveys recent advances in absorption technology, including the selection of working fluids, cycle improvements and multi-staging, and fundamentals of the combined heat and mass transfer in absorption processes. (author)

[en] Highlights: • Advanced exergy analysis is applied to a parallel flow double-effect H₂O-LiBr absorption chiller. • Endogenous/exogenous and avoidable/unavoidable irreversibilities are calculated. • System performance is optimized for maximum COP and exergy efficiency using the Golden Section method. • Effects of operating conditions on COP and exergy efficiency of the system are examined. • Real potential priorities for possible improvements of the system and its components are identified. -- Abstract: In this paper, a parallel flow double-effect water-lithium bromide absorption refrigeration cycle is investigated using comprehensive exergy-based analyses. The exergy destruction of each device is calculated and used for further analysis. The performance of the system is optimized for maximum coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency, considering the distribution ratio as a variable using the Golden Section method. The maximum coefficient of performance, i.e. 1.295, is obtained at a high pressure generator temperature of 169.6 °C, and the maximum exergy efficiency, i.e. 0.225, is obtained at a high pressure generator temperature of 142.7 °C. Advanced exergy analysis, a state of the art thermodynamic method, is employed for diagnosing equipment and cycle malfunctions. Not only can the aforementioned analysis pinpoint the source of irreversibility, it also provides the avoidable irreversibility as well. The results show that the endogenous part of the exergy destruction is much larger than the exogenous part, implying it is better to focus on component efficiencies to improve system performance. Moreover, the unavoidable part of the total exergy destruction is much larger than the avoidable portion, indicating that exergy destruction cannot be decreased owing to technical limitations of equipment.