Multi-pressure absorption cycles in solar refrigeration:: A technical and economical study

A technical and economical study of regenerative absorption chillers with multi-pressure cycle has been undertaken as solar operated refrigeration systems. Referred to as advanced absorption chillers they represent one of the new technology options that are under development. Advanced absorption cooling technology offers the possibility of chillers with thermal COPs of 1.5 or greater at driving temperatures of 140°C, which reduces the collector area and the heat rejection requirements compared to current absorption cooling technology. Two different absorption systems have been considered. The first is an advanced, double-effect regenerative absorption cooling system, driven at 140°C, whose efficiency is about 55% of the Carnot efficiency. The second is an ideal, single-effect regenerative absorption system that achieves 70% of the Carnot efficiency driven at 140°C or 200°C. To evaluate the solar performance of a thermally driven chiller requires a separate analysis of the solar availability for a given location compared to the required monthly average solar input. In this analysis different systems, including the vapour compression chillers, have been compared in terms of the thermal and electrical energy input. An effective electrical COP may be computed assuming that the ratio of electrical energy cost to thermal energy cost is four, which is typical of today’s fossil fuel costs. The effective electrical COPs of different technical options can then be compared. Those systems with higher electrical COPs will have lower energy costs. If solar is to be competitive, then the cost of delivered solar thermal energy should be less than the cost of delivered fossil thermal energy.     

Solar cooling system using concentrating collectors for office buildings: A case study for Greece

On a European level there is intense research activity to broaden the applications of solar thermal systems beyond their established domains (hot water, space heating support) and to foster their participation in the energy maps of the EU-Member States. Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) systems are expected to play a key role in this effort, especially for achieving the medium and high temperatures needed, for electricity generation, for industrial applications but also for hybridized solar heating/cooling and desalination applications.This paper presents a proposal for implementation of a CST system in the building sector, based on a research carried out in the Laboratory of Environmental and Energy Efficient Design of Buildings and Settlements at the University of Thrace. Specifically, an integrated solar cooling system using parabolic trough solar collectors and double-effect chiller is discussed, used to cover the cooling needs of typical office building in Greece.As it was shown, the use of concentrating solar collectors leads to significantly higher output temperatures that can enable the use of two stage absorption chillers with a higher COP. Alternatively, when low or medium temperature heat is required, the use of CST systems takes less space to cope with it than traditional flat plate collectors. The combination of these parameters can contribute to removing key barriers associated with the broader diffusion of solar cooling technology, enhancing the potential to become more competitive to the conventional air conditioning technologies.     

太阳能制冷与供暖系统的设计与比较

根据上海的气候条件，以上海地区某写字楼为对象，提出4种太阳能驱动的溴化锂吸收式与电动蒸汽压缩式热泵联合制冷与供暖系统。这4种系统分别由热管式真空管集热器或抛物面槽形聚光集热器，单效或双效溴化锂吸收式制冷机，以及风冷热泵或水源热泵构成。分析比较这4种系统的节能型和经济性的结果表明，采用抛物面槽形聚光集热器＋双效溴化锂吸收式制冷机＋风冷热泵组成的系统，同时具备较好的节能性与经济性，一次能源利用率可降低约50％。     

Transient simulation and parametric study of solar-assisted heating and cooling absorption systems: An energetic,economic and environmental (3E) assessment

This paper presents energetic, economic, and environmental (3E) analyses of four configurations of solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems based on coupling evacuated tube collectors with a single-effect LiBr–H₂O absorption chiller. In the first configuration (SHC1), a gas-fired heater is used as the back-up system, while a mechanical compression chiller is employed as the auxiliary cooling system in the second configuration (SHC2). The capacity of the absorption chiller is designed based on the maximum building cooling load in these configurations. The third and fourth configurations (SHC3 and SHC4) are similar to SHC2, but the absorption chiller size is reduced to 50% and 20%, respectively. The results show that the highest primary energy saving is achieved by SHC2, leading to a solar fraction of 71.8% and saving 54.51% primary energy as compared to a reference conventional HVAC system. The economic performance of all configurations is still unsatisfactory (without subsidies) due to their high capital costs. However, if a government subsidy of 50% is considered, the results suggest that SHC4 can be economically feasible, achieving a payback period of 4.1 years, net present value of 568,700 AUD and solar fraction of 43%, contributing to 27.16% decrease in the plant primary energy consumption.     

Experimental study with operational solar‐sorption cooling

Building integrated solar systems have been considered as a reasonable system for building heating, cooling and hot water supply. Various types of solar collectors, such as plate type, evacuated tube type and solar air collector, have been used as the heat source, whereas adsorption chillers, absorption chillers and desiccant dehumidification systems have been considered to match the above solar heat sources. Now, such sorption chillers are more matured, but their coupling with suitable solar heat source is not well researched. Experimental study has been done in this paper to analyse four kinds of typical solar air‐conditioning system with different sorption chillers and solar collectors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling and simulation of a 100 kWe HT-PEMFC subsystem integrated with an absorption chiller subsystem

A 100 kW_e liquid-cooled HT-PEMFC subsystem is integrated with an absorption chiller subsystem to provide electricity and cooling. The system is designed, modeled and simulated to investigate the potential of this technology for future novel energy system applications. Liquid-cooling can provide better temperature control and is preferable for middle-scale transport applications, such as commercial vessels, because stack cooling can be achieved within smaller volumes. A commercial ship requiring cooling and electricity is taken as the case study for the application of the proposed system. All system components are described and analyzed in detail, in terms of modeling assumptions and configuration topology. The results show the conceptual feasibility of the proposed system configuration, since high net electrical efficiencies are accomplished. The calculated net electrical efficiency is 43.8% for a net electrical power output of 100 kW_e. The heat exhausted to the absorption chiller subsystem is 107 kW and can satisfy a cooling duty of up to 128 or 64.5 kW for a LiBr–water double-effect system or a water–NH₃ single-effect system, respectively. Finally, the projected total cost is comparable to conventional systems, i.e., diesel engines integrated with vapor-compression chillers, and therefore justifies further development of the proposed system.     

Solar-assisted single-double-effect absorption chiller for use in Asian tropical climates

Solar energy is accessible throughout the year in tropical regions. The latest development of absorption chillers has demonstrated that these systems are suitable for effective use of solar energy. The utilisation of solar energy for heat-driven cooling systems has significant advantages. Without a doubt, solar energy represents a clean energy source that is available without any additional fuel cost, and that can be proportionally accessible when the cooling load increases during the middle hours of the day. This study focuses on a single-double-effect absorption chiller machine that was installed in Indonesia. The system is driven by a dual-heat source that combines gas and solar energy. This system is characterised by simulating its performance in various conditions in terms of the cooling water (28–34 °C) and the hot water (75–90 °C) inlet temperatures. The reference operating condition of this system is 239 kW of cooling capacity. The mathematical model is validated and shows a good agreement with experimental data. In the operative range considered, simulation results yield a coefficient of performance between 1.4 and 3.3, and a gas reduction ratio from 7 to 58% when compared to a double-effect absorption chiller driven by gas. Based on the simulation results, this system is expected to have a good potential for widespread use in tropical Asia regions.     

Modelling a solar-assisted air-conditioning system installed in CIESOL building using an artificial neural network

This paper proposes Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to model a solar-assisted air-conditioning system installed in the Solar Energy Research Center (CIESOL). This system consists mainly of the single-effect LiBr-H₂0 absorption chiller fed by water provided from either solar collectors or hot water storage tanks. The present work describes the total solar cooling systems based on absorption chiller and provided only with solar collectors. The experimental data were collected during the cooling period of 2008. ANN was used with the main goal of predicting the efficiency of the chiller and global system using the lowest number of input variables. The configuration 7-8-4 (7 inputs, 8 hidden and 4 output neurons) was found to be the optimal topology. The results demonstrate the accuracy ANN’s predictions with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of less than 1.9% and practically null deviation, which can be considered very satisfactory.     

Integration of absorption cooling systems into micro gas turbine trigeneration systems using biogas: Case study of a sewage treatment plant

Absorption chillers can help to increase the performance of biogas-driven micro gas turbine (MGT) cogeneration plants. In this paper we analyse various integrated configurations of several types of commercially available absorption cooling chillers and MGT cogeneration systems driven by biogas. MGTs are fuelled with biogas and their waste heat is used to drive absorption chillers and other thermal energy users. The chillers considered in this study include single- and double-effect water/LiBr and ammonia/water chillers. The exhaust gas from the MGT can be used directly to drive the chiller or indirectly to produce hot water to drive the chiller. In this paper we conduct a case study for an existing sewage treatment plant. Chilled water is used to reduce humidity in the biogas pre-treatment process and cool the combustion air of the MGT. We identify the most interesting integrated configurations for trigeneration systems that use biogas and micro gas turbines. We analyse these configurations and compare them with conventional configurations using operational data from an existing sewage treatment plant. The best configurations are those that completely replace the existing system with a trigeneration plant that uses all the available biogas and additional natural gas to completely meet the heating demands of the sewage treatment plant.     

Transient analysis and energy optimization of solar heating and cooling systems in various configurations

In this paper, a transient simulation model of solar-assisted heating and cooling systems (SHC) is presented. A detailed case study is also discussed, in which three different configurations are considered. In all cases, the SHC system is based on the coupling of evacuated solar collectors with a single-stage LiBr-H₂O absorption chiller, and a gas-fired boiler is also included for auxiliary heating, only during the winter season. In the first configuration, the cooling capacity of the absorption chiller and the solar collector area are designed on the basis of the maximum cooling load, and an electric chiller is used as the auxiliary cooling system. The second layout is similar to the first one, but, in this case, the absorption chiller and the solar collector area are sized in order to balance only a fraction of the maximum cooling load. Finally, in the third configuration, there is no electric chiller, and the auxiliary gas-fired boiler is also used in summer to feed the absorption chiller, in case of scarce solar irradiation.The simulation model was developed using the TRNSYS software, and included the analysis of the dynamic behaviour of the building in which the SHC systems were supposed to be installed. The building was simulated using a single-lumped capacitance model. An economic model was also developed, in order to assess the operating and capital costs of the systems under analysis. Furthermore, a mixed heuristic-deterministic optimization algorithm was implemented, in order to determine the set of the synthesis/design variables that maximize the energy efficiency of each configuration under analysis.The results of the case study were analyzed on monthly and weekly basis, paying special attention to the energy and monetary flows of the standard and optimized configurations. The results are encouraging as for the potential of energy saving. On the contrary, the SHC systems appear still far from the economic profitability: however, this is notoriously true for the great majority of renewable energy systems.     

The absorption chiller in large scale solar pond cooling design with condenser heat rejection in the upper convecting zone

The possibility of using solar ponds as low-cost solar collectors combined with commerical absorption chillers in large scale solar cooling design is investigated. The analysis is based on the combination of a steady-state solar pond mathematical model with the operational characteristics of a commercial absorption chiller, assuming condenser heat rejection in the upper convecting zone (U.C.Z.). The numerical solution of the nonlinear equations involved leads to results which relate the chiller capacity with pond design and environmental parameters, which are also employed for the investigation of the optimum pond size for a minimum capital cost. The derived cost per cooling kW for a 350 kW chiller ranges from about 300 to 500 $/kW cooling. This is almost an order of magnitude lower than using a solar collector field of evacuated tube type.     

Solar-powered systems for cooling, dehumidification and air-conditioning

This paper describes current trends in solar-powered air conditioning, which has seen renewed interest in recent years due to the growing awareness of global warming and other environmental problems. Closed-cycle heat-powered cooling devices are based mainly on absorption chillers, a proven technology employing LiBr–water as the working fluid pair. Recent developments in gas-fired systems of this type make available double- and triple-effect chillers with considerably higher COP than their single-effect counterparts, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of solar heat required per kW of cooling. These systems require, however, high-temperature solar collectors. The principles of multi-staging absorption systems are described. An economic comparison is provided which shows the total system cost to be dominated by the solar part of the system. At current prices, the high COP, high temperature alternative is still more costly than the low temperature one. Open-cycle desiccant systems employing either solid or liquid sorbents are described. While the main thrust in research on novel closed-cycle absorption systems has been toward increasing the operating temperature in order to improve efficiency through multi-staging, open-cycle absorption and desiccant systems have been developed for use with low temperature heat sources such as flat plate solar collectors. A novel open-cycle (DER) system is described, which makes it possible to use the solar heat at relatively low temperatures, for producing both chilled water and cold, dehumidified air in variable quantities, as required by the load.     

太阳能干燥剂复合式空调试验装置

参照国外类似对象的标准试验方法,设计建造了一个太阳能干燥剂复合式空调试验装置。该装置由空气预处理段、太阳能/再生空气加热段、待试干燥剂系统、常规制冷机和参数测量与控制系统组成。可做各种设备的性能试验,在不同配置下可进行单纯干燥剂系统及其与常规制冷机联合系统的研究,能测量不同工况下的准稳态性能及利用太阳热能驱动系统的瞬态特性。还介绍了在该装置上进行的一个干燥剂转轮性能试验方法和结果。     

Solar cooling in the food industry in Mexico: A case study

In Mexico efforts are being made to promote the use of solar energy for cooling in the Agro-Food Industries (AFI), 120 industries were contacted in order to assess the solar cooling potential application in the sector. One case study was selected among the visited potential end users according to the size of the facility, the information available and their willingness to collaborate in the present project. Data from the industry was used to select the appropriate solar cooling concept and therefore the collector’s typology, and the absorption cooling system. Moreover, the operation of the system was simulated in order to define the optimal size of the collector field required. The proposed cooling system was composed by a Fresnel concentrating collector field to activate a series of air cooled single-effect ammonia–water absorption chillers. The cooling system simulation was carried out with the Transient Systems Simulation Programme (TRNSYS) which allowed to model the collector system that fulfill the required load. The calculated saved electricity was around 19% of the total consumption, this small fraction is due to the fact that the selected facility is operating continuously with very large refrigeration capacities. The specifications of the simulated solar cooling system are presented.     

Performance analysis of combined microgas turbines and gas fired water/LiBr absorption chillers with post-combustion

The integration of microgas turbines (MGT) and absorption chillers is an emerging technology that uses a wide range of fuels to produce electricity, cooling and heating simultaneously for small scale distributed generation in grid connected or isolated locations.This paper studies the performance of MGTs of different power capacities directly coupled to double-effect water–LiBr absorption chillers. In these systems the MGT exhaust gas is the heating medium to drive the chiller. Also post-combustion natural gas is used to increase the cooling capacity of the system. The paper analyses the effect of the post-combustion degree on the integrated system performance of four MGT power sizes. Two cases are considered. In the first, fresh air is added together with the post-combustion natural gas and in the second it is not added. In the latter case the oxygen necessary for the combustion reaction is extracted from the MGT exhaust gas stream. For the sake of comparison a study is also made of the performance of a more conventional system consisting of an MGT and a hot water heat exchanger to drive an absorption chiller. The main advantages of the new technology over this conventional system are that the COP of the chillers is higher because they are driven by higher temperatures, the production of electricity and chilled water is decoupled and there is a wider range of chilled water production capacity.     

太阳能空调综合系统在住宅小区应用的可行性探讨

经济性是制约太阳能空调普及推广应用的难题。文中介绍了一种太阳能空调和热水站综合系统方案，即在居民住宅楼的屋顶布置太阳能集热器阵，结合地源水低温热源系统，建设全年供应全体住户生活热水的太阳能热水站，以及夏季和冬季供应顶一、二层住户空调冷、热水的综合系统．提出了一种双效与单效耦合的板壳式溴化锂吸收式制冷机循环方案，白天日照时段采用双效循环运行并进行蓄热，而在其余时段切换为单效循环利用蓄热运行。该方案不仅效率高、而且其单位体积蓄能罐的蓄能密度极大，可实现无需用辅助能源而完全靠太阳能进行昼夜空调。由于综合利用系统中集热器的投资费用被所有热水用户分摊，空调用户的投资可很快从节省的电费中得到回收。     

Solar absorption cooling plant in Seville

A solar/gas cooling plant at the Engineering School of Seville (Spain) was tested during the period 2008-2009. The system is composed of a double-effect LiBr + water absorption chiller of 174 kW nominal cooling capacity, powered by: (1) a pressurized hot water flow delivered by mean of a 352 m² solar field of a linear concentrating Fresnel collector and (2) a direct-fired natural gas burner. The objective of the project is to indentify design improvements for future plants and to serve as a guideline. We focused our attention on the solar collector size and dirtiness, climatology, piping heat losses, operation control and coupling between solar collector and chiller. The daily average Fresnel collector efficiency was 0.35 with a maximum of 0.4. The absorption chiller operated with a daily average coefficient of performance of 1.1-1.25, where the solar energy represented the 75% of generator’s total heat input, and the solar cooling ratio (quotient between useful cooling and insolation incident on the solar field) was 0.44.     

用于太阳能空调的板型溴化锂吸收式制冷机

溴化锂吸收式制冷循环用于太阳能空调需要解决的主要问题是循环系统要适合集热器所能提供的热水温度范围，和提高溴冷机本身性能并降低其制造成本。板型(包括板壳式、板式、板翅式)换热器用于溴冷机具有效率高、结构紧凑、轻巧和成本较低等优点，已被本课题组研制的1台3kW板型单效溴冷机实验样机所证实。     

Performance assessment of an integrated free cooling and solar powered single-effect lithium bromide-water absorption chiller

In this study, performance assessment of an integrated cooling plant having both free cooling system and solar powered single-effect lithium bromide–water absorption chiller in operation since August 2002 in Oberhausen, Germany, was performed. A floor space of 270 m² is air-conditioned by the plant. The plant includes 35.17 kW cooling (10-RT) absorption chiller, vacuum tube collectors’ aperture area of 108 m², hot water storage capacity of 6.8 m³, cold water storage capacity of 1.5 m³ and a 134 kW cooling tower. The results show that free cooling in some cooling months can be up to 70% while it is about 25% during the 5 years period of the plant operation. For sunny clear sky days with equal incident solar radiation, the daily solar heat fraction ranged from 0.33 to 0.41, collectors’ field efficiency ranged from 0.352 to 0.492 and chiller COP varies from 0.37 to 0.81, respectively. The monthly average value of solar heat fraction varies from 31.1% up to 100% and the five years average value of about 60%. The monthly average collectors’ field efficiency value varies from 34.1% up 41.8% and the five-year average value amounts about 28.3%. Based on the obtained results, the specific collector area is 4.23 (m²/kW_cold) and the solar energy system support of the institute heating system for the duration from August 2002 to November 2007 is 8124 kWh.     

A comparison of solar absorption system configurations

Solar thermal driven cooling systems for residential applications are a promising alternative to electric compression chillers, although its market introduction still represents a challenge, mainly due to the higher investment costs. The most common system configuration is an absorption chiller driven by a solar thermal system, backed up by a secondary heating source, normally a gas boiler. Heat storage in the primary (solar) circuit is mandatory to stabilize and extend the operation of the chiller, whereas a cold storage tank is not so common.This paper deals with the selection of the most suitable configuration for residential cooling systems with solar energy. In Spain, where cooling needs are usually higher than heating needs, the interest of a reversible heat pump as auxiliary system and a secondary cooling storage are analyzed.A complete TRNSYS model has been developed to compare a configuration with just hot storage (of typical capacity 40 L/m² of solar collector surface) and a configuration with both, hot and cool storages. The most suitable configuration is very sensible to the solar collector area. As the collector area increases, the advantages of a cool storage vanish. Increasing the collector area tends to increase the temperature of the hot storage, leading to higher thermal losses in both the collector and the tank. When the storage volume is concentrated in one tank, these effects are mitigated. The effect of other variables on the optimal configuration are also analyzed: collector efficiency curve, COP of the absorption chiller, storage size, and temperature set-points of the chillers.