Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology College of Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering

Absorption Refrigeration Cycle and Gas Liquefaction

Submitted by: ___________ ___________ ___________ September 4, 2009 OBJECTIVES: To present a thermodynamic analysis of absorption refrigeration and liquefaction processes. To know the mechanisms of absorption and liquefaction processes.

 To comprehend the difference between a vapor-compression and an absorption refrigeration. To know the reversible processes of a heat pump.

To differentiate Claude liquefaction and Linde liquefaction.

INTRODUCTION:

There are four things that can be done to a gas

Gully. Gas can be compressed thermally connected to a reservoir. This rejects heat to the reservoir at constant temperature. Gas can be also compressed thermally isolated which causes the gas to heat. Gas can be expanded thermally connected to a reservoir. This absorbs heat from the reservoir at constant temperature. Gas can be also expanded thermally isolated which causes the gas to cool. Example of these processes can be found in the refrigeration cycle, heat pumps, and liquefaction.

according to Willie

Absorption refrigeration Before the development of the vapor compression system of refrigeration, vapor absorption cycle was very widely used. The vapor compression system replaced vapor absorption system because it has high coefficient of performance (COP). The vapor absorption system requires very less amount of electricity but large amount of heat; hence it can be used very effectively in industries where very large stocks of excessive steam are available. In such cases there is not only effective utilization of steam, but also lots of savings in electricity costs. Of late the vapor absorption systems are being employed by a number of industries to save on their electric bills. However, the vapor absorption system is useful only where large scale refrigeration in excess of at least 20 tons is required. Various Processes of Vapor Absorption Cycle The various processes of the vapor absorption cycle are similar to the one in vapor compression cycle, only the method of compression of the refrigerant is different. In vapor absorption system ammonia is used as the refrigerant, which has very high affinity to dissolve in water. Here are various processes of vapor absorption cycle (see Figure 1): 1) Absorption of the refrigerant: In vapor absorption system there is no traditional compressor, instead there is absorber. The absorber consists of water, called as absorbent, in which the refrigerant, ammonia, dissolves. This mixture of water and ammonia is then pumped and heated thus increase in temperature and pressure of the ammonia occurs. Ammonia leaves the absorber at high pressure and high temperature. Some work has to be provided to the pump and heating is carried out by the steam. The amount of electricity required by the pump is much lesser than that required by the compressor hence there is lots of saving of electricity, however, the additional source of heat in the form of steam has to be provided. 2) Condensation: The refrigerant at pressure and temperature then enters condenser where it is cooled by water and its temperature and pressure reduces. 3) Expansion: Thereafter the expansion of refrigerant occurs in throttling valve due to which the temperature and pressure of the ammonia refrigerant reduces drastically and suddenly. 4) Evaporation: Finally the refrigerant enters the evaporator where it produces the cooling effect. It leaves the evaporator in vapor state and then enters absorber, where it is absorbed by absorbent, water and compressed by the pump. This process repeats again and cycle continues. There are different types absorbents like water and lithium bromide that can be used with refrigerant ammonia. These systems are called water absorption system or lithium bromide absorption system.

Fig.1

Absorption Refrigeration Cycle

The work required by a Carnot refrigerator absorbing heat at temperature :

|W | T = 1 S | QH | TH

| QH |=| W |

TH TH TS

The heat required for the production of work:

W=

TS TC | QC | TC

| QH |=| QC |

TH TS TC TH TS TC

The Heat Pump

A heat pump is a machine or device that moves heat from one location (the 'source') to another location (the 'sink' or 'heat sink') using mechanical work. Most heat pump technology moves heat from a low temperature heat source to a higher temperature heat sink. Common examples are food refrigerators and freezers, air conditioners, and reversible-cycle heat pumps for providing thermal comfort. Heat pumps can be thought of as a heat engine which is operating in reverse. One common type of heat pump works by exploiting the physical properties of an evaporating and condensing fluid known as a refrigerant. In heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) applications, a heat pump normally refers to a vapor-compression refrigeration device that includes a reversing valve and optimized heat exchangers so that the direction of heat flow may be reversed. Most commonly, heat pumps draw heat from the air or from the ground. Some air-source heat pumps do not work as well when temperatures fall below around 5C(23F). Operation According to the second law of thermodynamics heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder location to a hotter area; work is required to achieve this. Heat pumps differ in how they apply this work to move heat, but they can essentially be thought of as heat engines operating in reverse. A heat engine allows energy to flow from a hot 'source' to a cold heat 'sink', extracting a fraction of it as work in the process. Conversely, a heat pump requires work to move thermal energy from a cold source to a warmer heat sink. Since the heat pump uses a certain amount of work to move the heat, the amount of energy deposited at the hot side is greater than the energy taken from the cold side by an amount equal to the work required. Conversely, for a heat engine, the amount of energy taken from the hot side is greater than the amount of energy deposited in the cold heat sink since some of the heat has been converted to work. One common type of heat pump works by exploiting the physical properties of an evaporating and condensing fluid known as a refrigerant. A simple stylized diagram of a heat pump's vapor-compression refrigeration cycle: 1) condenser, 2) expansion valve, 3) evaporator, 4) compressor. (see Figure 2 and 3) The working fluid, in its gaseous state, is pressurized and circulated through the system by a compressor. On the discharge side of the compressor, the now hot and highly pressurized gas is cooled in a heat exchanger, called a condenser, until it condenses into a high pressure, moderate temperature liquid. The condensed refrigerant then passes through a pressure-lowering device like an expansion valve, capillary tube, or possibly a work-extracting device such as a turbine. This device then passes the low pressure, (almost) liquid refrigerant to another heat exchanger,

the evaporator where the refrigerant evaporates into a gas via heat absorption. The refrigerant then returns to the compressor and the cycle is repeated. In such a system it is essential that the refrigerant reach a sufficiently high temperature when compressed, since the second law of thermodynamics prevents heat from flowing from a cold fluid to a hot heat sink. Practically, this means the refrigerant must reach a temperature greater than the ambient around the high-temperature heat exchanger. Similarly, the fluid must reach a sufficiently low temperature when allowed to expand, or heat cannot flow from the cold region into the fluid, i.e. the fluid must be colder than the ambient around the cold-temperature heat exchanger. In particular, the pressure difference must be great enough for the fluid to condense at the hot side and still evaporate in the lower pressure region at the cold side. The greater the temperature difference, the greater the required pressure difference, and consequently the more energy needed to compress the fluid. Thus as with all heat pumps, the energy efficiency (amount of heat moved per unit of input work required) decreases with increasing temperature difference. Refrigerants Until the 1990s, the refrigerants were often chlorofluorocarbons such as R-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane), one in a class of several refrigerants using the brand name Freon, a trademark of DuPont. Its manufacture was discontinued in 1995 because of the damage that CFCs cause to the ozone layer if released into the atmosphere. One widely-adopted replacement refrigerant is the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) known as R-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane). R-134a is not as efficient as the R-12 it replaced (in automotive applications) and therefore, more energy is required to operate systems utilizing R-134a than those using R-12. Other substances such as liquid R-717 ammonia are widely used in large-scale systems, or occasionally the less corrosive but more flammable propane or butane, can also be used. Since 2001, carbon dioxide, R-744, has increasingly been used, utilizing the transcritical cycle. In residential and commercial applications, the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) R-22 is still widely used, however, HFC R-410A does not deplete the ozone layer and is being used more frequently. Hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, or plain air is used in the Stirling cycle, providing the maximum number of options in environmentally friendly gases. More recent refrigerators are now exploiting the R600A which is isobutane, and does not deplete the ozone and is friendly to the environment.

Reversibility The diagram below shows the basic schematic of operation of a typical HP in cooling mode during summer. Figure 2. Cooling mode

In cooling mode, the direction of the refrigerant flow is counter clockwise and the room coil is acting as an evaporator coil where the space is cooled by blowing a fan across the coil. Cool air will be generated here. During winter, heating mode is activated and the direction of the refrigerant is reversed after leaving the compressor. Take note that the flow of the refrigerant in the compressor remains the same. This reversal of flow is achieved by using a reversing valve. The change of flow causes the room coil to become a condenser and the outdoor coil an evaporator. The fan that blows the room air across the condenser coil causes heat to be released into the room. The heating cycle is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 3. Heating mode.

Liquefaction Process
Gas liquefaction is a process of refrigerating a gas to a temperature below its critical temperature so that liquid can be formed at some suitable pressure, also below the critical pressure. Operation Gas liquefaction is a special case of gas refrigeration. It may result when a gas is cooled to a temperature in the two-phase region. This may be accomplished in several ways:
o o o

By heat exchanger at constant pressure By an expansion process from which work is obtained By a throttling process

By heat exchanger at constant pressure This method requires a heat sink at a temperature lower than that to which the gas is cooled, and is most commonly used to pre-cool a gas prior to its liquefaction by the other two methods. An external refrigerator is required for a gas temperature below that of the surroundings.

Overall Process The gas is first compressed to an elevated pressure in an ambient-temperature compressor. This high-pressure gas is passed through a countercurrent heat exchanger to a throttling valve or expansion engine. Upon expanding to the lower pressure, cooling may take place, and some liquid may be formed. The cool, low-pressure gas returns to the compressor inlet to repeat the cycle. The purpose of the countercurrent heat exchanger is to warm the low-pressure gas prior to recompression, and simultaneously to cool the high-pressure gas to the lowest temperature possible prior to expansion. Both refrigerators and liquefiers operate on this same basic principle.

An important distinction between refrigerators and liquefiers is that in a continuous refrigeration process, there is no accumulation of refrigerant in any part of the system. This contrasts with a gas-liquefying system, where liquid accumulates and is withdrawn. Thus, in a liquefying system, the total mass of gas that is warmed in the countercurrent heat exchanger is less than the gas to be cooled by the amount that is liquefied, creating an unbalanced flow in the heat exchanger. In a refrigerator, the warm and cool gas flows are equal in the heat exchanger. This results in balanced flow condition. The thermodynamic principles of refrigeration and liquefaction are identical. However, the analysis and design of the two systems are quite different due to the condition of balanced flow in the refrigerator and unbalanced flow in liquefier systems. The prerequisite refrigeration for gas liquefaction is accomplished in a thermodynamic process when the process gas absorbs heat at temperatures below that of the environment. A process for producing refrigeration at liquefied gas temperatures usually involves equipment at ambient temperature in which the gas is compressed and heat is rejected to a coolant. During the ambienttemperature compression process, the enthalpy and entropy, but usually not the temperature of the gas, are decreased. The reduction in temperature of the gas is usually accomplished by heat exchange between the cooling and warming gas streams followed by an expansion of the highpressure stream. This expansion may take place either through a throttling device (isenthalpic expansion) where there is a reduction in temperature only (when the Joule-Thomson coefficient is positive) or in a work-producing device (isentropic expansion) where both temperature and enthalpy are decreased.

Application
o o o o o o

Liquid propane as a domestic foil Liquid oxygen in rocket Liquid natural gas for ocean transport Liquid nitrogen for low temperature refrigeration. Gas mixture are liquefied for separation Liquid chlorine for sanitation and water purification

Cooled to a temperature in the two-phase region:

By heat exchanger at constant pressure - path 1 By an (isentropic) expansion process - path 2 By a throttling process the initial state must be at a high enough pressure and low enough temperature prior to throttling - path 3:

o o

The change of state from A to A: compression of the gas to B, followed by constant-pressure cooling Then, isentropic expansion 3 results in the formation of liquid

The Linde Liquefaction Process Depends solely on throttling expansion: o Compression cooling to ambient temperature (even further by refrigeration ) throttling and liquefaction

Figure 4. Linde liquefaction process

The Claude Liquefaction process

Replace the throttle valve by an expander:

Gas expander saturated or slightly superheated vapor cooled and throttled to produce liquefaction (as in the Linde process) unliquefied portion mixes with the expander exhaust and returns for recycle.

Figure 5. Claude liquefaction process