Mechanical compressor-driven thermochemical storage for cooling applications in tropical insular regions. Concept and efficiency analysis

In the proposed system, the photovoltaic-driven electric compressor is used during the day either to run the refrigeration circuit when a cooling demand occurs or to decompose the ammonia-charged salt and to remove the gas from the thermochemical reactor when there is no cooling requirement. During the evening, when there is no electricity from solar sources, the system changes its configuration and the reactor reabsorbs the ammonia gas from the evaporator to produce cold. The efficiency of this hybrid system is evaluated in this work and compared with alternative processes which utilize either electrochemical (lead-acid, lithium-ion batteries) or thermal storage (ice, chilled water) for cold production.