Thermodynamic investigation of LiCl-H2O working pair in a double effect absorption chiller driven by parabolic trough collectors

In this study, an alternative working pair, the LiCl-H2O is investigated in a double-effect absorption chiller which is powered by parabolic trough collectors. Moreover, the conventional working fluid LiBr-H2O is examined under the same operating conditions in order to perform a suitable comparison. Three different condensation temperature levels are examined (30 °C-35 °C-40 °C) and four evaporating temperature levels (5.0 °C-7.5 °C-10.0 °C-12.5 °C), while the generator temperature varies in the allowed range in every case. The analysis is performed in steady state conditions with EES (Engineering Equator Solver). The final results indicate that the solar cooling performance is 8% higher with the LiCl-H2O compared to the operation with LiBr-H2O. This significant performance enhancement is able to make the solar cooling a more sustainable solution using LiCl-H2O. Furthermore, the demanded specific collecting area is calculated close to 1 m2·kW−1 which is a relatively low value. This result is based on the high thermal efficiency of the parabolic trough collectors and on the increased performance of the operation with LiCl-H2O.