Method for Operating a Refrigeration System and Refrigeration System

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This patent describes a method and apparatus for operating a cooling system (such as sorption refrigeration) where an external heat source is used to enhance the transfer of cooling energy in the evaporator. By introducing or strengthening bubble formation in the refrigerant within the evaporator reservoir through added external heat, the efficiency of heat exchange between the fluid to be cooled and the refrigerant is significantly improved. The system is applicable to both single-stage and multi-stage cooling systems and can utilize various heat sources, such as waste heat, solar, geothermal, or combined heat and power (CHP).

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• Refrigeration systems for industrial processes where efficiency gains are critical.
• Air conditioning in commercial and residential buildings using waste heat or renewable energy sources.
• Cold chain logistics and food storage facilities where reliable and efficient cooling is needed.
• Data center cooling with integration of renewable or waste heat sources.
• Applications in regions where electricity costs are high but waste heat or solar/geothermal resources are available.
• Retrofitting existing cooling systems with improved evaporator designs for increased efficiency.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Increases the efficiency of the cooling process, reducing energy consumption.
• Enables the use of low-grade heat sources (waste heat, solar, geothermal) to assist cooling, lowering operational costs.
• Improves the heat transfer capability by inducing or intensifying bubble formation, leading to better cooling performance.
• Can be applied to both new systems and existing installations with suitable modifications.
• Reduces reliance on electrically-driven compression cycles, supporting sustainability and grid stability.
• Potential for more compact and cost-effective cooling system design due to higher evaporator efficiency.

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Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a cooling system, wherein a cooling agent is provided in a reservoir of an evaporator device (1) of a single-stage or multi-stage cooling system, a fluid to be cooled is cooled by effecting a cold-hot transfer from the fluid to be cooled to the cooling agent by means of a heat exchanger of the evaporator device (1) for cooling, and at least part of the cooling agent evaporates at the heat exchanger due to the cold-hot transfer, and the evaporated cooling agent is fed to a condensation device (2), wherein external thermal energy provided by an external heat source (10) is transferred to improve the cold-hot transfer to the cooling agent in addition to and separately from the cold-hot transfer, and bubble formation that supports the cold-hot transfer is thereby effected in the cooling agent in the reservoir by inducing the bubble formation in conjunction with feeding the external thermal energy or by intensifying bubble formation initiated by the cold-hot transfer. The invention further relates to a cooling system in a single-stage or multi-stage design.