A new absorption-compression refrigeration system using a mid-temperature heat source for freezing application

The use of an absorption refrigeration system is a promising way to utilize waste heat from industrial processes. Ammonia-water absorption refrigeration system is commonly used for freezing applications with temperatures lower than 0 degrees C. When the refrigeration temperature is lower than -30 degrees C, the performance dramatically decreases. We proposed a new absorption-compression refrigeration system to produce cooling energy at -30 degrees C to -55 degrees C. The proposed system comprised three subsystems, namely, a power generation subsystem using an ammonia-water mixture as the working fluid, an ammonia-water absorption refrigeration subsystem, and a CO2 compression refrigeration subsystem. The system utilized the heat source in a cascade manner. The power subsystem converted the high-temperature portion of heat into power to drive the CO2 compression refrigeration subsystem, thereby resulting in the generation of low-temperature cooling energy. The low-temperature portion of heat is converted into cooling energy to offer the heat sink of the CO2 compression refrigeration subsystem. A simulation study was conducted, and results showed that the coefficient of performance of the proposed system was 0.277, which was approximately 50% higher than that of a conventional two-stage absorption refrigeration system. This work may provide a new way to produce low-temperature cooling energy using mid-temperature heat source. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.