International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 904e911 www.elsevier.

com/locate/ijrefrig

Absorption chiller crystallization control strategies for integrated cooling heating and power systems
Xiaohong Liaoa,*, Reinhard Radermacherb
a

United Technologies Research Center, 411 Silver Lane, MS 129-17, East Hartford, CT 06108, United States b University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States Received 5 July 2006; received in revised form 26 September 2006; accepted 30 October 2006 Available online 19 January 2007

Abstract The concept of an air-cooled absorption chiller system is attractive because the cooling tower and the associated installation and maintenance issues can be avoided. However, crystallization of the LiBreH2O solution then becomes the main challenge in the operation of the chiller, since the air-cooled absorber tends to operate at a higher temperature and concentration level than the water-cooled absorber due to the relative heat transfer characteristics of the coolant. This leads to crystallization of the working uid. The paper focuses on the crystallization issues and control strategies in LiBreH2O air-cooled absorption chillers. As a result a novel application opportunity is proposed for the integration of absorption chillers into cooling, heating and power (CHP) systems. This new methodology allows for air cooler operation while avoiding crystallization. 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Air conditioning; Trigeneration; Absorption system; Water; Lithium bromide; Process; Regulation; Reduction; Crystallisation

` Prevention de la cristallisation dans les refroidisseurs a ` absorption utilises dans les systemes integres de chauffage, de refroidissement et de production denergie
` ` Mots cles : Conditionnement dair ; Trigeneration ; Systeme a absorption ; Eau ; Bromure de lithium ; Procede ; Controle ; Reduction ; Cristallisation

1. Introduction Absorption chilling is a key technology in the CHP portfolio since it offers signicant opportunities to transform waste heat into cooling [1]. The motivation for an air-cooled
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 860 610 7408; fax: 1 860 998 8316. E-mail address: liaox@utrc.utc.com (X. Liao). 0140-7007/$35.00 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2006.10.009

option is to use air, a free coolant, to remove the heat of condensation and absorption processes. As a result, the cooling tower, cooling water, and the associated maintenance, the winterizing procedure, and Legionella concerns are eliminated. Places in the world where water is a precious commodity can particularly benet from this design. However, there is little literature on air-cooled absorption chillers, mainly due to the unavailability of a commercialized product, and most publications are restricted to purely

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Nomenclature CHP COP DX EES HVAC Cooling, heating and power Coefcient of performance Direct expansion Engineering Equation Solver Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning LiBr RT RTU VAV Lithium bromide Refrigeration ton Roof top unit Variable air volume

theoretical simulation. Salim [2] simulated a 7 kW cooling capacity automotive LiBr absorption air-conditioner. Alva and Gonzlez [3] simulated an air-cooled solar-assisted aba sorption system with the cooling loads in the range of 10.5, 14 and 17.5 kW, and compared its performance to the performance of a water-cooled system. Izquierdo et al. [4] calculated the operating parameters of a single-effect and a double-effect LiBr air-cooled absorption system driven by solar energy with the objective of crystallization prevention. Florides et al. [5] mentioned several causes of crystallization occurring in a water-cooled LiBr absorption machine. There is also research using chemical additives to shift the crystallization line to higher temperatures [6]. However, all of the suitable chemicals exhibit negative characteristics that effectively limit their practical application. In this research, a new approach to avoid crystallization e implementing temperature control strategies, as well as an application in the CHP area, are proposed by the authors. The analysis and concept presented are based on veried computer models. 2. Single-effect LiBr air-cooled absorption chillers An EES (Engineering Equation Solver [7]) model of a 63 kW (18 refrigeration ton (RT), 1 RT 3.516 kW)

single-effect LiBreH2O air-cooled system is developed to investigate the performance, crystallization issues and precautions of air-cooled absorption chillers. It has been validated in accordance with experiments on a 63 kW water-cooled absorption chiller under comparable conditions. The chiller is installed on the campus of University of Maryland and red by microturbine exhaust. Fig. 1 is a ow diagram for the absorption chiller. 2.1. Crystallization causes and precautions In absorption chillers, usually the crystallization line for lithium bromide and water is very close to the working concentrations needed for practical LiBr/H2O absorption chillers, such as Point A in Fig. 2. If the solution concentration is too high or the solution temperature is reduced too low, Point A migrates to Point B and crystallization may occur, interrupting machine operation. The actual location within the chiller is decided by the mechanical structure of pipes and ttings; but crystallization is most likely to occur in the strong solution entering the absorber; that is Point 6 in Fig. 1, the concentrated solution at the lowest temperature. Crystallization must be avoided because the formation of slush in the piping network forms a solid, blocking the ow very quickly. If this occurs, the

16 7 Condenser Refrigerant Solution 8 15 3

12

11 Desorber (generator) 4 Solution Heat Exchanger

2 Throttling Valve Pump

5 Throttling Valve 6

1 13

Evaporator 10 18 17 14

Absorber

Concentrated Solution Vulnerable to crystallization

Fig. 1. Diagram of single-effect air-cooled absorption chiller.

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X. Liao, R. Radermacher / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 904e911

Water
80 0
30% 40% 50%

40 30 20
60%

( C )

70

60

50
70%

er an t

10

R ef r

ig

40 5 4 3 Crystallization curve
A B

30 20 10 0

2 1

10

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50

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90

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110

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130

Solution Temperature (C)

Fig. 2. The property chart of LiBr/H2O solution with crystallization curve.

concentrated solution temperature needs to be raised significantly above its saturation point, so that the salt crystals will dissolve within a reasonable time, freeing the machine. To recover absorber operation after crystallization is very labor intensive and time consuming. The big difference between water-cooled and air-cooled LiBrewater absorption chillers is the temperature of the absorber. With air-cooling, one cannot always achieve a temperature of the solution in the absorber sufciently low to maintain the desired evaporator pressure. The only way to compensate for the high absorber temperature is to increase the concentration of LiBr in the solution, but that brings it closer to crystallization [8]. One of the following six causes or a combination of these causes may trigger crystallization of air-cooled absorption chillers, and the associated precautions are also suggested: 1. High ambient temperature: the air-cooled absorbers tend to run hotter than water-cooled units due to the relatively poor heat transfer characteristics of air, and the fact that the dry bulb temperature is equal to or higher than the wet bulb temperature. Fig. 3 gives the overall trend of how each point changes when the ambient temperature increases in the solution eld. The system operates with the same exhaust temperature and chilled water temperature setting in both cases. When the cooling water or heat sink temperature increases from 25  C (dashed lines) to 35  C (solid lines) crystallization occurs. This situation can be prevented by raising the chilled water temperature setting or reducing the amount of heat supplied to the desorber. 2. Low ambient temperature and full load [5]: this combination may also cause crystallization because LiBr solution concentration would be relatively high while the solution temperature is low. Fortunately for an

air-cooled chiller it is easy to prevent overcooling by reducing cooling airow rate. 3. Air leak into the machine [5] or non-absorbable gases produced during corrosion: both deteriorate the heat transfer effectiveness of the absorber and cause higher system pressure, decreased capacity and COP, and higher crystallization probability. As a precaution to this issue, the system should be evacuated routinely. 4. Too much heat input to the desorber: the exhaust temperature or the exhaust ow rate is too high, which results in increased solution concentrations to the point where crystallization may occur. As a precaution to this issue, the exhaust temperature or ow rate into the desorber should be maintained within a specic range. Fig. 4 shows the overall trend of how each point changes when the exhaust temperature increases in the solution

15 10
cycle @ 25C cycle @ 35C

System Pressure (kPa)

Saturation Pressure (kPa)

Te m

pe ra tu

re

Crystallization curve

1
Crystallization happens !

0.5

20

40

60

80

100

120

Temperature (C)
Fig. 3. The solution eld of absorption cycle at ambient 25  C (dashed line) and at ambient 35  C (solid line).

X. Liao, R. Radermacher / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 904e911

10.0
cycle @ 280C

907

Min. Chilled Water Supply Temp (C)

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 System crystallizes Normal system operation

System Pressure (kPa)

cycle @ 320C

5.0

2.0

Crystallization curve

1.0
Crystallization happens !

0.5

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

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90 100 110

Temperature (C)
Fig. 4. The solution eld of absorption cycle at exhaust 280  C (dashed line) and at exhaust 320  C (solid line).

Ambient Temperature (C)

Fig. 5. Minimum chilled water supply temperature (at exhaust 280  C and with constant ow rate).

eld. The system operates with given ambient temperature, chilled water temperature setting and ow rates, but when the exhaust temperature increases from the designed value of 280  C (dashed lines) to 320  C (solid lines), crystallization occurs. The precaution is to maintain the correct heat input to the desorber. 5. Failed dilution after shutdown [5]: during normal shutdown, the machine undergoes an automatic dilution cycle that lowers the concentration of the solution throughout the machine. In such a case, the machine may cool to ambient temperature without crystallization occurring anywhere. Crystallization is most likely to occur when the machine is stopped due to power outage while operating at full load, when highly concentrated solution is present in the solution heat exchanger. 6. Chilled water supply temperature is set too low when the weather and/or exhaust are too hot. So the precaution is to set and maintain the correct chilled water supply temperature. 3. Control strategies 3.1. Chilled water temperature control A new control strategy is proposed by the authors to prevent crystallization. Though hot weather may cause crystallization in an air-cooled chiller, increasing the chilled water temperature settings can avoid crystallization, and the byproducts include improved cooling capacity and COP. Assume the chiller is installed in a CHP system, utilizing the waste heat from the prime mover as heat input to the desorber. Further assume, that the exhaust gas temperature and ow rate are xed. Then for a certain ambient temperature the minimum chilled water temperature is determined by the following two requirements: (1) the refrigerant (water) should not freeze; (2) the system should not be crystallized. Fig. 5 shows the relation between the two temperatures,

assuming the exhaust to the chiller is set at 280  C and of constant ow rate. The minimum chilled water temperature is dened by the crystallization prevention margin (for example 1% to the crystallization curve). The chilled water temperature control strategy is shown in Fig. 6. The darker zone in the three-dimensional gure (Fig. 6a) represents the infeasible chilled water supply temperature and ambient temperature combination. The air-cooled chiller should not operate in this zone to avoid crystallization; while the lighter zone is safe for the chiller operation, and the chiller can have higher cooling capacity as well as COP when the weather is cooler and the chilled water temperature is higher. The dashed lines and the star symbol (+) show how to look up the corresponding temperature setting and cooling capacity under a certain ambient temperature. For example, when the ambient temperature is at 35  C, the minimum chilled water supply temperature should be set at 8  C, and then the chiller can achieve 58 kW cooling capacity. Note: all numbers are based on a chiller with 63 kW cooling capacity. As the counterpart of Fig. 6a, Fig. 6b plots the cooling capacity contour to display the same conclusion quantitatively. In a word, the proposed control strategy is to increase the chilled water temperature setting to avoid crystallization when the ambient temperature is too high. 3.2. Exhaust temperature control In order to improve heat utilization in a CHP system, the absorption chiller should take advantage of the exhaust of prime mover that is as hot as the component materials can withstand; otherwise fresh air is required to cool down the exhaust. When the chilled water temperature is xed with a constant ow rate, the highest exhaust temperature is also restricted by the ambient temperature, see Fig. 7. The darker zone represents the infeasible temperature combination. The air-cooled chiller should not run in this zone to avoid

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(a)
70

Chiller Cooling Capacity (kW)

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 40 35 11 12

Am

bie

nt T em

30

p. (

C)

25

10

Chill

ed W

ate

ply r Sup

Tem

p. (C

(b)
18

Chilled Water Supply Temp. (C)

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 25 28 31 34 37 40
67 kW
kW

65

63

kW

61

kW

60

kW

58

kW

56

kW

Crys

talliz

rev tion P

entio

n Ma

rgin

Ambient Temperature (C)

Fig. 6. Chiller cooling capacity map over the chilled water and ambient temperature combination (at exhaust 280  C and with constant ow rate). (a) Chiller cooling capacity 3D plot for a 63 kW commercial chiller. (b) Chiller cooling capacity contour.

crystallization; while the lighter zone is safe for the chiller operation, and the chiller can obtain higher cooling capacity and COP when the exhaust is hotter and the weather is colder. For example, the dashed lines and the star symbol (+) in Fig. 7 show how to look up the corresponding temperature setting and cooling capacity under a certain chilled water temperature. For example, when the exhaust temperature is at 300  C, the chiller cannot run in weather hotter than 29  C, otherwise the crystallization may occur. At that combination, the chiller can obtain 68.2 kW cooling capacity. In summary, when the ambient temperature is hot enough to cause crystallization, it can be successfully prevented by

reducing the exhaust inlet temperature, assuming that the exhaust ow rate is constant. But the cooling capacity and COP of an absorption chiller will be compromised consequently.

4. Suggested applications 4.1. Conventional roof top unit baseline Many commercial buildings utilize conventional roof top units (RTUs) to supply cooling, which use a conventional vapor compression cycle to cool air through a direct expansion

X. Liao, R. Radermacher / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 904e911

909

90 80

Chiller Cooling Capactiy (kW)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 22

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28

Ambient

30

32

Temp. (C )

34

36

280

290

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310

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330

s Exhau

t Tem

) p. (C

Fig. 7. Chiller cooling capacity (chilled water supply temperature at 7  C) over the exhaust and ambient temperature combination.

(DX) coil. Then the supply air is distributed via variable air volume (VAV) boxes or other terminal units that modulate air volume distribution throughout each conditioned room based on wall-mounted thermostats, adjusted by the building occupants. Electric reheats within these VAV boxes provide localized heating when required. Fig. 8 describes the relation of RTU, VAV and the conditioned space (building). Consider an analysis of a conventional vapor compression RTU for a commercial building, where the total 7.08 m3 s1

mixed air consists of 80% return air and 20% outdoor air. The mixed air is cooled and dehumidied by a DX coil, then reheated to the supply air, because the DX coil must overcool the air to achieve the required dehumidication. The whole process is illustrated in Fig. 9. The energy consumption to process 1 kg of supply air is 21.3 (cooling and dehumidifying by the DX coil) 3.1 (reheat) 24.4 kJ kg1 of dry supply air. The moisture suppression required is 2.63 g kg1 of dry supply air.

Economizer Dampers

DX Coil

Fan

13C

Outdoor Air Exhaust Air Mixed Air

Ceiling

Roof Top Unit

Roof To other rooms VAV w/reheating

Return Air 16C Supply Air

Conditioned Space
Fig. 8. Roof top unit and the conditioned space.

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X. Liao, R. Radermacher / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 904e911

100% 80% 60%

Humidity Ratio (kg/kg)

0.020

OA: outdoor air MA: mixed air RA: return air SA: supply air 21.3 + 3.1 = 24.4 kJ/kg

OA

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40%

0.010 SA 0.005 10 15 20 RA

MA

20%

25

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T (C)
Fig. 9. The conventional vapor compression air-conditioning used to remove moisture and control air temperature with reheat.

It is believed that the dehumidication method results in extra energy consumption due to the overcooling and reheating. Ironically, the reheating is still needed even in summer when the RTU is working! 4.2. CHP-single-effect LiBr air-cooled absorption chillereHVAC combination CHP introduces an innovative way to supply cooling, heating and power for a building; however, the capital cost of CHP equipment and the load uctuation of a typical commercial building restrict the advantage of designing a unit sized at the peak load. Therefore a conventional HVAC system is still needed.

The goal for the proposed CHP integration is to obtain more operating hours out of the CHP equipment at full capacity, because considerable nancial benets can be achieved through maximizing the operating hours of the unit so that the cost saving achieved through the recovery of waste heat can help to repay its higher initial capital cost. So the best way is to let CHP take care of the base load and conventional HVAC systems pick up the residual loads [9]. Based on extensive energy analysis of CHP system at different geographic locations, building load, and desiccant unit and economizer combination, a building application is proposed as shown in Fig. 10: outdoor air is mixed with the return air , and becomes the mixed air . After being dehumidied by the desiccant wheel, it reaches a hotter and drier state point , which satises the humidity content of building supply air. Both the chilled water coil of the air-cooled absorption chiller and the DX coil step take care of the sensible load only, and decrease the air temperature to and , respectively. Its psychrometric chart is shown in Fig. 11. For a certain air-conditioning application, the process air after the desiccant wheel, state point , is always hot and with constant ow rate, and no more latent load needs to be removed afterwards. This is ideal to deploy the aforementioned chilled water temperature control strategy, since the chilled water temperature can be set at higher than the conventional setting 7  C. A CHP system with air-cooled absorption chiller in Fig. 10 can completely satisfy the entire latent load and part of the sensible load, and no reheat is needed in the entire cooling season e normally 2039 h in College Park MD, 1583 h in Hartford CT, 4115 h in Phoenix

2.63 g/kg

Exhaust Gas

Legend : Outdoor air : Return air : Mixed air : Air after desiccant wheel : Air after CHP coil : Supply air : Building exhaust
Desiccant Wheel

Power Electricity
Exhaust Gas Absorption Chiller

Natural Gas
Chilled Water CHP Coil

DX Coil

Fig. 10. Proposed CHP application without an enthalpy wheel in RTU (roof top unit).

X. Liao, R. Radermacher / International Journal of Refrigeration 30 (2007) 904e911

0.025 0.023

911

80% 60%

Humidity Ratio (kg/kg)

0.021 0.019 0.017 0.015 0.013 0.011 0.009 0.007 0.005 10

(7) (3) (6) (5) (4)
20%

(1) 40%

temperature is set too low when the weather and/or exhaust are too hot. Novel temperature control strategies together with a well-chosen application are proposed to effectively prevent the occurrence of crystallization, which are to increase the chilled water temperature settings or to reduce the exhaust temperature according to the maps developed in this research. Finally, a novel CHP building application is suggested as an example for taking advantage of this proposed method with considerable potential for improved economics. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) at the University of Maryland.

15

20

25

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35

40

45

Fig. 11. Psychrometric chart for the proposed application.

AZ and 5785 h in Miami FL per year according to the database in EnergyPlus Energy Simulation Software [10]. The conventional HVAC unit can be much smaller and consume less energy than the baseline design, a roof top unit only system. Since it can use a higher evaporation temperature, as it only needs to satisfy the sensible load, the COP can be higher, which consequently yields additional benets of reduced capital cost, compact size, smaller resistance to air due to smaller coils, and smaller fan power requirement. In addition, since there will be no condensation on the coil the problem of mold growth is eliminated. The annual primary energy consumption of the proposed hybrid system is 60% of the baseline. Inlet air-cooling for the microturbine would be helpful in terms of maintaining capacity rating at outdoor air conditions above 15  C, however, that this was not a focus of this work. Economic evaluation of the proposed hybrid system is not a part of this paper, but the related analysis can be found in Czachorskis research [11]. 5. Conclusion The concept of an air-cooled system is attractive because the cooling tower and the associated installation and maintenance issues can be avoided. However, crystallization then becomes the main obstacle in the operation of the unit. Six causes may trigger crystallization: (1) high ambient temperature; (2) low ambient temperature with full load; (3) air leak into the machine or non-absorbable gases produced during corrosion; (4) too much heat input to the desorber; (5) failed dilution after shutdown; and (6) chilled water supply

References
[1] R. Sweetser, Absorption technologies for buildings: cooling, heating, and power (BCHP) systems, HPAC Heating/Piping/ Air Conditioning Engineering (July 2000) 51e56. [2] M.Salim, Simulation of automotive LiBr/H2O absorption A/C machine, ASME IMECE 2001, AES-23620. [3] L. Alva, J. Gonzlez, Simulation of an air-cooled solar-assisted a absorption air conditioning system, ASHRAE Transactions 124 (2002). [4] M. Izquierdo, M. Venegas, P. Rodriguez, A. Lecuona, Crystallization as a limit to develop solar air-cooled LiBreH2O absorption systems using low-grade heat, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 81 (2004) 205e216. [5] G.A. Florides, S.A. Kalogirou, S.A. Tassou, L.C. Wrobel, Design and construction of a LiBrewater absorption machine, Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 2483e2508. [6] G. Foley, R. DeVault, R. Sweetser. The future of absorption technology in America e a critical look at the impact of BCHP and innovation, in: Advanced Building Systems Conference, 2000. [7] S. Klein, F. Alvarado, Engineering Equation Solver software, 1992e2004. [8] K. Herold, R. Radermacher, S. Klein, Absorption Chillers and Heat Pumps, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 1996. [9] X. Liao, The development of an air-cooled absorption chiller concept and its integration in CHP systems. Ph.D. dissertation, Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 2004. [10] N. Long, Near real-time weather data archive, in: Proceedings of the SimBuild 2004 Conference, 2004. [11] M. Czachorski, J. Kelly, K. Olsen, Heat recovery from commercial on-site power generation system: desiccant dehumidication vs. absorption cooling, ASME IMECE, 2003, 42567.