Patent ID: 8935932
Filing Date: 2015-01-20
Classification: F25B,Y02A,Y02B

Abstract:
1. A method of carrying out vapour absorption refrigeration, the method including in a condensing stage, condensing a refrigerant in vapour form to obtain condensed or liquefied refrigerant; passing this liquefied refrigerant into an expansion/evaporation stage; in the expansion/evaporation stage, subjecting the refrigerant to heat transfer with a higher temperature medium such that heat is transferred from the higher temperature medium to the refrigeration temperature and the refrigerant being heated such that at least some of the liquefied refrigerant is evaporated, thereby to obtain vapourised refrigerant; passing the vapourised refrigerant from the evaporation stage into an absorption stage; absorbing, in the absorption stage, some of the vapourised refrigerant into an absorbent at a first pressure, thereby to obtain partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent and residual vapourised refrigerant; in a compression absorption stage, comprising a compressor having a suction side and a discharge, pressure side, passing the partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent and the residual vapourised refrigerant to the suction side of the compressor and contacting, by means of the compressor, the partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent and residual vapourised refrigerant under compression, at a second pressure that is greater than the first pressure, thereby obtaining refrigerant-enriched absorbent that is withdrawn, or discharged, from the discharge, pressure side of the compressor, with the compressor having increased the pressure of the partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent and residual vapourised refrigerant and with residual vapourised refrigerant consequently having been absorbed into the partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent; passing refrigerant-enriched absorbent from the compression absorption stage into a refrigerant regeneration stage; in the regeneration stage, recovering refrigerant, in vapour form, from the refrigerant-enriched absorbent thereby to obtain refrigerant-depleted absorbent; recycling recovered vapourised refrigerant from the regeneration stage to the condensing stage; and recycling refrigerant-depleted absorbent from the regeneration stage to the absorption stage with the recycled refrigerant-depleted absorbent constituting the absorbent in the absorption stage, wherein the absorption stage includes contacting, in a pre-contacting stage, vapourised refrigerant with the refrigerant-depleted absorbent to obtain partially refrigerant-saturated absorbent; and contacting, in a main contacting stage, vapourised refrigerant with the partially refrigerant-saturated absorbent, thereby to obtain the partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent that is passed to the compressor in the compression absorption stage, with the pre-contacting stage being a pre-saturation stage and the main contacting stage being a pre-absorption stage and with absorbing the vapourised refrigerant into the refrigerant-depleted absorbent in the absorption stage including passing vapourised refrigerant from the evaporation stage into the pre-absorption stage; in the pre-absorption stage, absorbing vapourised refrigerant from the evaporation stage into an absorption liquid from the pre-saturation stage, thereby to obtain the partially refrigerant-enriched absorbent that is passed to the compressor in the compression absorption stage; withdrawing unabsorbed vapourised refrigerant from the evaporation stage and passing it into the pre-saturation stage together with the refrigerant-depleted absorbent from the regeneration stage, with the refrigerant-depleted absorbent thus being pre-contacted and partially saturated with the unabsorbed vapourised refrigerant in the pre-saturation stage, thereby to obtain the partially refrigerant-saturated absorbent and also to obtain the residual vapourised refrigerant that is passed to the compressor in the compression absorption stage; and withdrawing the partially refrigerant-saturated absorbent from the pre-saturation stage and passing it into the pre-absorption stage so that it constitutes the absorption liquid in the pre-absorption stage.