A Combined Cycle of Heating and Adsorption Refrigeration: Theory and Experiment

Abstract

A combined cycle capable of heating and adsorption refrigeration is proposed, and the experimental prototype has been installed. The system consists of a heater, a water bath, an activated carbon-methanol adsorption bed and an ice box. This system has been tested with electric heating, and has been found that with 61 MJ heating, the 120 kg water in the bath can be heated from 22°C to 92°C, of while 9 kg ice at −1.5°C is made. The calculated COPsystem is 0.0591 and COPcycle is 0.41. After reconstruction to a real hybrid household water heater-refrigerator, when 55 MJ heating is added to 120 kg of 21°C water, and the condensing temperature is controlled at about 30°C, the result is the 4 kg water contained inside the methanol refrigerant evaporator was iced to −2°C, the cooling capacity of the ice and the refrigerant in the evaporator will maintain the 100 liter cold box for about three days below 5°C. The experiments show the potential of the application of the solar powered hybrid water heater and refrigerator. Theoretical simulation has been done, which is in good agreement with experimental results. This research shows that the hybrid solar water heating and ice-making is reasonable, and the combined cycle of heating and cooling is meaningful for real applications of adsorption systems.