IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2024i1p63-d1553345.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life Cycle Assessment and Exergoenvironmental Analysis of a Double-Effect Vapor Absorption Chiller Using Green Hydrogen, Natural Gas, and Biomethane

Author

Listed:
  • João Luiz de Medeiros Neto

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade Universitária, s/n, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil)

  • Ronelly José De Souza

    (Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy)

  • Carlos Antônio Cabral dos Santos

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade Universitária, s/n, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil)

  • Jeane Batista de Carvalho

    (DEC-Department of Engineering and Computing, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rod. Jorge Amado, Km 16-Salobrinho, Ilhéus 45662-900, BA, Brazil)

  • Daniel Nicolau Lima Alves

    (DEC-Department of Engineering and Computing, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rod. Jorge Amado, Km 16-Salobrinho, Ilhéus 45662-900, BA, Brazil)

Abstract

This study conducts a life cycle assessment and exergoenvironmental evaluation of a double-effect vapor absorption chiller (DEAC) with a cooling capacity of 352 kW, employing three different energy sources: natural gas, biomethane, and green hydrogen. The main objectives of this paper are as follows: (i) provide an exergoenvironmental model for DEAC technologies, (ii) evaluation of a case-study where a DEAC is used to cover the cooling demand of a specific university building in the Northeast of Brazil, and (iii) evaluate the scenario where the DEAC is fed by green hydrogen (GH2) and compare it with conventional energy resources (natural gas and biomethane). In order to develop the exergoenvironmental model, two methodologies are essential: a thermodynamic analysis and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The thermodynamic analysis was carried out using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES: 10.998) software. The LCA has been developed through the open-source software openLCA version 1.10.3, with the Ecoinvent 3.7.1 life cycle inventory database, whereas the chosen life cycle inventory assessment (LCIA) method was the ReCiPe Endpoint LCA method (Humanitarian, medium weighting–H, A). The main results indicate that green hydrogen provides a 99.84% reduction in environmental impacts compared to natural gas during the operational phase, while biomethane reduces these impacts by 54.21% relative to natural gas. In the context of life cycle assessment (LCA), green hydrogen decreases fossil resource depletion by 18% and climate change-related emissions by 33.16% compared to natural gas. This study contributes to enhancing the understanding of the environmental and exergoenvironmental impacts of a double-effect vapor absorption chiller by varying the fuel usage during the operational phase.

Suggested Citation

  • João Luiz de Medeiros Neto & Ronelly José De Souza & Carlos Antônio Cabral dos Santos & Jeane Batista de Carvalho & Daniel Nicolau Lima Alves, 2024. "Life Cycle Assessment and Exergoenvironmental Analysis of a Double-Effect Vapor Absorption Chiller Using Green Hydrogen, Natural Gas, and Biomethane," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2024:i:1:p:63-:d:1553345
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/1/63/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/1/63/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kadam, Sambhaji T. & Kyriakides, Alexios-Spyridon & Khan, Muhammad Saad & Shehabi, Mohammad & Papadopoulos, Athanasios I. & Hassan, Ibrahim & Rahman, Mohammad Azizur & Seferlis, Panos, 2022. "Thermo-economic and environmental assessment of hybrid vapor compression-absorption refrigeration systems for district cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    2. Marques, Adriano S. & Carvalho, Monica & Ochoa, Alvaro A.V. & Abrahão, Raphael & Santos, Carlos A.C., 2021. "Life cycle assessment and comparative exergoenvironmental evaluation of a micro-trigeneration system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    3. Qingyang Li & Shiqi Zhao & Dechang Wang & Qinglu Song & Sai Zhou & Xiaohe Wang & Yanhui Li, 2023. "Simulation Study on Solar Single/Double-Effect Switching LiBr-H 2 O Absorption Refrigeration System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-19, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Nan & Lu, Yiji & Kadam, Sambhaji & Yu, Zhibin, 2023. "A fuel cell range extender integrating with heat pump for cabin heat and power generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    2. Gheorghe Dumitrașcu & Michel Feidt & Ştefan Grigorean, 2021. "Finite Physical Dimensions Thermodynamics Analysis and Design of Closed Irreversible Cycles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Yang, Kairan & Guo, Weimin & Zhang, Peng, 2024. "Cold energy transport and release characteristics of CO2+TBAB hydrate slurry flow with hydrate dissociation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    4. Zhang, Shuangshuang & Yu, Wenjing & Wang, Dechang & Song, Qinglu & Zhou, Sai & Li, Jinping & Li, Yanhui, 2024. "Thermodynamic characteristics of a novel solar single and double effect absorption refrigeration cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    5. Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Khounani, Zahra & Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, Homa & Gupta, Vijai Kumar & Amiri, Hamid & Lam, Su Shiung & Morosuk, Tatiana & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2021. "Exergoenvironmental analysis of bioenergy systems: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Ge, Yongkai & Ma, Yue & Wang, Qingrui & Yang, Qing & Xing, Lu & Ba, Shusong, 2023. "Techno-economic-environmental assessment and performance comparison of a building distributed multi-energy system under various operation strategies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 685-696.
    7. Yang, Kun & He, Yiyun & Du, Na & Yan, Ping & Zhu, Neng & Chen, Yuzhu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D., 2024. "Exergy, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental analyses of novel solar- and biomass-driven trigeneration system integrated with organic Rankine cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    8. Hu, Zheng & Deng, Zilong & Gao, Wei & Chen, Yongping, 2023. "Experimental study of the absorption refrigeration using ocean thermal energy and its under-lying prospects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 47-62.
    9. Picallo-Perez, Ana & Sala-Lizarraga, José M. & Portillo-Valdes, Luis, 2022. "Development of a tool based on thermoeconomics for control and diagnosis building thermal facilities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    10. Rocha, Danilo H.D. & Siqueira, Diana S. & Silva, Rogério J., 2021. "Exergoenvironmental analysis for evaluating coal-fired power plants technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    11. Tan, Kaidong & Wang, Lin & Li, Xiuzhen & Tan, Yingying & Cao, Yifei, 2024. "Investigation on hourly characteristics of solar absorption refrigeration cycle integrated with a dual-cooling grade-compression cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    12. Varbanov, Petar Sabev & Wang, Bohong & Ocłoń, Paweł & Radziszewska-Zielina, Elżbieta & Ma, Ting & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Jia, Xuexiu, 2023. "Efficiency measures for energy supply and use aiming for a clean circular economy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    13. Hunt, Julian David & Nascimento, Andreas & Zakeri, Behnam & Barbosa, Paulo Sérgio Franco & Costalonga, Leandro, 2022. "Seawater air-conditioning and ammonia district cooling: A solution for warm coastal regions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    14. Poulidis, Lefteris & Prousalis, Thomas & Seferlis, Panos & Papadopoulos, Athanasios I., 2024. "Vapor absorption, compression and cascade heat pumps for carbon capture plants: Multi-criteria analysis and techno-economic assessment with different working fluids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    15. Ahmed Al-Nini & Hamdan Haji Ya & Najib Al-Mahbashi & Hilmi Hussin, 2023. "A Review on Green Cooling: Exploring the Benefits of Sustainable Energy-Powered District Cooling with Thermal Energy Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    16. Mendiburu, Andrés Z. & Roberts, Justo J. & Rodrigues, Letícia Jenisch & Verma, Sujit Kr, 2023. "Thermodynamic modelling for absorption refrigeration cycles powered by solar energy and a case study for Porto Alegre, Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    17. Alshammari, Saif & Kadam, Sambhaji T. & Yu, Zhibin, 2023. "Assessment of single rotor expander-compressor device in combined organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCR)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    18. Muhammad Saad Khan & Bhajan Lal & Hani Abulkhair & Iqbal Ahmed & Azmi Mohd Shariff & Eydhah Almatrafi & Abdulmohsen Alsaiari & Omar Bamaga, 2023. "Formation Kinetics Evaluation for Designing Sustainable Carbon Dioxide-Based Hydrate Desalination via Tryptophan as a Biodegradable Hydrate Promotor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, January.
    19. Bao, Yangzheng & Zhong, Yongbin & Yang, Jin & Tang, Siyang & Zhong, Shan & Feng, Wenqian & Ji, Junyi & Li, Hongjiao & Liang, Bin, 2024. "Novel working fluid pair of methanol/betaine-urea for absorption refrigeration system driven by low-temperature heat sources," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2024:i:1:p:63-:d:1553345. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.