GAS ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

1. The Platen - Munters absorption refrigeration cycle The Swedish inventors Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters in 1922 developed a cooling unit driven only by heat energy from an electric heater, a gas flame, etc. The unit is hermetically closed, with no moving parts and was marketed by Electrolux in Sweden and Servel in the USA. The cycle is not so easy to understand if tackled head on, so we shall take it in stages. First let us look at the normal vapor compression cycle, then the Carr absorption refrigeration process with a mechanical liquid pump and then the Platen - Munters process. There are growing complications between these, so it is a good idea to follow the reasoning from here on. 1.1 Pressure of condensing vapors Assume a pressure vessel partially filled with some (pure) liquid and with the remainder of the vessel containing its vapor (no other gases or vapors). The pressure in the vessel under equilibrium conditions is a function of the temperature and can be represented in the form of vapor pressure temperature curves. See an example in Fig. 1. (1 bar = 0,1 MPa 1 at 14,5 lb/sq in)
bar 60 40 30 20 10 6 4 3 2 1 0,6 0,4 0,2 0,1 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 +10 +20 +30 +40 +50
(NH3 nia mo Am )

e (C io xid on D Carb

O 2)

45,0 17,8

-28,0 1,3

r phu Su l yl Eth

e xid D io

( SO2

) C l)

H5 (C 2 ride hlo
5

H 2 r (C t he yl E Et h

)2 O

) H 2O r ( te Wa

+60 C
Cap1Fig1.cdr

Fig.1.1 Vapor pressure curves for some liquids

Now, if we maintain the pressure in a vessel partially filled with ammonia at, say, 1,3 bar, the liquid would boil at -28C (Fig.1). If the vapor is constantly evacuated in order to maintain the low pressure, then the vessel could be used to draw off heat from its ambient at that temperature. In the same way, if a vessel is fed with ammonia vapor at a pressure of 17,8 bar, then the vapor would condense at 45C and the heat of condensation given off to the ambient (assuming this to be colder than 45C). This is the working principle of a vapor compression system, Fig. 2

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Carl G Almn

1-1

GAS ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

cooling water in out condenser
The evaporator is partially filled with liquid refrigerant. The compressor draws off the vapor, thereby maintaining the low pressure so the boiling can continue at a low temperature. The compressor feeds the vapor to the condenser at a high pressure, where it can condense at a higher temperature. This is the basic functioning of the cycle. The condensed ammonia liquid returns to the evaporator through a throttling device, which lets the liquid pass but not the vapor. (Part of the liquid flashes when it passes through the throttle, but this is not important in this context).

expansion valve compressor

evaporator in out brine

Cap1Fig2.cdr

Fig. 1.2: Vapor compression refrigeration

1.2 The 1/T log p diagram for ammonia-water A diagram similar to the one in Fig. 1 can be drawn for ammonia, water and different mixtures of the two, see Fig.3
20 14 10 7 5 3 2 1.4 1.0 0.7 0.5 0.3
0% 10
0 1090 80 70 60
50
20
3 NH

Cap1Fig3.cdr

vapor pressure, bar

17,8

0 10 90 80 70

60

50

40

30

20

10 0

-28

45 1,3

0%

NH 3

temperature, C 120 140 160 180 200

0.2 -50

-40

-30

-20

-10

30

10

20

30

10

40

40

50 60 70 80 90 100

Fig. 1.3: 1/T log p diagram for ammonia-water mixtures

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GAS ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

Here, as can be seen, the horizontal scale is not linear as in Fig.1 but transformed in such a way that the curves appear as straight lines (almost). The same (p, t) points as in Fig.1 are marked here plus an additional point on the 25% curve. The low pressure for the evaporator, 1,3 bar, appears over a 25% solution at (in this case) the temperature of 45 C (= the condenser cooling) which is the basis for the Carr system, Fig. 4. 1.3 The Carr absorption refrigeration process The Carr process was invented around 1850 in France. It played an important role until reliable refrigeration compressors were developed by Linde and others and electric motors became available as prime movers around 1880.

cooling water in out condenser

cooling water
for reflux cooler ammonia vapor

thermic compressor

expansion valve

evaporator

distillation unit

The condenser and evaporator of Fig. 4 correspond to those of Fig. 2. In Fig. 4 the vapor from the evaporator is drawn off, not by a compressor but by the absorber, where weak solution (of less than 25%) creates a slightly lower pressure, allowing the vapor to be absorbed in the weak solution. The ensuing rich solution is pumped to a distillation column at p=17,8 bar by a mechanical pump. In the column it is divided into pure ammonia vapor and weak liquid by the expenditure of heat energy and by partial condensation in a reflux cooler.

in out cold brine

absorber weak
solution

burner

in out cooling water

rich solution
Cap1Fig4.cdr

Fig.1. 4: The Carr process

The vapor goes to the condenser, in the same way as in Fig. 2 and the weak solution goes back to the absorber. The group of absorber plus pump plus destilation column performs exactly the same functions as the compressor in Fig. 2. For this reason the group is sometimes called a thermic compressor. Now to the mechanical pump. This is no great problem in a large industrial installation, but excludes the use of Carr in e.g. household refrigerators. The idea of eliminating the pump, closing the pressure gap between condenser and evaporator by introducing an inert gas in the latter, occurred first to Geppert in
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GAS ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

1899. Now, simply introducing inert gas in the low pressure part of the Carr machine, would not work: With inert gas in the way, the vapor would have to pass to the absorber by diffusion, which is not possible diffusion and heat conductance in gases are similar phenomena and work only over short distances like a few millimeters. Geppert realized this and his solution was to create a closed loop for the gas between the evaporator and absorber. But this did not resolve the problem of circulating the gas. This was resolved in an elegant way by Platen and Munters, see Fig. 5. 1.4 The Platen-Munters process

Absorption refrigerating unit

system Platen - Munters
Cap1Fig5.cdr

condenser evaporator water separator

h1

boiler casing absorber coil

h2

gas heat exchanger vent pipe

liquid level absorber vessel rich liquid weak liquid liquid heat exchanger heater pump tube

Fig. 1.5: Absorption refrigerating unit, system Platen - Munters

The unit is charged with water, ammonia and hydrogen. There are no pressure differences in the unit except those caused by liquid columns. The condenser is situated above the evaporator, so the ammonia condensate flows by gravity from one to the other. The difference in height, h1, is not due to any flow resistance but to the fact that the liquid in the left leg of the tube is colder and thus denser. The liquid ammonia enters the evaporator tube and flows in a small stream at its bottom. The tube contains weak gas (hydrogen with, say 5% by volume of ammonia vapor) and the liquid evaporates into the gas. By this, the density of the gas mixture increases (ammonia vapor is 8,5 times heavier than hydrogen) and tends to flow downwards to the absorber coil, situated further down. Weak solution enters at the top of the absorber coil and flows downwards at the bottom of the tube. The solution absorbs ammonia vapor from the gas, which gets lighter and tends to flow upwards to the evaporator. Here we have the gas loop between evaporator and absorber according to Geppert and a natural circulation of the gas due to the density differences. This in essence is the invention of Platen and Munters who incidentally did not know of Gepperts work. The weak liquid entering at the top of the absorber coil, comes out at the bottom as rich liquid, after having absorbed ammonia during the passage. It must be
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GAS ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION

regenerated by distillation, basically the same process as in the Carr unit. As with Carr, the liquid must be pumped up to a certain height of the distillation column, and here besides, it must be pumped high enough to allow it to flow back to the top of the absorber by gravity (the height h2 is necessary due to density differences). For this Platen and Munters used a thermosyphon pump. There is a heater tube in the distillation apparatus or boiler as it is normally called in the context of Platen - Munters units. The tube can be seen either as a receptacle for an electric heater or as part of a flue tube. It heats a pump tube with an interior diameter of 3,5 to 5 mm and also the boiler proper, the distillation column. In the pump tube, part of the ammonia is boiled out of the solution and the bubbles force the liquid to rise as indicated in the figure. Above the boiler, an uninsulated part of the tube functions as water separator, analogous to the reflux cooler of the Carr unit. The weak liquid coming out of the boiler, has a temperature of, typically, 180C and the rich liquid from the absorber vessel typically 50C, so the liquid heat exchanger in between, improves performance and efficiency. When the hydrogen passes through the absorber, it warms to, say, 50C. When it passes through the evaporator it cools off to, say -10C. This heating and cooling causes a loss of refrigeration, and the gas heat exchanger is vital for performance (without such exchanger, there would be no useful refrigeration left). When the unit enters in operation for the first time, there is hydrogen in all parts. When the ammonia vapor starts to flow from the boiler, the hydrogen is expelled from boiler and condenser through the vent pipe to the evaporator -absorber and the overall pressure increases somewhat. If the ambient temperature is low, the condenser has surplus capacity and some hydrogen will linger in the last part of it. If the ambient temperature is high enough, the condenser will not have enough capacity to condense all vapor, so some uncondensed vapor will spill over to the absorber through the vent.

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