Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System

Trans-critical CO<sub>2</sub> vapor compression (VC) refrigeration cycles require a high compression ratio, which is associated with high expansion losses. To recover these expansion losses, a pressure exchange process between the low- and high-pressure sides of the VC cycle is proposed...

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Main Authors: Ahmed Elatar, Brian Fricke, Vishaldeep Sharma, Kashif Nawaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/6/1754
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author Ahmed Elatar
Brian Fricke
Vishaldeep Sharma
Kashif Nawaz
author_facet Ahmed Elatar
Brian Fricke
Vishaldeep Sharma
Kashif Nawaz
author_sort Ahmed Elatar
collection DOAJ
description Trans-critical CO<sub>2</sub> vapor compression (VC) refrigeration cycles require a high compression ratio, which is associated with high expansion losses. To recover these expansion losses, a pressure exchange process between the low- and high-pressure sides of the VC cycle is proposed and examined in this study. The proposed pressure exchange system is an open type constant volume process where the high- and low-pressure flows mix inside the system. This prototype is inspired by the pressure exchangers used in reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination systems. In this system, a 2D model was generated and modeled using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. The numerical model ignored any losses due to leakage or hydraulic friction and the process is considered adiabatic. For the modeling, it was assumed that the inlet conditions for the two pressure exchanger flows are similar to the flow conditions at the evaporator and gas cooler outlets in a VC cycle. Two parameters are examined to test the validity of the system and understand their effect on the performance, including the inlet flow rate represented by the inlet velocity and the process time represented by the speed of rotation. A total of nine cases were simulated and analyzed in this study.
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spelling doaj.art-511d4335b0f74968b3b10f18dd3483682023-11-21T11:29:17ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-03-01146175410.3390/en14061754Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration SystemAhmed Elatar0Brian Fricke1Vishaldeep Sharma2Kashif Nawaz3Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USAOak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USAOak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USAOak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USATrans-critical CO<sub>2</sub> vapor compression (VC) refrigeration cycles require a high compression ratio, which is associated with high expansion losses. To recover these expansion losses, a pressure exchange process between the low- and high-pressure sides of the VC cycle is proposed and examined in this study. The proposed pressure exchange system is an open type constant volume process where the high- and low-pressure flows mix inside the system. This prototype is inspired by the pressure exchangers used in reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination systems. In this system, a 2D model was generated and modeled using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. The numerical model ignored any losses due to leakage or hydraulic friction and the process is considered adiabatic. For the modeling, it was assumed that the inlet conditions for the two pressure exchanger flows are similar to the flow conditions at the evaporator and gas cooler outlets in a VC cycle. Two parameters are examined to test the validity of the system and understand their effect on the performance, including the inlet flow rate represented by the inlet velocity and the process time represented by the speed of rotation. A total of nine cases were simulated and analyzed in this study.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/6/1754pressure exchangertrans-critical CO<sub>2</sub> refrigeration cycleenergy recovery
spellingShingle Ahmed Elatar
Brian Fricke
Vishaldeep Sharma
Kashif Nawaz
Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System
Energies
pressure exchanger
trans-critical CO<sub>2</sub> refrigeration cycle
energy recovery
title Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System
title_full Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System
title_fullStr Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System
title_full_unstemmed Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System
title_short Pressure Exchanger for Energy Recovery in a Trans-Critical CO<sub>2</sub> Refrigeration System
title_sort pressure exchanger for energy recovery in a trans critical co sub 2 sub refrigeration system
topic pressure exchanger
trans-critical CO<sub>2</sub> refrigeration cycle
energy recovery
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/6/1754
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AT vishaldeepsharma pressureexchangerforenergyrecoveryinatranscriticalcosub2subrefrigerationsystem
AT kashifnawaz pressureexchangerforenergyrecoveryinatranscriticalcosub2subrefrigerationsystem