Advanced Exergy Analysis Of Licl-H2O Absorption Air Conditioning System

Increasing energy demand for air conditioning due to climate change is posing a continuous threat to the environment. Absorption air-conditioning systems driven by solar thermal or waste heat energy are an alternative for providing cooling comfort in a sustainable manner. The crystallization problem of high performance LiBr-H2O absorption cooling system hinders its small-scale applications. In this study, the potential of a 10 kW LiCl-H2O absorption refrigeration system is discussed and analyzed. The new concept of advanced exergy analysis is coupled with conventional thermodynamic analyses, which provides the available potential of each component for overall system performance improvement. The analyses uncovered that only 45% of the total exergy loss is due to each component’s own internal irreversibilities, whereas the remaining is through the interaction of the irreversibilities of other components in the system. The analyses also reveal that 43% of the total exergy loss is unavoidable and 57% can be reduced by improving the overall system efficiency.