Double-lift absorption refrigeration cycles driven by low-temperature heat sources using organic fluid mixtures as working pairs

At present, much interest is being shown in absorption refrigeration cycles driven by low temperature heat sources, such as solar energy or low-grade waste-heat. Double-lift absorption cycles working with ammonia-water have been recommended for refrigeration applications which require cold at 0 degreesC and which are activated by waste heat between 70 and 100 degreesC. This paper discusses the potential of the organic fluid mixtures trifluoroethanol (TFE)-tetraethylenglycol dimethylether (TEGDME or E181) and methanol-TEGDME as working pairs in series flow and vapour exchange double-lift absorption cycles. The ammonia-water mixture was used for comparison purposes. The results show that the performances of these cycles improve significantly when they have the above mentioned organic fluid mixtures as working pairs. For example, the coefficient of performance of the vapour exchange cycle working with TFE-TEGDME is 15% higher than with ammonia-water. In this study, we used a modular software package, which we developed for the thermodynamic properties and cycles simulation of absorption systems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.