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Summary of Single-Effect Water/Lithium Bromide Systems

In a single-effect absorption cycle using water/lithium bromide, water
is the refrigerant while the lithium bromide is the absorbent. Dhring's plot
shows the solution temperature (LiBr.H2O) on x-axis and the vapour
pressure on the y-axis. The plot is available for various concentration of
the LiBr.H2O solution. Dhring's plot is convenient for finding the vapour
pressure data as well as showing the operating cycle. The schematic
shown in the chapter (shown below in figure 1.0), is a superimposition of
the components on the on the Dhring's plot. The relative position of the
components with phase change in the schematic shows the relative
temperature and pressure of the working fluid inside those components.
However, the subcooled (which is fluid that is forced to be in its liquid
state) and superheated state cannot be accurately represented on the
Dhring's plot as it only displays saturated states.

Figure 1.0: Single-effect water/lithium bromide absorption chiller

superimposed on Dhring's plot
Mass flow analysis can be used to analyse the flowrate through the
chiller and its component as well as the circulation ratio. The latter is a
useful parameter, which is the ratio of the rate of flow through the pump,
to the rate of flow of the vapour leaving the desorber (m 3 m7); it is
beneficial in dealing with design issues.

Mass flow analysis states that

during steady state flow, the net mass of any component is zero and thus
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the mass entering the component is equivalent to the mass leaving the
component. In addition, it also assumes that there is no chemical reaction
taking place between the two species of fluids. For mass flow analysis,
since there are only two compounds, there are only two independent mass
balances that need to be determined.
So for any given component in the chiller, there is only a need to figure out
two sets of equations; the overall mass flowrate into and out of the
component, and the amount of lithium bromide leaving and entering the
component. The third equation for the water mass balance is obtained by
subtracting the former from the latter. Nevertheless, the mass balance for
any particular fluid in a component, including the overall can easily be
determined by directly considering the schematic.
There are a total of 5 states in the system; these are superheated
(point 7), saturated vapour (point 10), saturated liquid (points 1, 4, 8),
subcooled liquid (points 2, 3, 5) and vapour-liquid state (points 6, 9). For
the saturated liquid states, the quality is assumed to be 0, while for the
saturated vapour state, the quality is assumed to be 1. This is done for
easier modelling and does not present a large error in the analysis.
Saturated solution conditions are assumed for all the outlets of each of the
four major components (desorber, absorber, condenser and evaporator).
During the expansion procedure, it is in a two-state phase due to the
flashing of vapour. The amount of flash gas greatly influences the design
of the refrigerant expansion device.
The energy balance analysis is done in a similar manner to the mass
analysis. The energy entering a system is equivalent to the energy leaving
the system. The energy balance for each component is summarised in
table 1.0 below.
Table 1.0: Energy Balance for Each Component in Absorption Cycle
Component
Evaporator

Energy Balance
e =m
10 h10 m 9 h 9
Q
2

Additional
Notes
m
7=m
8= m
9 =m
10

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Condenser

c =m
7 h7m 8 h8
Q

Desorber

d =m
7 h 7+ m 4 h4 m 3 h3
Q

Absorber

a= m
10 h10+ m 6 h 6m 1 h 1
Q

Hot

Side

Exchanger
Cold Side

of

Heat

shx h =m
4 h4 m 5 h 5
Q

Energy balance

of

Heat

shx c =m
3 h3 m 2 h2
Q

satisfied if:

Exchanger

shx c =Q
shxh
Q

Pump Work

W = m 2 h2 m
1 h1

Negligible

The pump work is thermodynamically negligible but in reality, it is a

critical component that must be considered. Once all the energy balance
has been obtained, the coefficient of performance can be found by using
the formula below.
COP R=

Qe
m
10 h10 m 9 h 9
=
7 h7+ m 4 h4 m 3 h 3
Qd m

Another way to represent cycle performance is done by calculating

the ratio of the amount of heat rejected to the heat input.
COPh=

Qa +Qc Q d +Qe
=
=1+COP R
Qd
Qd