Novel absorption refrigeration system with a hollow fiber membrane-based generator

•Propose the hollow fiber membrane-based generator as an automobile application.•Conduct the parametric steady-state simulation on the novel LiBr–water single effect absorption cooling cycle combined with the hollow fiber membrane-based generator.•Analyze the heat and mass transfer in the proposed membrane-based generator.•Investigate the cooling capacity and COP under various operating conditions.•Compare the proposed absorption cycle with the conventional cycles.

Vapor absorption refrigeration systems using the LiBr–water pair can be an alternative to existing automobile air-conditioning systems. To this purpose, the new system must be compact enough to fit into automobiles, and robust against sloping roads and unexpected vibrations while driving. The system uses a micro-porous hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane-based generator (HFM-G) instead of the conventional generator in the absorption cycle. HFM-G extracts water vapor from the LiBr solution that is mechanically constrained by a hydrophobic membrane. This paper presents the results of a parametric steady-state simulation investigating how the HFM-G affects the proposed absorption cooling cycle. We first describe the mechanism of the HFM-G, and the system performance of the proposed cycle under various operating conditions is examined. Simulation results show that the proposed system can achieve a cooling capacity and COP of approximately 2.88 kW and 0.63, respectively, by incorporating the solution recirculation process.