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October, 2016 (Special Issue)

Vol 5 Issue 11

ISSN 2278 0211 (Online)

A New Method to Determine the Concentration for LiBr

Solution in Vapor Absorption Refrigeration System
Manu S.
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SSIT, Tumkur, Karnataka, India
Dr. T. K. Chandrashekar
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MITE, Tumkur, Karnataka, India
C. Girisha
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, AMCE, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Abstract:
The growth in industrialization and improvement in the science technology has developed a new system for the sophistication for
the mankind. According to ASHRAE reported more than 50% of the generated power is consumed by the refrigeration and Airconditioning systems. This resulted in the energy crisis and attributed to development novel systems like vapour absorption
refrigeration system. LiBr-H2O (Lithium Bromide-water) vapour absorption refrigeration system showed the promising solution
because it uses heat energy to run the system and also it uses natural refrigerant as water due to this there is no detrimental
effect on the environment. The key components of this system are generator and absorber and there it is necessary to maintain
required concentrations if not resulting in scaling in the line. The literature review showed that, conventional methods are used
to determine the concentration. In this regard, the paper attempts to develop the new method to measure the concentration
quickly, accurately and at low cost by using conductivity under ambient conditions. The results showed the accuracy in the
measurement on compared with conventional method.
Keywords: Lithium Bromide, concentration, Heat pump, conductivity

1. Introduction
Vapour absorption refrigeration showed their potential in extracting high heat flux. Lithium Bromide-water (LiBr-H2O) showed is
promising pair in the present context of economical and ecological problems. This pair uses water as refrigerant and LiBr-H2O
aqueous solution as absorbent. The LiBr-H2O is a salt in white colour and has a bitter taste. This is easily soluble in water and alcohols
having high hygroscopic property. The performance of absorption system is mainly dependent on the properties of the solution. For
the continuous running of the absorption system it necessary to monitor the quality of the concentration and their changes in the
properties. The absorbent pair is highly hygroscopic [Lide et al., 1994], The system should follow the typical working procedure in
order to avoid moisture coming from the atmosphere. Any mixing of moisture for the absorption pair resulting in drop in the
performance of the system.
Perusal of literature showed only three techniques are presented to measure the concentration of this mixture; the widely used and well
known method is the titration method (Herold et al.1996), this method gives high accuracy but procedure is tedious, requires skilled
peoples, and time consuming. The next method by using electrolyte conductivity and this gives good results and once again the
drawback is similar. The final method which was used to measure was by using radioactive tracer detectors. This technique is highly
expensive technology (Horn, 1969). Swallow &Smith (1998 showed a mechanically based absorber containing of several rotating
disks semi submerged in a solution trough. The disk has been rotated and the thin solution film formed on the disk surfaces. This
requires continuous refreshing and mixing of the disk. Choudhury et al. (1993) showed the absorption heat and mass transfer in
laminar films falling over horizontal tubes. The major differentiation between their model and Andberg and Vliet are that they
considered fluid properties are remained constant and the tube to be considered as isothermal. In the light of above literature showed
the concentration measurement requires skilled people. In this context, the paper attempts to develop a simple and low cost method to
measure the concentration of lithium bromide solution by using conductivity meter under ambient conditions.

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October, 2016 (Special Issue)

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2. Measurement Technique
The LiBr-H2O vapour absorption was working at different concentration ranges from (45- 65%) based on the literature. The solution
was prepared for different concentration in a closed beaker. The commercially available conductivity meter is used to determine the
conductivity of the solution. The aim of these measurements is to find the concentration of the lithium bromide solution which
changes inside the absorber by absorbing vapor from the evaporator through time. The conductivity of the solution was measured for a
different concentration and then draw a correlation curve between the conductivity and at different concentration.
3. Sample Preparation
The samples were prepared from a commercially available pure dry LiBr powder and de-ionised water. The masses of the LiBr added
to the constant distilled water to obtain the different concentrations was measured by a digital mass balance. The number of group of
solutions will have different concentrations of range of lithium bromide. The following procedure were conducted to draw the
correlation curve between conductivity for the different concentrations of LiBr solution: The calculated amount of distilled water is
added to the calculated amount of LiBr salt in a beaker to obtain the required concentration of the lithium bromide solution. The
conductivity meter immersed in the beaker to measure the conductivity and of the solution.

Figure 1: Prepared Lithium Bromide solution

Figure 2: Conductivity metre device with probe

Perusal of literature showed that, concentration can be measured by conductance of the solution. A. Elasty et. al., (2000) and A.I.
Shahata et. al., (2012) determined the relationship between concentrations; conductivity at different temperature were experimentally
investigated using aqueous solutions of LiBr. Conductometry consists of two inert platinum or stainless steel electrodes that face each
other and immerse in measuring solution as shown in Figure 2. The main aim of this measurement is to find the concentration of weak
solution which changes inside the absorber by absorbing refrigerant vapor coming from evaporator through the length of channel.
Conductivity of solution had to be first measured with the ambient temperature for a varying concentration and to develop a relation
between the conductivity and concentration. Distilled water is added to the calculated grams of the LiBr salt by mass/volume method
in a conical flask for the required concentration of LiBr solution and then it is allowed to cool naturally. For an example, 10ml of LiBr
solution, 100ml of distilled water was diluted. The temperature probe is immersed in the beaker to measure the conductivity at
ambient temperature.

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Figure 3: Variation of concentration with Conductance

The conductivity at ambient temperature for a constant concentration is recorded; similarly, for different concentrations the
conductivity meter reading is recorded. The above Figure 3 shows the variation of conductivity of electrodes. As the concentration
reduces the conductivity meter reading reduces therefore conductivity meter reading is directly proportional to the concentration of
LiBr solution. The conductivity meter reading of outlet weak solution from the absorber is compared and concentration of weak
solution is tabulated. The slope of the line is 1.4634, Intercept value of -7.89709 and adjacent root square was 0.99641.
2. Conclusion
The concentration of an aqueous lithium bromide solution in a vapour absorption system can be determined by measuring the
Electrolyte conductivity or the density and the temperature of the solution. Instantaneous value of the calculated concentration can be
indicated using a computer driven data logger. By means of the Omega CDB-420 Conductivity meter and the epoxy conductivity
cell model CDE-430-10-EP with constant (K-10), both thermal conductivity and temperature can be measured for the aqueous lithium
bromide solution in the working range for the absorption refrigeration system. Using the equations developed by this study, the
concentration of the solution can be determined with percentage accuracy 0.5%.
3. References
i. Lide, R., Kehiaian, R., 1994, "CRC Handbook of Thermo physical and Thermo chemical Data", CRC Press, Boca Raton,
Florida. USA.
ii. Herold K., Radrmacher R., Klein A., and Sanford A., "Absorption Chillers and Heat Pumps". CRC Press; New York, (1996).
iii. Horn, R., 1969, "Determination of Concentration in Lithium-Bromide Refrigeration Cycles by Measurement of the
Electrolytic Conductivity or Density", Progress in Refrigeration Sci. Tech. Pro. Int. Congr. Refrig. ; 2(317- 328).
iv. Swallow, F., Smith, I., "Vapor absorption into liquid films on rotating discs" International Journal of Refrigeration, Vol. 12
(1989). [5] Hamann, H., Hamnett, A., Vielstich, W., 1998, "Electrochemistry" Wiley-Vch. Weinheim. Germany. pp. 13-65.
v. Choudhury, S., Hisajima, D., Ohuchi, T., Nishiguchi, A., Fukushima, T.," Absorption of vapors into liquid films flowing over
cooled horizontal tubes. ASHRAE Trans., 99 (2) (1993), pp. 8189.
vi. A.I. Shahata, A.F. Elsafty, M.M. Abo Elnasr, Concentration Measurement Technique for Aqueous Lithium Bromide
Solution in Vapor Absorption Air Conditioning Systems, International Journal of Science and Technology, Vol.4,2012,
pp.234-237.

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