Advanced Exergy Analysis of a Compression–Absorption Cascade Refrigeration System

This work presents a theoretical thermodynamic study of a compression–absorption cascade refrigeration system using R134a and a lithium bromide–water solution as working fluids. First and second law of thermodynamics analyses were carried out in order to develop an advanced exergetic analysis, by splitting the total irreversibility and that of every component. The potential for improvement of the system is quantified, in the illustrated base-case 55.4% of the irreversibility is of avoidable nature and it could be reduced. The evaporator is the component that shows a significant potential for improvement, followed by the cascade heat exchanger, the compressor, and finally, the generator. The results of the advanced exergetic analysis can be very useful for future design and experimentation of these kinds of systems.