An investigation of an adsorption cogeneration system for power and cooling using low grade heat

Abstract

Cogeneration is a hot topic in the efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuel usage and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing the primary energy source with a low-grade heat source. Cogeneration simultaneously produces power and cooling using a low-grade heat source (e.g. solar energy, geothermal energy or waste heat), which ideally provides a renewable carbon-free solution for implementation in domestic, industrial as well as isolated areas. This research thesis describes for the first time the development and construction of the Low Heat cogeneration chemisorption system, explores its potential and makes suggestions for its future development based on the experience gained during the experiments. The design uses two adsorption cycles operating out of phase and alternatively connected to a scroll expander in order to reach 3kW of cooling and 1kW of electricity. Each adsorption cycle consists of a reactor, a condenser and an evaporator. Each reactor contains a composite mixture of CaCl2 and activated carbon at a ratio of 4:1 by mass. The system was experimentally investigated for its cooling as well as for its cogeneration performance. Experimental investigations were performed for different heating and cooling temperatures, cycle times and the optimum overall ammonia for the system. The maximum refrigeration coefficient of the performance (COPref) of the machine was found to be 0.26 when the refrigeration power was 3.52kW. At the same time, the specific cooling power (SCP) per side was 201.14W/kg (402.28W/kg per cycle) and the cooling capacity 168.96kJ/kg (337.92kJ/kg per cycle). During the cogeneration experiments it was found that the expander affected the pressure and temperature; the refrigerant flow rate and the pressure across the expander were important for the system’s power production. The maximum power recorded was 486W which provides a power coefficient of performance (COPW) of 0.048. A model to describe the desorption power generation as well as the evaporation refrigeration process was developed using the ECLIPSE software. The cooling model was validated from the experimental results and later the power model was used for ii further investigation of the system power performance. The optimisation of the machine completes the study by using both experimental and simulation data.