Performance analysis of a novel absorption-refrigeration driven membrane condenser system for recovery of water and waste heat from flue gas

Dehumidification of industrial flue gas with a membrane condenser requires cooling energy so that the water in the flue gas will recover as it gets condensed due to the cooling process. In this study, the utilization of the waste heat energy of the flue gas to drive an absorption refrigeration cycle is suggested. In return, the cooling energy of the refrigeration cycle is utilized to cool the flue gas before it is admitted to the membrane condenser. The thermal analysis of the refrigeration cycle is carried out by considering a numerical heat transfer analysis at the desorber. The energy and mass balance of the whole refrigeration cycle is carried out based on thermodynamic governing equations. Furthermore, the water recovery process of the membrane condenser which is integrated with the absorption refrigeration cycle is studied. The numerical modeling of the refrigeration cycle and the membrane condenser are combined to investigate the operating parameters of the system. The influence of inlet temperature and mass flow rate of the feed flue gas on the performance of both the refrigeration cycle and membrane condenser is studied.