Development Of Solar Absorption Refrigeration System for Off-Grid Application

Abstract

Electricity has a vital role in improving the quality of life as it is used in activities such as lighting, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, transportation, health, communication, entertainment, etc. Lack of electricity can affect the health and agricultural sectors as many of vaccines and agricultural products go to waste to the absence of proper preservation facilities. To minimize cold preservation problem, a vapor absorption refrigeration system which operates by solar energy was developed, manufactured and experimentally tested. The system use dammonia -water refrigerant absorbent combination. From the cooling load analysis capacity of the system was computed as 55W which is relatively low but enough for the prototype. The system uses 0.39 m² area of the flat plate collector and the solar radiation intensity on inclined surface of the location obtained was about 784 W/m². The calculated COP of the system was 0.45, with a generator heat input of 120.9 W. This result is favorable when compared to prior studies, which reported COPs in the range of 0.1 to 0.4. The experimental tests recorded absorber plate and generator temperatures of 100°C and 80°C,n respectively. While the generator performance yielded favorable results, further system evaluation was hindered by ammonia leakage. Despite the inability to conduct additional tests due to limited ammonia solution availability, the overall findings indicate with improvements in system sealing and ammonia supply, the proposed system shows promise for rural healthcare and agricultural preservation