Absorption cycle heat pump

Desorphon technology has been developed primarily for absorption-cycle heat pumps. The counter flow falling film absorber developed by Garimella has been tested by Determan as a desorber, requiring only modification of the flow distribution and enclosure [259]. The desorber (18 X 18 X 51 cm) could transfer... 

Fig. 7.21 Conventional vapor compression cycle heat pump (left) compared with absorption cycle heat pump (right).

In absorption cycle heat pumps, the compressor is replaced by a smaller pump and an absorption/desorption loop, greatly reducing the necessary power for moving the refrigerant through the system [256]. 

Figure 1.6 The Rotex absorption cycle heat pump. 

Absorption cycle heat pumps and chillers tend to be physically large (they are essentially a collection of heat exchangers), and in the process industry applications these are invariably shell and tube units. While pressure is on the manufacturers of units for such applications to reduce their physical size, the importance of compactness... 

Terry, L.E. "Hydrogen-Hydride Absorption Systems and Methods for Refrigeration and Heat Pump Cycles" US Patent U,055,962 Nov. 1, 1972. 

The main factor that has been responsible for the slow adoption of absorption heat pumps for heating and air conditioning duties has been their high capital cost compared with that of vapor compression equivalents. This is due largely to the cycle complexity, as shown in Figure 14, which displays the four principal cycle elements, all of which involve vapor-liquid systems ... 

Figure 14 Single-effect absorption heat pump cycle.

Engler, M., Grossman, G., and Hellmann, H.-M. (1997) Comparative Simulation and Investigation of Ammonia-Water Absorption Cycles for Heat Pump Applications, International Journal of Refrigeration, Vol. 20(7), pp. 504-516. 

Garimella, S., Christensen, R. N., and Petty, S. E. (1992) Cycle Description and Performance Simulation of a Gas-Fired Hydronically Coupled Double-Effect Absorption Heat Pump System, Winter Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Anaheim, CA, USA, Vol. 28, ASME, New York, NY, USA, pp. 7-14. 

Ivester, D. N., and Shelton, S. V. (1994) Varying Heat Exchanger Parameters in the Triple-Effect Absorption Cycle, Proceedings of the International Absorption Heat Pump Conference, New Orleans, LA, USA, ASME, New York, NY, USA, pp. 243-250. 

The principle of the heat pump, which is the same as that involved in the refrigeration operation, has been known for over 100 years. In the last four decades, heat pump applications have been limited only by economics. Among many types of heat pumps (e.g., vapor compression, absorption, ejector, Brayton cycle, and thermoelectric), only the first found wide application because of its high effideucy and relatively simple construction. 

Various experimental fittings can be adapted on the C 80 calorimeter, especially a vapour absorption device (Fig. 3) which allows to simulate the cycle of an absorption heat pump. 

This operation follows the cycle of an absorption heat pump, which is composed of two vessels under vacuum, separated by a valve (Fig. 11) (5). 

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