ENERGY RESEARCH, VOL.

10, 137-144 (1986)

A STUDY OF THE OPERATING PARAMETERS IN A

WATER-LITHIUM BROMIDE ABSORPTION COOLER
M. A. R. EISA AND F. A. HOLLAND
Department of Chemical and Gas Engineering, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT. U.K.

SUMMARY
Experimentswere carried out to study the effect of changes in operating conditions in order to optimize the performance of
a water-lithium bromide absorption cooler. It was shown that the most significant parameter is the generator temperature.
The higher the generator temperature, the higher the coefficient of performance. The flow ratio is also an important design
and optimizing parameter. An increase in flow ratio reduces the required generator temperature at the expense of a
reduction in coefficient of performance.

KEY WORDS Absorption cycle Asorption cooler Water-lithium bromide

INTRODUCTION
A conventional heat driven absorption cooler consists of four basic components, an evaporator, a condenser, a
generator and an absorber, as shown schematically in Figure 1. An economizer heat exchanger, normally
placed between the absorber and the generator, makes the process more efficient without altering its basic
operation.
The working fluid extracts an amount of heat QEV from the source to be cooled as it evaporates at a
temperature TEvand pressure PEvin the evaporator heat exchanger. The pressure of the working fluid is then
increased in the absorption circuit before it is condensed in the condenser heat exchanger where it gives up an
amount of latent heat Qco at a higher temperature Tco and pressure Pco. Thecondensed working fluid is then
expanded through the expansion valve and returned to the evaporator to complete the cycle.
The primary circuit of an absorption cooler, consisting of the evaporator, condenser and expansion valve, is
identical to that in a mechanical vapour compression system. However, in an absorption system, the work of
compression is done in the secondary or absorption circuit. A pump is used to circulate a liquid absorbent
round the secondary circuit which consists of the generator, the absorber and the economiser. An amount of
heat QGE is added to the generator at a temperature TGE to produce the working fluid vapour which is then fed
to the condenser at a pressure Pco.

Theoretical analysis of the absorption cooling cycle

The actual coefficient of performance of an absorption cooler is normally defined as the ratio of the heat
energy extracted in the evaporator Q E V to produce the desired cooling, to the heat energy supplied to the
generator QGE:

The mechanical energy required to pump the liquid is usually negligible compared with QGE and is omitted
from equation (1).
The temperatures of the evaporator TEvIthe condenser Tco,the absorber TABand the generator TGEtogether

0363-907X/86/020 137-08$05.00 Received 30 June 1985

0 1986 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
138 M. A. R. EISA A N D F. A. HOLLAND

t 2

0," It-
evoporotor obsorber QAB

Figure 1. Simplified diagram of an absorption cooling system

with the flow ratio (FR)largely determine the performance of an absorption system. The flow ratio, defined by

(FR) = -MAB
MW
is the ratio of the mass flow rate of solution MA, coming from the absorber to the generator in the secondary
circuit to the mass flow rate of working fluid Mw in the primary circuit.
In water-salt absorption systems, the working fluid is pure water and (FR) can be written in terms of
concentrations as
(FR) = XGE (3)
XGE-XAB
where X,, and X,, are the weight fractions of salt in the generator and absorber solutions, respectively.
The choice of the process design engineer in the selection of the four basic operating temperatures, TEv, Tco,
TAB and TGEis limited by the phase rule. For an absorption system with two components (water and salt) and
two phases (liquid and vapour), the number of degrees of freedom is two. Therefore if two of the operating
temperatures are chosen as the free variables, the other two temperatures are determined by the
thermodynamic equilibrium data for the system.
The coefficient of performance increases as Tc, and TABdecrease. In water cooled systems, Tc, and TAB
depend on the temperature of the available cooling water. The required temperature of the source determines
TEv. Therefore the generator temperature TGEis largely affected by other factors.
It has been shown (Kumar et al., 1984) that as the flow ratio (FR) increases, the generator temperature TGE
and the coefficient of performance (COP),cL both decrease. Increases in both TGE and TEV lead to an increase in
(cop)ACL*
Although an absorption cooling system is designed for a specified maximum capacity, it should also be
capable of adapting to changes in operating conditions such as the heat supplied and the cooling demanded.
In a conventional absorption system, there are two pressure levels
> (PEV= PAB)
(Pco = PGE)
and either three or four temperature levels
TGE> Tco > TAB > TEV
depending on whether the condenser and absorber are operated at the same temperature or not.
In a water-salt absorption system, the compression ratio (CR) = P,,/P,, produced by the secondary circuit
is a function of the salt concentrations X,, and X,, in the generator and absorber, respectively.
It is desirable to use aqueous salt solutions which exhibit large negative deviations from Raoult's law. For a
given solution vapour pressure, the fraction of water increases with increasing deviation from Raoult's law.
 WATER-LITHIUM BROMIDE ABSORPTION COOLER I39

0Heat supplied
Heo! delivered
0 Work supplied

I
I I
I I

-
I I I
I I I
I L

T-’
7;V L=Go TGE
r-
Figure 2. Conventional absorption cooling cycle

This has the advantage of reducing the volume flow of the solution in the secondary circuit for a given water
flow rate through the condenser and evaporator in the primary circuit.
A number of requirements for a desirable absorption system have been proposed (Buffington, 1949). The
primary requirement is that the solution leaving the absorber should contain a high concentration of working
fluid. This in turn requires a high negative deviation from Raoult’s law. The resulting smaller circulation of
solute leads to lower heat losses in the economizer heat exchanger and hence higher (C0P)values. On the other
hand, increased negative non-idealities may result in an increase in the intermolecular boundary forces
between the working fluid and the solute, requiring more energy to vaporize the working fluid. This leads to
lower (COP) values.
The conventional absorption cycle is commonly illustrated with reference to a pressure against temperature
plot, as shown in Figure 2, where the condenser temperature T,, is equal to the absorber temperature TAB.In
practice, it is not always possible to keep T,, equal to TAB.
A practical cycle must be assessed for the design conditions and also for all other operating conditions which
are likely to be met. A system may be designed either for extreme conditions or for the most typical operating
conditions. In a heat pump, minimum energy consumption is of prime importance so that the system is
normally designed for the most typical operating conditions.
Figure 3 is a pressure against temperature plot for the water-lithium bromide absorption cycle. The points
on Figure 3 correspond to the numbered positions in Figure 1. Points 5,6,7 and 8 represent the solution cycle.
The operational limits are determined by the crystallization line.

EXPERIMENTAL

Equipment
The experiments were carried out in a glass absorption cooler shown schematicallyin Figure 4. The unit was
constructed, for the most part, from standard items supplied by Quickfit Ltd, U.K.Details of the equipment
and operating techniques have already been published (Landauro-Paredes et al., 1983).

Experimental procedure
Experiments were carried out to study the effect of changes in operating conditions in order to optimize the
140
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0.62
0.64
20 0.66

0.68

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a 9
= 8
6 7
t 6
: 5
z 4
a
L

2
a
3
0
>
2

1-0
0.9
0.8
0 -7

Solution tcmperoture, OC

Figure 3. Absorption cycle on an equilibrium chart for water-lithium bromide system

performance of a water-lithium bromide absorption cooler. The experimental conditions were as follows:
1. The generator temperature TGEwas varied from 87 to 107°Cat two levels of the condenser temperature,
T, = 40°C and T,, = 50°C.
2. The absorber temperature TABwas varied from 33 to 43.1"Cat two levels of the generator temperature,
TGE = 95°C and TGE = 105°C.
3. The condenser temperature T, was varied from 33 to 50°C at two levels of the generator temperature,
TGE = 95°C and TGE = 105°C.
4. The evaporator temperature TEvwas varied from 5 to 15°C at two levels of the generator temperature,
TGE = 95°C and TGE = 105°C.
5. The evaporator temperature T,, and the evaporator load Q EV were varied over a range of two levels of the
solution feed rate to the absorber M, = 23.5 kgh-' and M, = 31.0 kgh-' and two levels of the feed
concentration X, N 0592 weight per cent and X, N 0633 weight per cent.
6. The flow ratio (FR) was varied over a range of two levels of absorber temperature TAB= 38.8"C and
TAB = 456°C and two levels of condenser temperature T,, = 37.5"C and T, = 500°C.
At each set of operating conditions, all other parameters were kept as constant as possible.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 5 shows the increase of the actual coefficient of performance (C0P)ACLwith an increase in generator
temperature TGE.The rate of increase was slightly greater for the higher condenser temperature T,,.
Figure 6 shows the decrease of (COP),,, with an increase in condenser temperature T,,. The rate of
decrease was greatest for the lower generator temperature TGE.
Figure 7 shows the decrease of (COP),,, with an increase in absorber temperature TAB.
The rate of decrease
was higher for the lower value of TGE.
Figure 8 shows the increase of (COP),,, with an increase in evaporator temperature TEV. The rate of
increase was higher for the lower value of TGE.
 WATER-LITHIUM BROMIDE ABSORPTION COOLER 141

Cooling woter

Woter

U
4 Accumulator

2 bA*
Generotor

A~,

06
L

‘Weak 4 J
solulior
Strong
solullon
1 I
Absorber

Heot

4
1

heot

I
c

Generotor p Transfer Absorber f Evoporotor

Pump pump pump pump

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the experimental absorption cooler

Figures 9 and 10 show the increase in evaporator temperature TEV with evaporator load Q E V . The rate of
increase was greatest for the lower value of the feed rate to the absorber M,.
Figures 9 and 10 show that an increase in solution feed rate to the absorber decreased TEv.The rate of
increase of TEvwith Q E V was lowest for the higher value of the feed concentration X,.
Figure 11 shows the increase in cooling load QEVwith an increase in solution feed rate to the absorber MF.
The rate of increase in QEVwas higher at the lower values of MF.
Figures 12 and 13 show the decrease in the actual coefficient of performance (COP),,, with flow ratio (FR)
for two levels of absorber temperature TAB and two levels of condenser temperature T,, respectively.
Figure 12 shows that the rate of decrease of (COP),,, with an increase in (FR) was very slight at the lower
value of TAB.Figure 13 shows that the rate of decrease of (COP),,, with an increase in (FR) was highest at the
higher value of T,, and that for both values of T,, the rate of decrease of (COP),,, was higher at low values of
(FR).
CONCLUSION
The study has shown that the most important operating parameter in the optimization of a water-lithium
bromide absorption cooler is the generator temperature. High generator temperatures increase the risk of
142 M. A. R. EISA AND F. A. HOLLAND

v)
Y)

0 r,, = 95'c
Tco = 50'C 0 T O E =105'C
-
T3
05

-
0
=
Z 80
I I I
90
I I
100
I I
110 c
ZY
9

33 37
I
41
I

45
I

49
I I

53
a
Generator temperoture T,,, OC
4 Condenser temperoture Tco, "C

Figure 5. Actual coefficient of performance Figure 6. Actual coefficient of performance against

against generator temperature condenser temperature

0 TGE=105OC
T3

I I I , I
c
t 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 4 5 10 15
a
Absorber temperature Go. OC Evoparotor temperature TEv , OC

Figure 7. Actual coefficient of performance against Figure 8. Actual coefficient of performance against
absorber temperature evaporator temperature
 WATER-LITHIUM BROMIDE ABSORPTION COOLER I43

15- a M, = 31 0 k p h-'
0

5
kW13 -
0
L
a
c

? 11-
LI

El
c
L 9-
c

:
n
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W

0 MF=23.5 kg h-'
0
0 M F =31.0hg h-' XF3 0.592 5-
1 I I I I

0.1 0.2 0 -3
Evaporator lood O E v , k W

Figure 9. Evaporator temperature against evaporator load Figure 10. Evaporator temperature against evaporator load

0 < B e38 C
'8

I
0-2I 0 45 6
'C

w
0
" -
0

-
0

-;0-15-
0
L

0
P
z
0

w
-

O'lt
1 I 1
10 20 30 10 20 30 40 50 60
Feed r a t e o f solution entering the absorber MF,kg h-' Flow rotio ( F R ) , dimensionless
Figure 11. Evaporator load against the feed rate of the Figure 12. Actual coefficient of performance against flow ratio
solution entering the absorber

crystallization. Low generator temperatures reduce the cooling capacity and hence the coefficient of
performance.
To a large extent the other operating temperatures depend on the available initial conditions and can be
fixed. The absorber and condenser should be operated with the minimum possible temperature difference.
The flow ratio is also an important design and optimizing parameter. High flow ratios reduce the solute
concentration in the generator and consequently the risk of crystallization at the expense of some reduction in
coefficient of performance.
144 M.A. R. EISA AND F.A. HOLLAND

E Tco = 5 O 0 C

j0+
3
c
, I , , ,
U
a 10 20 30 40 50 60
Flow ratio ( F R ) dimensionless
I

Figure 13. Actual coefficient of performance against flow ratio

The solution feed rate to the absorber and its concentration have a significant effect on the evaporator
temperature and the cooling load.

NOTATION
coefficient of performance, dimensionless
compression ratio, dimensionless
flow ratio, dimensionless
mass flow rate, kgh-'
absolute pressure, bar
heat load, kW
temperature, "C or K
salt concentration, dimensionless

Subscripts
A actual
AB absorber
CL cooling
CO condenser
EV evaporator
GE generator
W working fluid
F feed
REFERENCES

Buffington, R. M. (1949). 'Qualitative requirements for absorbent-refrigerant combinations', Refrigerating Engineering, 57, 343-345.
Kumar. P.,Devotta, S. and Holland, F. A. (1984). 'Effect of Bow ratio on the performance of an experimental absorption cooling system',
Chem. Eng. Res. Des., 62, (6). 194-196.
Landauro-Paredes, J. M., Watson, F. A. and Holland, F. A. (1983). 'Experimental study of the operating characteristics of a water-lithium
bromide absorption cooler', Chem. Eng. Res. Des., 61, (6), 362-370.