Performance enhancement of absorption refrigeration systems: An overview

The introduction of absorption refrigeration technology addressed several significant concerns in the domain of energy crisis, rising cost of fossil fuel, and ecological challenges arising due to the excess use of traditional compression refrigeration systems. ARS (absorption refrigeration system) is gaining popularity as a result of benefits such as the use of low-grade heat sources and environmentally acceptable low-cost working fluid pairs. However, two significant hurdles to commercial success for this technology are the often too big size of the refrigeration system and the poor performance of the system. Numerous studies have been conducted in an attempt to discover methods for improving the COP (coefficient of performance) of ARS in order to get these systems more competitive in comparison to the conventional compression refrigeration systems. The goal of this article is to perform a review of the literature on different methods used to enhance the COP of ARSs based on cycle layout modification and working pair selection as they are the promising solutions for the enhancement of the performance of ARSs. The futuristic aspect of this technology includes the introduction of new working pairs with no corrosion to the system components, including nanoparticles to increase heat transfer rate while reducing the cost of the system. Heat recovery methods should be introduced and the efficient design of various components especially the generator and absorber are to be addressed. This technology could be combined with other refrigeration technologies while utilizing the waste heat to further improve the efficiency of ARSs.