Piggyback refrigeration system

Abstract

This is a refrigerant system refer as a PIGGYBACK system because it uses the condenser energy, of a compression refrigeration system, that is normally expelled into the ambient atmosphere and uses it in the generator of the absorption refrigeration system. Essentially it is a regenerative refrigeration system that recognizes cooling for large buildings, that have chill water distribution, operate for extended periods consuming large amounts of energy. Cooling air in large buildings is generally a twenty-four hour requirement in many parts of the world for eight to ten months out of the year; this invention will eliminate the waste of millions of tons of energy that are currently being dissipated into the ambient atmosphere by using this energy in an absorption refrigeration system.

Description

A regeneration air conditioning system combining an absorption refrigerant system with a compression refrigerant system in order to utilize the heat of compression normally discarded to the ambient atmosphere. The heat off compression is used in the generator of the absorption system. The combined system works because each system utilizes two distinctly different methods to transfer refrigerant.

This is a refrigerant system that we will refer to it a PIGGYBACK system. We refer to it as a “PIGGYBACK” system because it uses the condenser (2) energy, of a compression refrigeration system, that is normally expelled into the ambient atmosphere and uses it in the generator (7) of the absorption refrigeration system. Essentially it is a regenerative refrigeration system that recognizes cooling for large buildings, that have chill water distribution, operate for extended periods consuming large amounts of energy. Cooling air in large buildings is generally a twenty-four hour requirement in many parts of the world for eight to ten months out of the year. Also, it should be noted that the heat of compression could also be derived from that of a centrifugal compressor or that of a screw compressor. In addition, I chose to use in my drawing the simplest of the absorptions systems to demonstrate how the heat of compression can be utilized in the generator of the absorption system.

This is not an invention of a specific combination Piggyback refrigerant system but is of a process that uses the heat of compression from the compressor refrigeration system. This will eliminate the waste of millions of tons of energy which are currently being dissipated into the ambient atmosphere by using this energy in an absorption refrigeration system

FIGURES

FIG. 1

This drawing is a simplified drawing using the absorption refrigerator drawing shown on page 398 of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning by Jordan and Priester Second Edition Copyright dated 1948, 1956. I have added a standard compression refrigeration cycle to the absorption refrigeration cycle to demonstrate how the energy of the compression system can be used in the absorption's generator. The principal of utilizing the heat of compression in the generator of the absorption system is what this patent is addressing. It should also be noted that some of the energy of the absorption systems system as it is routed to its' condenser may be utilized as preheat for the buildings hot water service thereby increasing the efficiency of the buildings energy management. This is shown on Drawing Number II. Hot water for bathing is generally cyclical and is primarily needed in the morning and in the evening at hotels. This patent application is not limited to air conditioning for comfort but can also be applied to large cold storage facilities as well as ice manufacturing plants and other applications to numerous to mention. The inventor recognizes that there are absorption units on the market designed for home cooling. The inventor has seen some usage of these air conditioning units used in the state of Louisiana. Eventually, as the larger units designed for high capacity refrigeration are manufactured, smaller units adequate for home application can use the same technology and assist in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The principal of using this invention can be applied to any capacity of refrigeration and I believe if the two systems are about equal in capacity that yields of approximately two tons of cooling for each ton of cooling provided by the compression system can be achieved.

FIG. 2

This is a reference drawing of a combined absorption refrigeration system with a compression system. Item No. 7 is the generator, Item No. 8 is the analyzer separator that allows the refrigerant gas to be routed to the condenser and the weak solution to be transferred back to the absorption solution reservoir item No. 9. Item No. 12 is the condenser. Item No. 5 is the evaporative cooler chill water reservoir. Item No. 6 is the load requiring cooling. Item No. 10 is the transfer pump that routs the concentrated solution back to the generator. Item No. 11 is optional as a-preheat for city water going to the hot water service for the building and is shown on Drawing No. II. Item No. 13 is a thermostat used to maintain proper generator temperature. As additional heat is required, controls can function to apply power to Item 14, a heating source. Item No. 16 is the chill water transfer pump and Item No. 6 is the load.

FIG. 3:

Reference Drawing No. III is a standard compressor refrigeration system. Item No. 1 is the compressor. Item No 2 is the condenser. Item No. 3 is the receiver. Item No 5 is the evaporator chill water reservoir. Item No. 6 is the load to be cooled. Item No. 16 is the transfer pump. Item No. 4 is the expansion valve.

FIG. 4:

Reference Drawing No. IV is a combination compression and absorption refrigeration drawing showing how you can add two options to improve the energy management systems. One is the energy pre-heat which has previously been discussed and the other is the isolation valves A, B, C and D. these valves will allow an individual to isolate and operate the compression system when the absorption unit is undergoing repairs.

FIG. 5:

Reference Drawing No. V shows all of the components of a simple absorption system. All of the items in this drawing have previously been discussed in other reference drawings.

FIG. 6:

Is a 600-ton absorption unit manufactured by York in York Pa. This is a photograph I got which was in “Refrigeration and Air conditioning by Jordan and Priester referenced on information of Drawing No. I

Claims

1. An absorption refrigeration system requires heat to drive the refrigerant in the generator out of the concentrated aqueous solution and return it to its respective condenser. The heat in the absorption system is generally provided with some gaseous fuel or can also be provided with electrical power from a Chromalox type of heating element. The heat of compression of a compressor refrigeration system can be used to heat up the concentrated water in the absorption system's generator and drive the refrigerant up to the systems condenser. Naturally there are always heat transfer losses in all systems and each ton of refrigeration in the compressor system will not yield an additional ton of cooling in the absorption system and therefore; a small amount of additional electrical energy will have to be supplied to the absorption's generator in order to double the cooling provided by the compressor system. Alternatively the absorption system could also be sized slightly lower in capacity to compensate for the heat of compression losses to the ambient atmosphere. Additionally, the generator of the absorption system could be designed with additional heater elements to provide the energy required when the compressor system was down for repairs and to provide for the heat losses. It should be noted that the system that I am proposing only uses this absorption drawing to illustrate how the heat of compression of a compressor refrigeration system that is usually dissipated in the condenser of that system to the atmosphere can be utilized in the generator of an adsorption refrigeration cycle. The principal of using this invention can be applied to any capacity of refrigeration and I believe if the two systems are about equal in capacity that yields approximately two tons of cooling for each ton of cooling provided by the compression system can be achieved. It is true that engineers do not like to complicate a system; the energy savings is significant enough to make it attractive to customers. And one cooling system can be utilizes when the other is undergoing repairs. Naturally hotels and office buildings prefer to have several units on line to assure that their customers will never be inconvenience.

1. The following is a drawing as I envision it. It should be noted that I am not intimately knowledgeable of large capacity absorption systems with all of the instrumentation and advancements. I choose a drawing of a Servel Incorporated unit in order to illustrate my invention. The Servel absorption refrigeration system is a very basic unit; however my invention can be applied to large absorption units as well. I have provided a photograph of a large capacity absorption unit manufactured by York Corporation out of York Pa. to illustrate how complex units can be; however, this principal can be applied to units of all sizes.

2. It should be noted that the system that I am proposing only uses this absorption drawing to illustrate how the heat of compression of a compressor refrigeration system that is usually dissipated in the condenser of that system to the atmosphere can be utilized in the generator of an absorption refrigeration system. The principal of using this invention can be applied to any capacity of refrigeration and I believe if the two systems are about equal in capacity, that approximately two tons of refrigerant cooling can be achieved for each ton of cooling provided by the compression system.

3. What is claimed is:

a. If this refrigeration system is used on major buildings on a nation wide basis, it will significantly reduce the amount of oil we are buying from foreign sources.

b. This system can significantly reduce the green house gases produced by this and other countries.

c. Also, use of this system can also significantly reduce global warming by one-half on the systems currently installed if government incentives are provided to retrofit existing systems currently installed where it applies.

d. Also, it can give a badly needed boost to jobs on a nationwide basis that is needed at this time. A significant increase in jobs in the fields of engineering, technicians, sales and manufacturing are some of the jobs that would be created. Air conditioning manufactures maintain good records on existing equipment installation and can identify potential sites where sales can be generated. Government tax incentives can be applied in order to accelerate the application of this system on new construction and applying this principle to existing thousands of units already in use. Additional facilities would have to be constricted in order to facilitate the additional equipment; therefore, construction jobs would also increase if this patent were approved.

e. Additionally, widespread use of this system will allow the USA to demonstrate that we are taking the lead to reduce carbon emissions without signing on to the Keyoto Protocol.