A resorption cycle for the cogeneration of electricity and refrigeration

This paper describes a novel resorption cycle driven by the low grade heat for the cogeneration of electricity and refrigeration, which is based on ammonia adsorption refrigeration technology. The presented cycle features a variable endothermic process which stands for higher adaptability if compared with the traditional Rankine cycle, very little or no ammonia liquid in the system which is a safety feature, solid adsorbents inside the beds, and simple structure for the fact of no rectifying equipment and circulation pumps required by the working fluids. This cycle can be utilised for the heat source with the temperature higher than 100°C, and it has an electricity generation exergy efficiency of up to 0.69 and a refrigeration coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 0.77. If compared with the Goswami cycle, which is established based on the absorption Kalina cycle for the cogeneration of electricity and refrigeration, the novel resorption cycle kept the merit of the high exergy efficiency for electricity generation, meanwhile, it overcame the limitation of the low refrigeration coefficient of performance (COP) of Goswami cycle, and improved the COP by 10 times. The optimum overall exergy efficiency is as high as 0.9, which is 40–60% improved compared with the Goswami cycle under the same working conditions.