A presentation

on
lithium bromide absorption refrigeration
system
By
Rohan Sharma

Table of contents

Vapour compression refrigeration

system
Lithium bromide
Vapour absorption refrigeration system
Working
Advantages
Disadvantages
Future scope

Vapour compression
refrigeration system
At present vapor compression system is
widely
being
use
for
refrigeration
purpose. The major disadvantages of this
system is that Use of refrigerant
increases the cost and has environmental
impact.

Lithium bromide
Being a salt, lithium bromide does not
exert any pressure and does not boil off
when heated. Thus there is no need of
rectifier to separate out the absorbent
vapor from the refrigerant vapor.
The rate of absorption of water vapor
comes down as temperature of the
solution increases. The concentration of
a solution does not change with
temperature, its concentration comes
down. This is because the weight of the
total
solution
has
increased
on
absorbing water, but salt content has

Vapour absorption refrigeration

system
Vapour absorption refrigeration systems using
water-lithium bromide pair are extensively used in
large capacity air conditioning systems. In these
systems water is used as refrigerant and a solution
of lithium bromide in water is used as absorbent.
it is used only in applications requiring refrigeration
at temperatures above 0oC Since water is used as
refrigerant, using these systems it is not possible to
provide refrigeration at sub-zero temperatures.
The analysis of this system is relatively easy as the
Vapour generated in the generator is almost pure
refrigerant (water), unlike ammonia-water systems
where both ammonia and water Vapour are
generated in the generator.

working

IN ABSORBER AND GENERATOR

The evaporator and absorber are inter-connected.
So the refrigerant vapor formed in the evaporator
is absorbed by the absorbent in the absorber
thereby
maintaining
the
refrigerant
vapor
pressure in the evaporator at the low level
required for continuous vaporization of liquid
refrigerator to obtain refrigeration. To recover the
refrigerant from the absorbent it is pumped from
the absorber to the generator, where it is heated
using steam or hot water.

Contd.

Contd.
In condensor and evaporator
On getting heated the absorbent
releases the refrigerant vapor as a
high temperature/pressure vapor.
It passes to the comparatively
cooler condenser where it is
condensed. The liquid refrigerant
then passes on to the evaporator
thus completing the refrigerant
cycle. The absorbent flows back
from
the
generator
to
the
absorber
Here the condenser is replaced by
the radiator of the vehicle . When
the air cooler is not switched on
the hot coolant water flows into it,
when the AC is switched on it acts
as a condenser for the unit

Schematic representation of
refrigeration system

Operating conditions

Generator solution temperature

= 990C
Generator solution strength= 63.3%
Generator solution vapor
pressure=76.2mmHg abs
Condensing temperature=460C
Condensing pressure of
refrigerant=76.2mmHg abs
Absorber solution temperature=38.30C
Absorber solution strength=59.5%
Absorber solution vapor
pressure=6.35mmHg
Evaporator temperature=4.440C
Evaporator refrigerant vapor

advantages
except for two small centrifugal pumps, there are
no moving parts so less number of moving parts
step less capacity control down to 0%capacity
which is not possible with reciprocating machines
and centrifugal
No Freon used
no recharging cost of refrigerant ,which will be
quite substantial and inevitable in vapor
compression cycle
low working pressure

disadvantages
low COP
high
heat
rejection
factor,
so
requirement of higher cooling tower
and pump capacities
corrosive nature of lithium bromide
corrodes the heat exchanger

Future scope
Condensed liquid refrigerant from the
condenser can be used for refrigeration
by passing the same through capillary
tube and then to evaporator
All the accessories of a vehicle can be
made to run with the power obtained
from refrigerant turbine, so as to
reduce the energy loss of 2.2%

Thank you