Absorption Chillers

My experience was a relatively pleasant one - EXCEPT for one problem - tube corrosion.

This was in a pulpmill in western Canada and the chiller was used for chlorine dioxide storage and was only required in the summer time. Each winter/spring we would have to take the unit down and replace approximately 150 tubes each time. The unit started with 95/5 cupronickel tubes and we eventually went to 90/10 to try and minimize the corrosion - but it didn't help all that much. We were using fresh water and no one could really understand what the problem was (some suggest it was our water treatment - PAC if I recall correctly). It was generally attributed to under deposit corrosion, so as soon as the unit was taken down in the fall it was opened up and thoroughly cleaned and test. I left shortly after this was implemented so I don't know the longterm results/benefits.

We had a service agreement with Trane who performed periodic chemical analysis and continually topped up the chemicals and we rebuilt the LiBr pump every two years. But in general it was a good unit, except for those damn tubes .

Most steam powered ammonia water units are very reliable if you keep the chemistry in spec. The're very common in large installations.