Transportation of low grade thermal energy over long distance by ammonia-water absorption

International audience
This paper presents the importance and the cycle choice for long-distance transportation of low-grade thermal energy, and the thermodynamic and hydrodynamic feasibility of single-effect ammonia-water absorption system for heat or cold transportation over long distance are also involved. A model of a long-distance thermal energy transportation system is built and analyzed, which shows satisfactory and attractive results. When a steam heat source at 120°C is available, the user site can get hot water output at about 55°C with the thermal COP of about 0.6 and the electric COP of about 100 in winter, and cold water output at about 10°C with the thermal COP of about 0.5 and the electric COP of 50 in summer. A small-size prototype is built to verify the performance analysis. Basically the experimental data show good accordance with the analysis results. The ammonia-water absorption system is a potential prospective solution for the heat or cold transportation over long distance.