PONE-D-25-03688A Sustainable Lithium Bromide-Water Absorption Cooling System Using Automobile Engine Waste Heat: Theoretical StudyPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Shaheen,

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This manuscript investigates the feasibility of utilizing a lithium bromide-water absorption cooling system (ACS) powered by waste heat from automobile engines. The study employs thermodynamic modeling and MATLAB simulations to evaluate system performance, particularly in terms of coefficient of performance (COP) and emission reductions. While the study is well-structured and methodologically sound, its not ready for publication in present form. Here is the list of doubts and questions:

1. The study is entirely theoretical. The authors should either provide experimental data to validate the model, or compare their results with published experimental studies to demonstrate the models reliability.

2 The manuscript references multiple previous experimental studies, however, it does not quantitatively compare its results with real-world data (e.g., COP values, temperature ranges, emission reductions). Given the large body of research on LiBr-H₂O systems, this omission weakens the credibility of the findings.

3. The novelty of the paper is not clear. The equations and modeling approach follow conventional thermodynamic principles without introducing significant new computational methodologies. The analysed temperature range is typical for an absorption system, and the system itself also looks conventional. Therefore, the authors are asked to enhance the explanation of why this paper should be published?

4. The manuscript does not include an error analysis. The authors should assess how sensitive the results are to input parameters, estimate potential uncertainties, and compare their findings with experimental data to ensure their accuracy

Reviewer #2: 1. The temperature should be clearly mentioned in the abstract and manuscript. Because only single temperature has been mentioned for generator, absorber, condenser and evaporator. However, the variation of temperatures is shown in result.

2. Define the objective of the study clearly. Rewrite your abstract.

3. Mention the boundary condition and limitation of the study in methodology.

4. Modify the figure 2. Axis titles are missing. Also cite the manuscript from which this study was validated. It is not an ethical way to write “another research”.

5. Show the standard deviation for bar chat graphs.

6. From figure 5-11, there are several sub-figures available. But, these figures are not mentioned in captions. So mention all the figures in figure caption.

7. Check the heading numbers of the manuscript.

8. In figure 11, SOx and NOx reduction is not clearly visible. So modify the figure11 in such a way that all data should clearly visible in manuscript.

9. Highlight the major findings of the study in the bullet point in conclusion section and also mention that how this study will help the society.

10. Check the grammatical errors in the manuscript.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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A sustainable lithium bromide–water absorption cooling system using automobile engine waste heat: Theoretical study

PONE-D-25-03688R1

Dear Dr. Shaheen,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Joy Nondy, Ph. D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: I recommend the article for publication in its current form, as the authors have successfully addressed all comments and provided the necessary information to make the work complete.

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #1: No

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