Parameter analysis of an ammonia-water power cycle with a gravity assisted thermal driven “pump” for low-grade heat recovery

Abstract The diaphragm pump is commonly utilized in the small-scale ammonia-water power cycle for pumping the liquid from absorber to evaporator. The electricity consumption and possible leakage of such a pump influence the system efficiency and reliability significantly. In order to find an alternative “pump” with high reliability and low cost, a gravity assisted thermal driven “pump” (GTP), which is consisted of three top-down organized units connecting absorber and evaporator separately, is designed. With the charging and discharging phases, the pressure in each unit fluctuates, and the level of the liquid increases and decreases alternately by the function of gravity. The results of the system show that the net work and thermal efficiency are 10.68 kW and 9.9%, respectively, when the evaporator and absorber are at 140 °C/4000 kPa and 25 °C/800 kPa separately. The optimal net work, thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency are improved by 4.87%, 3.62% and 10.06% respectively compared with the conventional cycle. An application of the GTP power cycle with the capacity of 10 kW driven by the biomass boiler is analyzed, and the results show that the electricity produced by 645 kg biomass pellets can support more than 12 households per day.