A contribution to the evaluation of the economic perspectives of absorption chillers

The development of new working pairs and cycles extends the field of applic ation of absorption systems with corresponding environmental benefits. The performance of standard cycles can be enhanced, e.g. by multi-staging. For each application the suitable working pair and cycle can be chosen regardin g thermodynamical and economical aspects. Still, the performance strongly d epends on the given external conditions. In this paper, basic thermodynamic constraints stemming from those conditions and valid for all sorption cycl es are derived using the concept of endo-reversibility. Fundamental economi c conclusions can be drawn. Subsequently, real machines are analysed. A com parison with manufacturers data and experimental data is made. The working pairs lithium bromide/water and binary hydroxide solution/water are discuss ed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.