The effect of surfactant in the absorptive and generative processes

This study investigates the effect of additives such as normal octyl alcoho l into lithium bromide-water (LiBr/H2O) solutions in the absorption acid ge neration processes of absorption refrigerating machines. The experimental r esults confirmed the positive effect of additive use in the absorber. Littl e is known, however, on the effect of additives on generator performance. I n this study, the authors carried out experiments to investigate the possib le positive or negative effects of additive, which enhances the absorption process, on the generator behavior. The results showed heat transfer at the generator improved as pressure increased and concentration decreased; the boiling heat transfer coefficient was shown to be more strongly influenced by concentration than by pressure. The boiling curves showed that the heat transfer of solution in the generator was not significantly affected by the addition of surfactant. The result of this study showed that the surfactan t in absorption heater/chiller made enhanced absorption effect in the absor ber but it didn't give any influence in the generator. Therefore the additi ve was devoted to helping high performance in the absorption system.