초록 ▼

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for cooling an environment using a low temperature heat source. A cooling apparatus is provided. A refrigerant is vaporized from a refrigeration solution using the low temperature heat source. The vaporized refrigerant with part of the refrigeration solutio

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for cooling an environment using a low temperature heat source. A cooling apparatus is provided. A refrigerant is vaporized from a refrigeration solution using the low temperature heat source. The vaporized refrigerant with part of the refrigeration solution is channeled to a separator. The vaporized refrigerant is separated from the channeled refrigeration solution. The refrigerant is further vaporized from the separated refrigeration solution leaving behind a dilute refrigeration solution. The refrigerant is condensed. A part of the condensed refrigerant is fed to the first vaporizer leaving behind a residual part of the condensed refrigerant. The residual part of the condensed refrigerant is evaporated by absorbing heat from the environment thereby cooling the environment. The evaporated refrigerant is absorbed by the dilute refrigeration solution to produce a concentrated refrigeration solution. The concentrated refrigeration solution is fed to the first vaporizer via a heat exchanger.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method of cooling an environment using a low temperature heat source, comprising the steps of: providing a cooling apparatus, wherein said cooling apparatus comprises a first vaporizer, a second vaporizer, a separator, a condenser, a return line, a feedback line separate from said return line a

1. A method of cooling an environment using a low temperature heat source, comprising the steps of: providing a cooling apparatus, wherein said cooling apparatus comprises a first vaporizer, a second vaporizer, a separator, a condenser, a return line, a feedback line separate from said return line and disposed between the condenser and the first vaporizer, an evaporator, an absorber, and a heat exchanger;vaporizing a refrigerant from a refrigeration solution in said first vaporizer using said low temperature heat source, wherein said low temperature heat source is at a temperature of about 20° F. above ambient temperature, and wherein said vaporized refrigerant and part of said refrigeration solution are channeled together through a plurality of lift columns to said separator;separating said vaporized refrigerant from said channeled refrigeration solution in the separator, wherein the vaporized refrigerant is channeled to said condenser;vaporizing further said refrigerant from said separated refrigeration solution in said second vaporizer, wherein said vaporized refrigerant is channeled to the condenser leaving behind a dilute refrigeration solution in the second vaporizer, wherein said dilute refrigeration solution is fed to said absorber via said heat exchanger;condensing said channeled refrigerant from the separator and the second vaporizer in the condenser;feeding a part of said condensed refrigerant via said feedback circuit to the first vaporizer using a microcontroller controlled feedback pump, leaving behind a residual part of the condensed refrigerant in a liquid trap of the feedback circuit, wherein the feedback pump pumps the condensed refrigerant from a refrigerant reservoir in short pulses at predefined intervals of time into the first vaporizer, wherein the feedback of the condensed refrigerant lowers boiling point of the refrigeration solution in the first vaporizer, and wherein the residual part of the condensed refrigerant in the liquid trap flows by gravity, to said evaporator;evaporating said residual part of the condensed refrigerant in said evaporator for absorbing heat from said environment, wherein said evaporated refrigerant is fed into the absorber;absorbing said evaporated refrigerant by the dilute refrigeration solution to produce a concentrated refrigeration solution in multiple absorber columns of the absorber; andfeeding said concentrated refrigeration solution to the first vaporizer via the heat exchanger, wherein the dilute refrigeration solution releases heat to the concentrated refrigeration solution in the heat exchanger to attain an optimum temperature for absorbing the evaporated refrigerant, wherein the concentrated refrigeration solution absorbs heat from the dilute refrigeration solution in the heat exchanger for preheating the concentrated refrigeration solution fed to the first vaporizer;whereby said absorption of said heat from the environment performs said cooling while said lowering of said boiling point and said preheating of the concentrated refrigeration solution reduce an operating temperature required in the first vaporizer and enable the low temperature heat source to be used for the cooling. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the refrigeration solution comprises a refrigerant/absorbent pair comprising the refrigerant and an absorbent, wherein said refrigerant/absorbent pair is selected appropriate for absorption refrigeration systems, and wherein the refrigerant/absorbent pair comprises one of many pairs common to compressor systems, wherein the refrigerant comprises one of chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and a combination thereof, and wherein said absorbent comprises one of an oil, a synthetic lubricant, and any liquid miscible with the refrigerant in a liquid phase, and wherein the absorbent is varied based on the refrigerant used. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaporator contains an inert gas for maintaining isobaric pressure in the evaporator. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaporated refrigerant is absorbed by the dilute refrigeration solution in a plurality of absorber columns in the absorber. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of initiating the cooling, comprising: providing an evaporator fan at the evaporator and a condenser fan at the condenser;providing a condenser valve in proximity to the condenser, a plurality of separator input valves in proximity to the separator, an absorber valve in proximity to the absorber, and an evaporator valve in proximity to the evaporator;activating said evaporator fan for cooling air flowing by the evaporator, and activating said condenser fan for cooling the condenser;activating the low temperature heat source for heating the first vaporizer;opening said condenser valve when the first vaporizer attains a predefined temperature by a microcontroller for allowing the vaporized refrigerant to be channeled into the condenser;opening said separator input valves by said microcontroller for allowing the vaporized refrigerant with part of the refrigeration solution to be channeled to the separator, wherein each of said separator input valves control flow of the vaporized refrigerant with part of the refrigeration solution through one of said plurality of lift columns to the separator, wherein each one of said plurality of lift columns is enabled by opening a respective separator input valve;opening said absorber valve by said microcontroller when a pressure difference is created between the separator and the absorber for allowing the dilute refrigeration solution to be fed into the absorber; andopening said evaporator valve by said microcontroller when a pressure difference is created between the condenser and the evaporator for allowing the condensed refrigerant to flow into the evaporator;whereby initiation of controlled flow of the vaporized refrigerant, the condensed refrigerant, and the dilute refrigeration solution by said microcontroller in the cooling apparatus initiates the cooling. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising a step terminating the cooling, comprising the steps of: deactivating the low temperature heat source to stop heating the first vaporizer;closing the evaporator valve for stopping said flow of the condensed refrigerant into the evaporator;closing the absorber valve for stopping said feeding of the dilute refrigeration solution into the absorber;closing the separator input valves for stopping said channeling of the vaporized refrigerant with said part of the refrigeration solution into the separator;closing a condenser valve for stopping said channeling of the vaporized refrigerant into the condenser; anddeactivating the evaporator fan that cools the air flowing by the evaporator, and deactivating the condenser fan that cools the condenser;whereby the cooling is terminated. 7. A cooling apparatus for cooling an environment using a low temperature heat source, comprising: a first vaporizer for vaporizing a refrigerant from a refrigeration solution using said low temperature heat source, wherein said low temperature heat source is at a temperature of about 20° F. above ambient temperature, wherein said vaporized refrigerant with part of said refrigeration solution are channeled together through a plurality of lift columns to a separator;said separator for separating said vaporized refrigerant from said channeled refrigeration solution, wherein said vaporized refrigerant is channeled to a condenser;a second vaporizer for vaporizing further said refrigerant from said separated refrigeration solution, wherein said vaporized refrigerant is channeled to said condenser leaving behind a dilute refrigeration solution in said second vaporizer,wherein said dilute refrigeration solution is fed to an absorber via a heat exchanger;a condenser for condensing said channeled refrigerant from the separator and the second vaporizer; a return line; a feedback line separate from the return line and disposed between the condenser and the first vaporizer for feeding a part of said condensed refrigerant to said first vaporizer using a microcontroller controlled feedback pump leaving behind a residual part of the condensed refrigerant in a liquid trap of the feedback circuit, wherein the feedback pump pumps the condensed refrigerant from a refrigerant reservoir in short pulses at predefined intervals of time into the first vaporizer, wherein the feedback of the condensed refrigerant lowers boiling point of the refrigeration solution in the first vaporizer, and wherein the residual part of the condensed refrigerant in the liquid trap flows by gravity, to said evaporator;an evaporator for evaporating said residual part of the condensed refrigerant for absorbing heat from said environment wherein said evaporated refrigerant is fed into said absorber;the absorber for absorbing the evaporated refrigerant by said dilute refrigeration solution in a plurality of absorber columns of the absorber to produce a concentrated refrigeration solution; andsaid heat exchanger for enabling absorption of heat from the dilute refrigeration solution by said concentrated refrigeration solution for preheating the concentrated refrigeration solution while feeding the concentrated refrigeration solution to the first vaporizer;whereby the environment is cooled using the low temperature heat source. 8. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, wherein said feedback circuit comprises: a liquid trap comprising a liquid level switch for preventing the evaporated refrigerant from entering the condenser;a refrigerant reservoir for storing the condensed refrigerant;said feedback pump for pumping said stored refrigerant from said refrigerant reservoir to the first vaporizer; andan injector for injecting said pumped condensed refrigerant to the first vaporizer. 9. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, wherein the absorber comprises: said plurality of absorber columns for enabling said absorption of the evaporated refrigerant by the dilute refrigeration solution;an absorber pump for pumping the evaporated refrigerant into said absorber columns to a plurality of absorber injectors; andsaid absorber injectors for injecting said pumped refrigerant into the absorber columns. 10. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a microcontroller for controlling flow of the refrigerant, the dilute refrigeration solution, and the concentrated refrigeration solution. 11. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a control module for initiating and terminating the cooling. 12. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, wherein the refrigeration solution comprises a refrigerant/absorbent pair comprising the refrigerant and an absorbent, wherein said refrigerant/absorbent pair is selected to be appropriate for absorption refrigeration systems, and wherein the refrigerant/absorbent pair comprises one of many pairs common to compressor systems, wherein the refrigerant comprises one of chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and a combination thereof, and wherein said absorbent comprises one of oil, a synthetic lubricant, and any liquid miscible with the refrigerant in a liquid phase, and wherein the absorbent is varied based on the refrigerant used. 13. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, wherein said evaporator contains an inert gas for maintaining isobaric pressure in the evaporator. 14. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, further comprising an evaporator fan at the evaporator for cooling air flowing by the evaporator, and a condenser fan at the condenser for cooling the condenser. 15. The cooling apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a condenser valve in proximity to the condenser, a plurality of separator input valves in proximity to the separator, an absorber valve in proximity to the absorber, and an evaporator valve in proximity to the evaporator for use while initiating and terminating the cooling.