A novel flexible multi-effect absorption system for the production of controllable quantities of power, heating, cooling, and desalination

In this work, a modified flexible multi-effect absorption system has been proposed to produce controllable, in quantity and type, products of cooling, power and fresh water. By "controllable" it is meant that the modified system is able to produce one, two, or three types of products, combined or separated and in any ratio, according to the needs. Heating may be considered as the fourth controllable product since it is the already available source. The essence of the current system lies in its flexibility as it is easily able to change the type and amount of the products. The system is studied under different hot source temperatures and different mass fractions. The results show that when the system is operating with equal mass fractions, it can produce cooling capacity, fresh water rate, and electric power up to 21.1 kW, 38 L/h, and 0.58 kW, respectively. In this case, the calculated energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and GOR are 71.6%, 26.8%, and 3.524, respectively.