Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

A unified single stage ammonia-water absorption system

configuration with producing best thermal efficiencies for freezing,
air-conditioning and space heating applications
S. Du*, R.Z. Wang
Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 2002040, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Various single stage ammonia-water absorption system configurations result in a confusion of deter-
Received 7 August 2018 mining a better one with better performance. In this paper, a unified single stage ammonia water ab-
Received in revised form sorption system configuration for freezing, air-conditioning, and space heating applications is proposed,
4 March 2019
and it can produce best thermal efficiencies in terms of internal heat recovery under different application
Accepted 10 March 2019
conditions. The model of the unified system is established to investigate the operating parameters and
Available online 11 March 2019
the performance of the system under the representative freezing, air-conditioning, and space heating
application conditions. The results verify the feasibility of the unified system, and show that the thermal
Keywords:
Ammonia-water
efficiency is improved by 25%, 34%, and 20% respectively, compared to a conventional single stage ab-
Absorption system sorption system. The calculated results also verify the key points of the system operation, which are
System configuration making the feed saturated, and adjusting a proper split ratio of the strong solution to the rectifier,
Cooling and heating respectively. The 3D figures of the system thermal efficiency versus the boundary temperatures show the
Performance improvement performance and its improvement of the unified system configuration intuitively. The cycle switching
diagram is presented and provides a reference for regulating the cycle operation of the unified system.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction performance improvement.

Ammonia-water absorption refrigeration/heat pump systems
have attracted more and more interest for energy saving and
environmental protection because they can make good use of low-
grade heat such as industrial waste heat [1], solar energy [2] and
geothermal energy [3], and so on. Moreover, the ammonia-water
absorption system could be applied to both air-conditioning and
freezing applications. However, low system performance is the
main drawback, and the improving techniques are usually system
optimization and absorption enhancement. Therein, absorption
enhancement, including changing absorption modes [4,5],
employing nanofluids [6] and using large specific area heat ex-
changers [7,8], takes effect through enlarging the practical deflation
ratio of the solution loop. However, it cannot break through the
performance limitation which is determined by the system
configuration, even though the area for heat and mass transfer is
infinite. Therefore, system optimization is more significant on
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ds0108@sjtu.edu.cn (S. Du).
Many system configurations have been proposed to obtain
better performance based on different operating conditions
including multi-effect systems, internal heat recovery systems, and
combined systems [9e11]. However, multi-effect systems make the
system pressure extremely high, and the combined systems,
commonly combined an ejector [12] or a compressor [13], make the
system risky of breaking down due to the moving component. Thus,
internal heat recovery is more effective and practical for the system
performance improvement of a single stage ammonia-water ab-
sorption system [14], which is most commonly applied when an
ammonia-water absorption system is considered.
Generally, a refrigerant heat exchanger, a rectifier and a solution
heat exchanger are employed to achieve the internal heat recovery
in a conventional single stage absorption system. Better perfor-
mance is obtained through further internal heat recovery strate-
gies, and apparently, the rectification heat and the absorption heat
is concerned to be recovered in view of the temperature and the
heat amount. Rectification heat, the releasing heat from the puri-
fication process, can be recovered by a branched [15] or the total
[16] strong solution from the absorber, while the absorption heat
can be recovered by the total strong solution from the absorber [17]

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.03.065
0360-5442/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1040 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048

Nomenclature SR split ratio

T temperature, oC
ABS absorber V valve
CON condenser x mass fraction, kgkg
1
COP coefficient of performance
CGCC column grand composite curve Subscript
cr circulation ratio a absorber
CSC cold stream curve c condenser
DT temperature difference, oC cooling cooling
EVA evaporator e evaporator
f function g generator
GAX generator-absorber heat exchange heating heating
GEN generator hl liquid enthalpy
h enthalpy, kJkg
1 HE heat exchanger
HE heat exchanger i inlet
HSC hot stream curve l liquid phase
m mass flow rate, kgs
1 o outlet
p pressure, MPa pa partial absorption
q heat load per unit, kW/kg pinch pinch point
Q heat load, kW v vapor phase
r reflux tl liquid temperature
REC rectifier xl liquid mass fraction
RHE refrigerant heat exchanger

or used for vapor generation when there is a temperature overlap heat recovery under different operating conditions according to the
between the absorption and generation processes [18]. However, different locations of the pinch point, when a single stage
the internal heat matchings are not optimal in large temperature ammonia-water absorption system can be operated. The three
lift cycles [19]. Moreover, the rectification and absorption heat re- modes, which are split mode 1, split mode 2 and GAX mode
covery result in many system configurations because there are respectively, are illustrated in temperature-heat load diagrams as
various combinations, especially in different operating conditions. shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3, respectively. The data is calculated
It is usually confused for engineers which configuration is supposed by assuming the mass flow rate of the rectified vapor of 0.034 kg/s,
to be applied for better performance. which indicates a cooling capacity of 40 kW for deep freezing
Therefore, it is necessary to propose a unified ammonia-water application.
absorption system which performs best in different operating In the figures, the curves show the correlation of the tempera-
conditions; otherwise, it is exhausting to determine the best system ture and the heat load of the hot and cold streams, which are
configuration because there are so many different internal heat distinguished as to be cooled or to be heated in the system. The
recovery strategies under different operating conditions. Therefore, column grand composite curve (CGCC), obtained through an energy
in case of the configuration of an ammonia-water absorption sys- balance calculation of the distillation column [20], shows the cor-
tem is determined, the application of the ammonia-water absorp- relation of the heat load versus the temperature in the distillation
tion system only requires the proper design of the components. column. Therein, AB, BC, and CD represent the generation process,
Actually, the methodology, how to obtain an optimal ammonia-
water absorption cycle with maximum internal heat recovery, has
been explained by the authors [20]; however, the optimal cycles
were shown in temperature-heat load diagrams, and we did not
present the system configurations. In view of this, this paper is
focused on developing a unified single stage ammonia-water ab-
sorption system configuration, where the word ‘unified’ means that
the system configuration is the same for freezing, air-conditioning,
and space heating applications, and performs best in terms of in-
ternal heat recovery under different application conditions. A
thermodynamic model is established to verify the feasibility of the
novel system configuration, and investigate its performance as well
as its operating features under different operating conditions.

2. System description

2.1. Basis of the unified system

We have conducted a thorough pinch analysis of the internal

heat recovery strategy of a single stage ammonia-water absorption
system [19,20]; thus the methodology is not explained in this pa-
per. There are three modes of the system with maximum internal Fig. 1. The temperature-heat load diagram of split mode 1.
 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048
Fig. 2. The temperature-heat load diagram of split mode 2.
Fig. 3. The temperature-heat load schematic of GAX mode.
the rectification process, and the condensation process, respec-
tively. CSC represents the cold stream curves, actually only the
strong solution from the absorber in these figures. HSC represents
the hot stream curves including the weak solution (curve EF) and
the absorption process (curve FG). It can be found in Figs. 1 and 2
that there are two CSC curves in a same temperature interval,
indicating that the strong solution from the absorber is split. Point B
is the feed state point, where the feed means the strong solution
before entering the stripping section. With ensuring the assumed
minimum temperature difference for heat transfer, the hot stream
can be matched with the cold stream. The overlap between the hot
and cold steam curves is the internal heat recovery process, and the
overlapped part of the projection distances of the two curves on the
X axis is the heat load of the heat matching. The numbers 1, 2, 3, and
4 represent the internal heat exchange processes between the hot
and cold streams, i.e. between AB and EF, between BI and EF, be-
tween HI and EG, between BC and KJ, parts of the streams
respectively. Take the internal heat exchange process 1 as an
example, it is illustrated as the overlap between AB and EF and the
overlapped part of the projection distances of AB and EF on the X
1041
axis is the heat exchange amount.
The internal heat exchange process in Fig. 1 (split mode 1) is
described as follows: the strong solution from the absorber is split
into two branches: one is to be heated by the rectification heat
(process 4), and the other is to be heated by the weak solution and
the absorption process (process 3). Then the two branches are
mixed, and the mixture is finally fed at the saturated state (point B)
after a further heat exchange with the weak solution (process 2).
The heat of the high-temperature weak solution is used for the
generation process (process 1). Another internal heat exchange
occurs between the condensate from the condenser and the vapor
from the evaporator, and it is not shown in the figures for simpli-
fying the illustration. Therefore, five internal heat exchange pro-
cesses make the internal heat recovery optimal. The optimal energy
target, the minimum heat input of the system (Qg), can be observed,
as well as the minimum releasing heat including the absorption
heat (Qa) and the condensation heat (Qc). The cooling effect (Qe) can
be obtained by a heat balance calculation.
Fig. 2 shows the schematic of the other split mode (split mode
2), which is different from split mode 1 on account of the location of
the pinch point. In split mode 1, the pinch point is located at the hot
end of the internal heat exchange process 3 while it is located inside
the internal heat exchange process in split mode 2, where the
temperature of the hot stream is the maximum internal absorption
temperature in the absorber. Split mode 2 usually occurs when the
rectification heat is small. It should be noted that the temperature
difference at the cold end of the heat exchange process 1 is not the
pinch temperature difference. It is indicated that the saturated feed
cannot be ensured if a larger heat exchange area than the designed
value is fabricated. In this case, the feed is overcooled, and it brings
a more considerable heat input. Hence, the weak solution should be
split to obtain a proper thermal capacity flow rate to make the feed
saturated. As long as the heat exchange process 1 is achieved, the
other processes are easy to be realized.
When there is a temperature overlap between the generation
process and the absorption process, the optimal cycle deduced from
pinch technology is GAX cycle [19], as shown in Fig. 3. The strong
solution is orderly heated by the rectification heat and the ab-
sorption heat and then fed at the saturated state.
For GAX cycle, it is not necessary to split the strong solution to
recover the rectification heat because the pinch point is located
above the feeding point, which means the heat input is minimum
as long as the strong solution is heated to be saturated regardless of
using any internal hot stream. Moreover, whether the rectification
heat is recovered or not is determined according to the easy
fabrication of an actual system.
Three modes of the optimal cycle for maximum internal heat
recovery are presented as above under different operating condi-
tions, and the thermal efficiencies are the best in terms of internal
heat recovery of a single stage ammonia water absorption system.
Actually, the difference between split mode 1 and split mode 2 is on
the location of the pinch point. They can be achieved in the same
system configuration and called as split cycle. However, the heat
amounts through internal heat recovery are different for the two
split modes.
It should be noted that the system configuration with the best
thermal performance is not exclusive, because the best thermal
performance can be obtained as long as the location of the pinch
point for maximum internal heat recovery is fixed and the satu-
rated feed is ensured. This means the internal heat matching, which
is far away from the pinch point, can be flexible to be arranged. Take
GAX cycle as an example (Fig. 3), the minimum heat input will not
vary if the strong solution is not heated by the rectification heat (KJ)
but heated by the absorption heat, because the location of the pinch
point is not changed. Therefore, the proposed configuration
1042 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048

described below is just one of the feasible configurations which can processes 1, 2, 3 and 4, make the optimal internal heat recovery
achieve optimal thermal performances. available.
As explained above, there are two optimal cycles: split cycle and Besides the internal heat exchangers in the solution loop, the
GAX cycle, as a result, the unified system can be constructed. system is composed of a condenser (CON), a generator (GEN), an
evaporator (EVA), a refrigerant heat exchanger (RHE), an absorber
(ABS) and a solution pump. The full line represents the liquid line,
2.2. Unified system configuration and the dashed line represents the vapor line. The refrigerant loop
is the same as a conventional system. For the solution loop, the
According to the split cycle explained above, the system weak solution from GEN flows to HE 1 to provide heat for the
configuration can be constructed accordingly as long as the internal stripping process and then flows to ABS after throttling. The key
heat recovery processes 1, 2, 3 and 4 are achieved as shown in point of the system operation is making the feed saturated by
Figs. 1 and 2 because the other processes are the same as that of a regulating the flow rate of the weak solution to HE 1 through V5.
conventional system which is shown in Fig. 4. The split ratio (SR), defined as the mass flow rate of the branched
The system configuration achieving the split cycle is shown in strong solution to the rectifier divided by the total mass flow rate of
Fig. 5, in which four internal heat exchangers in the solution loop, the strong solution, is flexible to be adjusted as long as the con-
HE 1, HE 2, HE 3 and HE 4, corresponding to the heat exchange centration of the rectified vapor is ensured.
As explained above, the configuration shown in Fig. 5 can make
the split cycle operation available. However, it cannot implement
CON the GAX cycle because HE 1 cannot achieve the heat exchange
between the generation and absorption processes; therefore, a
REC separate-type heat pipe heat exchanger is taken as HE 1 to make it,
as shown in Fig. 6. The heat exchange amount is regulated to make
the feed saturated by the mass flow rate of the medium fluid, which
Solution is charged in the heat pipe. The difference between Figs. 5 and 6 is
Heat
Exchanger that the weak solution from GEN flows to ABS directly, the sensible
Packing heat of the weak solution and a certain amount of the absorption
heat is used for the stripping process in GEN as illustrated in Fig. 3.
Besides, HE 2 and HE 3 are combined into one heat exchanger (HE 2
in Fig. 6) to achieve the heat exchange process 2.
RHE
In consideration of the system configurations for the split cycle
and the GAX cycle, the unified system configuration is proposed
GEN and shown in Fig. 7. As explained in section 2.1, the configuration is
one of the feasible alternatives which can achieve best performance
ABS in terms of internal heat recovery of a single stage ammonia water
absorption system.
The unified system configuration is constructed based on the
GAX cycle. The connections are arranged to achieve different heat
matchings. When the split cycle is operated, V6 is fully open, and V5
EVA is fully closed. For GAX cycle operation, V4 and V5 are fully open
while V3 and V6 are fully closed. It is necessary to regulate the flow
Fig. 4. The conventional single stage ammonia water absorption system configuration.

CON CON

REC REC
HE4 HE4

V2 V2

HE1 HE1
V5

RHE HE2 RHE

HE2
GEN HE3 V4 GEN

V1 V1
V3
ABS ABS

EVA EVA

Fig. 5. The system configuration of the split cycle. Fig. 6. The system configuration of the GAX cycle.
 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048 1043

CON
10
REC
HE4 5

2
11 V2

pa HE1
9
HE2
RHE V6
8 6
2'
HE3 7 V4
GEN
3' 7' V5
1
12
V1 14 V3
13 ABS

15
3 4
EVA
Fig. 7. The unified single stage ammonia-water absorption system configuration.

rate of the medium fluid in the heat pipe and the split ratio of the (10) The process of the working pair through a valve or a pump is
strong solution for maximum internal heat recovery. In case of a isenthalpic.
larger split ratio condition to ensure the mass fraction of the vapor
at the outlet of the rectifier (REC), the location of the pinch point The unified system is simulated based on mass, species, and
moves to a lower temperature interval, resulting in a worse internal energy conservation equations as shown in Eqs. (1e3).
heat recovery. The saturated feed is still supposed to be ensured to
realize a smaller total heat input compared to an overheated feed X X
mi ¼ mo (1)
and an overcooled feed. Therefore, saturated feed controlling is
valid to be implemented in an actual system. A larger split ratio of
the strong solution is the remediation in case of a deficient design X X
mi xi ¼ mo xo (2)
of the rectifier.

X X X X
3. Modeling mi hi þ Qi ¼ mo ho þ Qo (3)

In order to investigate the performance of the unified system, a
thermodynamic model is established. The assumptions for the
calculation are made as follows:
(1) There is no flow resistance in the system.
(2) There is no heat loss to the environment.
(3) The solutions at the outlets of GEN, ABS, CON and EVA are
saturated.
(4) The vapor leaving REC is pure ammonia.
(5) The solution entering the generator is saturated according to
the analysis in Section 2.
(6) The condensation temperature and the minimum internal
absorption temperature in the absorber are assumed to be
the same.
(7) The pinch temperature difference is assumed to be 5  C, a
reasonable value for small capacity absorption systems.
(8) A minimum reflux ratio for the rectification process is
assumed.
(9) The temperature difference of heat transfer of the separate-
type heat pipe is half of the assumed pinch temperature
difference to simplify the calculation.
where x, h, Q represent the mass fraction, enthalpy, and heat load,
respectively. The subscript of i and o represent the inlet and the
outlet of the component including EVA, RHE, CON, REC, GEN, HE 1,
HE 2, HE 3, ABS, pump and valves.
The equations of phase equilibrium and the thermodynamic
properties of ammonia-water are referred to the paper presented
by Wu et al. [21]. In the equations below, the subscripts of g, e, c and
a indicate the generator, evaporator, condenser and absorber, and
the number in the subscript of the variables indicates the state
point, which are shown in Fig. 7.
The saturated state points at the outlets of ABS, GEN, CON and
EVA are firstly used to calculate the temperature, pressure, mass
fraction and enthalpy at point 1, 3, 11 and 14 according to the
boundary temperatures and Assumptions (1)e(6). Then circulation
ratio of the solution (cr) is calculated as:
cr ¼ ð1
x1 Þ=ðx3
x1 Þ (4)
According to Assumption (5), the temperature of Point 9, that is
the minimum saturated temperature for generation, is calculated
as:
1044 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048

T9 ¼ ftl ðx9 ; p9 Þ (5) qg ¼ qHE4 þ h10 þ ðcr
1Þ,h1
cr,hl;9
qHE1 (15)

The releasing heat of the absorber is calculated as:

where ftl is the function to obtain the saturated temperature
through the mass fraction and the pressure of the solution. In qa ¼ ðcr
1Þ,h2 þ h15
cr,h3
qHE1
qHE2
qHE3 (16)
addition, p9 is equal to p1.
Based on Assumption (8), the mass flow rate of the reflux (r) is where qHE1 is related to the internal heat matching, and it is
calculated as: different in split cycle operation and GAX cycle operation.
   For split mode 1, only the sensible heat of the weak solution
r ¼ 1
xv;9 xv;9
xl;9 (6) from GEN is reused for the stripping process; therefore, based on
Assumption (9), the heat load of HE 1 is calculated as:
where, xv;9 and xl;9 are obtained by the phase equilibrium equa-
tions, and the subscript v and l represent the vapor phase and the qHE1 ¼ ðcr
1Þ,ðh2
h20 Þ
qHE2 (17)
liquid phase, respectively.  
The rectification heat can be calculated as: h20 ¼ fhl T8 þ DTpinch ; p2 ; x2 (18)

qHE4 ¼ ð1 þ rÞ  hv;9
r  hl;9
h10 (7) where 20 is the state point of the hot stream at the pinch point
referred to Fig. 1.
where q is the heat load per unit mass of the refrigerant, and h10 can For split mode 2, the heat load of HE 1 is calculated as:
be calculated based on Assumption (4) and (7).
The mass flow rate of the branched strong solution through the qHE1 ¼ ðcr
1Þ,ðh2
h30 Þ
qHE2
m7 ,ðh7
h70 Þ (19)
rectifier is calculated as:
h30 ¼ fhl ðT30 ; p2 ; x1 Þ (20)
m5 ¼ qHE4 =ðh5
h4 Þ (8)
 
where h4 equals h3, and h5 is calculated as: h70 ¼ fhl T30
DTpinch ; p2 ; x1 (21)

 
h5 ¼ fhl T9
DTpinch ; p5 ; x5 (9) where 30 and 70 are the state points of the hot stream and the cold
stream at the pinch point referred to Fig. 2. T3’ is the maximum
saturated temperature of the absorption process and T7’ is obtained
where fhl is the function to obtain the enthalpy of the solution
according to the pinch temperature difference.
through the temperature, the pressure and the mass fraction.
For GAX cycle operation, a certain amount of the absorption heat
DTpinch is the pinch temperature difference and p5 is equal to p1. The
is used for generation. The heat load of HE 1 is calculated as follows.
split ratio of the strong solution (SR) is defined as:
The mass flow rate of the absorbed vapor in the absorber at the
pinch point can be calculated as:
SR ¼ m5 =m4 (10)
  
mvpa ¼ ðcr
1Þ, xpa
x1 1
xpa (22)
where the value of m4 is equal to that of cr.
In the calculation, split cycle operation or GAX cycle operation is where mvpa is the mass flow rate of the absorbed ammonia vapor,
determined whether there is an available temperature overlap and xpa , the saturated mass fraction of the solution after the
between the absorption and generation processes. In the case of the segmental absorption, is calculated based on Tpa , which is obtained
GAX cycle operation, SR is unity because there is no split of the
according to the pinch temperature difference.
strong solution.
 
Then, find the location of the pinch point, and the heat loads in xpa ¼ fxl Tpa ; p2 (23)
HE 2 and HE 3 can be obtained.
For split cycle, including split mode 1 and split mode 2, the heat
Tpa ¼ T9 þ DTpinch (24)
load of HE 2 is calculated as:

where fxl is the function to obtain the saturated mass fraction of the
qHE2 ¼ cr,ðh9
h8 Þ (11)
solution through the temperature and the pressure. Therefore, the
heat load of HE 1 is calculated as:
where h8 is obtained from Eq. (12), referred to Figs. 1 and 2.
 
  qHE1 ¼ ðcr
1Þ,h2 þ mvpa ,h15
cr
1 þ mvpa ,hpa (25)
h8 ¼ fhl T9
DTpinch ; p8 ; x8 (12)
 
hpa ¼ f Tpa ; p2 ; xpa (26)
where p8 equals to p1. Based on Assumption (10), the heat load of
HE 3 is calculated as: The calculation of the refrigerant loop is the same as a con-
ventional system; therefore, the conservation equations for CON,
qHE3 ¼ cr,ðh9
h3 Þ
qHE4
qHE2 (13) RHE and EVA are not explained in this paper for simplification. The
cooling effect and the condensation heat are calculated as:
For GAX cycle operation, the heat load of HE 2 and HE 3 is
calculated as: qe ¼ h14
h13 (27)

qHE2 þ qHE3 ¼ cr,ðh9
h3 Þ
qHE4 (14) qc ¼ h10
h11 (28)

Next, the heat input in GEN can be calculated as: Finally, Qg, Qe, Qc, and Qa are obtained according to an actual
 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048 1045

mass flow rate of the refrigerant from the rectifier. The cooling and Table 3
heating performances of the unified system are calculated as: The heat load of each component and the performance of the system.

 Parameter Freezing Air conditioning Space heating

COPcooling ¼ Qe Qg (29)
QHE1,kW 23.3 28.7 19.2
QHE2,kW 5.9 12.4 3.0

COPheating ¼ ðQa þ Qc Þ Qg (30) QHE3,kW 70.4 \ 21.2
QHE4,kW 24.7 6.3 11.1
QGEN,kW 72.7 41.1 57.3
Under the same assumptions, the thermodynamic calculation of
QEVA,kW 39.8 39.2 38.9
a conventional system with a partial condenser is also done to QABS,kW 74.5 42.2 59.1
provide the comparison. QCON,kW 38.1 38.1 37.2
QRHE,kW 4.7 2.6 3.5
SR 0.26 1 0.34
4. Results and discussions
COPcooling 0.55 0.95 \
COPheating \ \ 1.68
Three groups of representative operating conditions shown in Conventional system COP 0.44 0.63 1.4
Table 1 are determined to investigate the performance of the uni- COP improvement 25% 34% 20%
fied system, including a deep freezing application in summer
(evaporation temperature of
30  C for cold storage with cooling
water of 32  C), an air-conditioning application in summer (pro- the condensation temperature and the evaporation temperature) is
ducing chiller water of 7  C with cooling water of 32  C) and a space 75  C, 38  C, and 50  C, respectively. It can be found from Table 3
heating application in winter (producing hot water of 40  C with that the unified system performs quite well in the studied condi-
environmental temperature of 0  C). The mass flow rate of the va- tions, and the thermal COP is improved by 25%, 34%, and 20%
por leaving REC is assumed as a fixed value for easy calculation. respectively, compared to a conventional singe stage absorption
Table 2 shows the parameters of each state point of the unified system. Therein, the internal recovered heat is 129 kW, 50 kW, and
system referred to Fig. 7 while Table 3 shows the heat load of each 58 kW respectively, under the three application conditions. This
component and the performance of the system. It can be found indicates that the larger the temperature lift, the larger the avail-
from Table 2 that the unified system can be operated in the three able recovered heat.
groups of representative operating conditions, indicating that the For the air-conditioning application, the performance
single stage ammonia-water absorption system configuration improvement is most significant although the recovered heat is the
adapts to different operating conditions. The unified system lowest. This is because the heat input is inherently low, and the GAX
configuration is verified to be feasible by the thermodynamic cycle operation, in which case the utilization of the absorption heat
analysis. improves the internal heat recovery more, results in a lower heat
In different applications, the mass flow rate of the solution input; therefore, the performance improvement is more significant.
varies greatly which indicates the flow rate of the solution pump The recovered heat accounts for 121.7% of the heat input; thus the
should be adjustable in a large range. The three groups of operating internal heat recovery can greatly improve the system perfor-
conditions exactly conform to the situation of Figs. 1e3, respec- mance. In this case, absorption heat recovery is dominant in the
tively. The temperature lift (the temperature difference between internal heat recovery.
For the freezing application, the internal heat recovery is quite
significant because the recovered heat accounts for 177.4% of the
Table 1
Three groups of representative operating conditions.
heat input, indicating the performance would be reduced sharply if
the internal heat recovery is inefficient. Therefore, internal heat
Item Freezing Air conditioning Space heating recovery should be paid more attention when an ammonia water
Evaporation temperature, Te (oC)
30 2
5 absorption system is applied for deep freezing applications. It can
Condensation temperature, Tc (oC) 40 40 45 be found that the rectification heat recovery and the sensible heat
Min. temperature in ABS, Ta (oC) 40 40 45
recovery of the solution are both important.
Max. temperature in GEN, Tg (oC) 160 160 160
Vapor flow rate from REC (kgs
1) 0.034 0.034 0.034 For space heating, the recovered heat accounts for 101.2% of the

Table 2
The parameters of each state point of the unified system.

Point Freezing Air-conditioning Space heating

1
1
o
T ( C) x p (MPa) m (kgs ) o
T ( C) x p (MPa) m (kgs ) o
T ( C) x p (MPa) m (kgs
1)

1 160 0.14 1.56 0.204 160 0.14 1.56 0.052 160 0.16 1.79 0.086
2 159.9 0.14 0.12 0.204 159.9 0.14 0.47 0.052 159.8 0.16 0.36 0.086
3 40 0.26 0.12 0.238 40 0.48 0.47 0.086 45 0.40 0.36 0.12
4 40 0.26 1.56 0.238 40.3 0.48 1.56 0.086 45.3 0.40 1.79 0.12
5 124.6 0.26 1.56 0.062 55.6 0.48 1.56 0.086 100.1 0.40 1.79 0.041
6 124.6 0.26 1.56 0.062 55.6 0.48 1.56 0.086 100.1 0.40 1.79 0.041
7 124.6 0.26 1.56 0.176 \ \ \ \ 100.1 0.40 1.79 0.079
8 124.6 0.26 1.56 0.238 55.6 0.48 1.56 0.086 100.1 0.40 1.79 0.12
9 129.6 0.26 1.56 0.238 84.5 0.48 1.56 0.086 105.1 0.40 1.79 0.12
10 46.4 1 1.56 0.034 46.4 1 1.56 0.034 50.0 1 1.79 0.034
11 40 1 1.56 0.034 40 1 1.56 0.034 45 1 1.79 0.034
12 11.4 1 1.56 0.034 24.3 1 1.56 0.034 24.1 1 1.79 0.034
13
30 1 0.12 0.034 2 1 0.47 0.034
5 1 0.36 0.034
14
30 1 0.12 0.034 2 1 0.47 0.034
5 1 0.36 0.034
15 35 1 0.12 0.034 35 1 0.47 0.034 40 1 0.36 0.034
1046 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048

heat input. The system improvement is relatively low in the matter Table 5
of internal heat recovery because the releasing heat is used to The effect of different SRs on the system performance.

produce hot water rather than to be removed to the environment. Description Freezing Air- Space heating
In this case, the sensible heat recovery of the solution is dominant conditioning
in the internal heat recovery. SR COP SR COP SR COP
Through the calculation, the split ratio is obtained, and it pro-
Proper 0.26 0.55 1 0.95 0.34 1.68
vides a reference value to be regulated in an actual system. The Larger 0.29 0.51 / / 0.43 1.64
value of SR is around 0.3 for the deep freezing and space heating
applications while it is unity for the air-conditioning application.
Therefore, the ratio is easy to be regulated in consideration of its COP is reduced.
medium values. Table 5 shows the effect of different SRs on the system perfor-
The heat exchangers can be designed when the heat load and mance, where a smaller SR is not explained because the purification
the mass flow rate of each component are obtained. It should be would not be achieved in that case. It can be found that a larger SR
noted that the heat loads of the same heat exchanger for the three results in a decrease of the system COP. This is because a larger SR
group operating conditions are different, indicating that the heat indicates the rectification heat is not made good use due to the
exchanger should be designed based on the largest heat load if the larger temperature difference for heat transfer. Therefore, adjusting
developed system would be applied for quite different operating a proper value of SR is important for the optimal operation.
conditions. In addition, the solution mass fraction is different for In order to investigate the performance of the unified system in
different operating conditions. There will be a sizeable liquid different operating conditions, a sensitivity analysis is carried out.
ammonia tank if the unified system is developed for different Fig. 8 shows the thermal COP of the unified system for freezing
operating conditions. Therefore, although the unified system is application in different operating conditions. The thermal COP of
practical and it is convenient to be designed, the initial cost would the conventional system is also shown in the figures; thus the
reduce the benefit of the unified system if it is to be applied in quite comparison is visible and quantifiable.
different applications. The blank jagged surface means that a single stage ammonia-
As explained in Section 2.2, the key points of the operation of water absorption system cannot be operated in current condi-
the unified system are making the feed saturated and adjusting a tions because the deflation ratio is too small even negative.
proper SR based on the pinch temperature difference. In order to Therefore, the minimum driving temperatures in different coolant
investigate the effects of different feed conditions and different SRs temperature conditions can be obtained for the freezing applica-
on the performance of the unified system, a comparison is con- tion. It can be concluded that a higher Tc/Ta, a higher minimum
ducted by changing the internal heat matching, caused by different temperature of the driving heat source.
presupposed values of the feed conditions and SRs. Table 4 shows Besides, it can be found from Fig. 8 that the thermal COP of the
the effect of different feed states on the system performance in the unified system increases fast and then steadily along with Tg rising.
case of the same assumptions in Section 3 except Assumption (5). There is a similar trend of the thermal COP with Tc/Ta decreasing. It
The supercooling degree of the feed is assumed as 10  C while the is indicated that a higher Tg and a lower Tc/Ta results in a higher
superheat degree is assumed as 5  C, because the distinction of the thermal COP. The variation can be explained that the deflation ratio
sensible heat and the latent heat is considered in the assumption. is improved with the increase of the temperature difference be-
It can be found that the saturated feed generates the highest tween Tg and Tc/Ta, leading to the decrease of the heat input. It can
COP among the applications, and overheated feed has less negative
effect on the system COP compared to the subcooling feed. For the
freezing application, the overheated feed makes a less decrease on
the system COP compared to the subcooled feed. The reason is that
the subcooled feed causes the increase of the heat input in GEN and
the rectification heat, while the overheated feed gives rise to the
increase of the rectification heat but decreases the heat input in
GEN.
For the space heating application, the system COP with over-
heated feed is the same as that with the saturated feed because the
increased rectification heat caused by overheated feed is also used
for heating. However, the system COP with subcooled feed is low-
ered due to the extra heat input caused by the subcooled feed.
For the air-conditioning application, the overheated feed makes
the preheated solution, actually a latent heat process, heated by the
high temperature hot stream. It is indicated that the heat at high
temperature level is not utilized properly; therefore, the system

Table 4
The effect of different feed states on the system performance.

Feed state Freezing Air- Space heating

conditioning

T (oC) COP T (oC) COP T (oC) COP

Subcooled 119.5 0.5 74.5 0.91 95.1 1.66

Saturated 129.5 0.55 84.5 0.95 105.1 1.68
Fig. 8. The thermal COP of the unified system applied for freezing in different oper-
Overheated 134.5 0.54 89.5 0.93 110.1 1.68
ating conditions.
 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048 1047

be learned that there is a sharp increase when there is a temper-

ature overlap between the absorption process and the generation
process, in which situation the system is switched from split cycle
to GAX cycle, indicating that the absorption heat is utilized for
generation which makes the internal heat recovery more signifi-
cant. As a result, the performance of the unified system is improved
significantly due to the less heat input. In addition, the thermal COP
of the conventional system is almost constant with the increasing
of Tg after the fast increase because the deflation ratio is nearly
invariable. However, the thermal COP of the unified system in-
creases unceasingly and even increases sharply when the system is
in GAX cycle operation.
Moreover, it can be found that the thermal COP of the unified
system is always higher than that of a conventional system due to
the optimal internal heat matchings. The largest performance
improvement reaches 76.7% under the investigated operating
conditions, compared to a conventional single stage system.
Fig. 9 shows the thermal COP of the unified system for air-
conditioning application in different operating conditions.
Similar to the freezing application, the performance of the
unified system is improved with Tg increasing and Tc/Ta decreasing.
As well, it is always larger than that of a conventional system. The
system is switched from the split cycle operation to the GAX cycle
operation when the temperature overlap appears. It should be Fig. 10. The thermal COP of the unified system applied for spacing heating in different
noted that the conditions for GAX cycle operation are more operating conditions.
extensive, as a result of the decrease of the temperature lift (tem-
perature difference between Te and Tc/Ta). Moreover, the minimum
driving temperature is much lower. In this case, the unified system GAX cycle operation. It should be noted that split cycle is dominant
can play a more significant role in wide operating conditions with to be operated in extensive operating conditions, indicating that
producing high performance. the unified system would be operated in split cycle operation when
Fig. 10 shows the thermal COP of the unified system for spacing it is applied for space heating in winter.
heating application in different operating conditions. The results of the figures show that the unified system can be
The profiles are similar to that in the freezing and air- operated in wide operating conditions and performs best due to the
conditioning applications. The difference is that the thermal COP system configuration which is constructed based on maximum
is improved almost linearly with Te increasing. This is caused by the internal heat recovery. Furthermore, the figures provide the refer-
linearly changed deflation ratio. The figure also shows the mini- ence for the practical calculation and the operation of the unified
mum driving temperatures in different evaporation temperature system.
conditions and the switching points of split cycle operation and Fig. 11 shows the cycle switching diagram for freezing, air-
conditioning and space heating conditions, where the split cycle
operation and the GAX cycle operation can be determined based on
the operating conditions. The curves shown in the figure are
formed by the critical points where the cycles could be switched.

50 16

1
40 4 Te=2oC 12
Split cycle
Te=-30oC
30 Ta/Tc=45oC 8
2
Ta/Tc (oC)

GAX cycle
Te (oC)

20 5 4

Split cycle 3
10
0
GAX cycle
6
0 GAX cycle
-4
Split cycle
-10
80 100 120 140 160 180
o
Tg ( C)

Fig. 9. The thermal COP of the unified system applied for air-conditioning in different Fig. 11. The cycle switching diagram for freezing, air-conditioning and space heating
operating conditions. applications.
1048 S. Du, R.Z. Wang / Energy 174 (2019) 1039e1048
For freezing and air-conditioning operating conditions, the unified
system is switched to the split cycle operation above the curve
while switched to the GAX cycle operation below the curve. For
space heating application, the switching of the unified system is
reverse. It can be noted that the three curves divide the figure into
six areas. Among them, area 3 and area 4 indicate that the GAX
cycle operation and the split cycle operation is always employed
under the related operating conditions. For refrigeration applica-
tions including freezing and air-conditioning, split cycle operation
is determined for the operating conditions shown in area 1 and 4,
while GAX cycle operation is determined for the operating condi-
tions shown in area 3 and 6. This diagram provides a reference to
adjust the valves manually or automatically so that the unified
system can be controlled by an intelligent unit.
5. Conclusions
A unified single stage ammonia-water absorption system is
proposed to be operated under freezing, air-conditioning, and
space heating application conditions with producing the best per-
formance. Split cycle and GAX cycle, which are the optimal cycles
with maximum internal heat recovery, can be unified into one
system configuration and switched according to the operating
conditions. Four internal solution heat exchangers are arranged in
the distillation unit and absorption unit to achieve the optimal
internal heat recovery. The key points of the operation of the uni-
fied system are making the feed saturated and adjusting a proper
split ratio of the strong solution to the rectifier.
A thermodynamic model is established to investigate the fea-
tures and the performance of the unified system under three
groups of representative operating conditions for freezing, air-
conditioning, and space heating applications, respectively. The re-
sults show that the unified system is verified to be valid under the
studied operating conditions, and the performance of the unified
system is improved by 25%, 34%, and 20%, respectively, compared to
a conventional system. The recovered heat accounts for 177.4%,
121.7%, and 101.2% of the heat input of the unified system,
respectively. The absorption heat recovery is dominant for air-
conditioning applications, and the sensible heat recovery of the
solution is dominant for space heating applications. While the
sensible heat recovery of the solution and the rectification heat
recovery are both important for deep freezing applications.
Furthermore, internal heat recovery is more significant for deep
freezing applications.
The analysis of the feed state and the split ratio on the system
performance verify the key operations of the saturated feed and the
proper split ratio. The value of SR is around 0.3 for freezing and
space heating applications while it is unity for air-conditioning
applications; thus it is easy to be regulated in consideration of
the values.
The sensitivity analysis shows that the performance of the
unified system is always larger than the conventional system. The
proper internal heat recovery takes an important role in perfor-
mance improvement, especially when there is a temperature
overlap between the generation and absorption processes. The
performance versus the boundary conditions of the unified system
can be obtained intuitively from the 3D figures. Besides, the cycle
switching diagram is presented and provides a reference to regu-
late the valves manually or automatically.
Acknowledgment
This paper is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
China under contract No. 51706133 and the National Key Research
and Development Program of China under contract No.
2016YFB0601204.
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