Adsorption Refrigeration Systems

Suprabhat Seal Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, Odisha Introduction Today refrigeration is considered a basic need of a developing country. Refrigeration is not only required for comfort (air-conditioning), but for important applications like food and medical preservation. A lot of time, energy and resources is consumed into producing cheap and efficient refrigeration systems. In this context adsorption refrigeration plays a significant role. This is because the traditional vapor-compression based refrigeration is energy intensive and while it is used in most of the places in the world, it may not be the best option in places with scarce electricity supply. Adsorption refrigeration has become an indispensable resource in remote places with limited to negligible access to electricity. The most interesting feature about this mode of refrigeration is its ability to utilize solar heat and/ or waste heat from industries to produce refrigeration. Not only are these adsorption refrigeration systems noiseless, but they are also non-corrosive and environment friendly. Adsorption systems assumed importance for the first time in the 1970s when there was a concern about the energy shortage, and then later, in the 1990s, because of the ecological problems, related to the use of CFCs and HCFCs as refrigerants. Such refrigerants, when released into the atmosphere, deplete the ozone layer and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, with the increase of the energy consumption worldwide, it is becoming even more urgent to find ways of using the energy resources as efficiently as possible. Thus, machines that can recover waste heat at low temperature levels, such as adsorption machines, can be an interesting alternative for a wiser energy management. The conventional adsorption cycle has been presented extensively in the literature [1-3] and it mainly includes two phases:

1) Adsorbent cooling with adsorption process, which results in refrigerant evaporation inside the evaporator and, thus in the desired refrigeration effect. At this phase, the sensible heat and the adsorption heat are consumed by a cooling medium, which is usually water or air. 2) Adsorbent heating with desorption process, also called generation, which results in refrigerant condensation at the condenser and heat release into the environment. The heat necessary for the generation process can be supplied by a low grade heat source, such as solar energy, waste heat, etc. In comparison to the mechanical vapor compression systems, adsorption systems have the benefits of energy saving if powered by waste heat or solar energy, simpler control, no vibration and lower operating costs. In comparison with liquid absorption systems, adsorption ones present the advantage of being able to be powered by a large range of heat source temperatures, starting at 500C and going up to 500 0C. Moreover, the latter kind of systems does not need a liquid pump or rectifier for the refrigerant, does not present corrosion problems due to working pairs normally used, and it is also less sensitive to shocks and to the installation position. These last two features make it suitable for application in locomotives, busses, boats and spacecrafts.

Discussion The operation principle of the solid adsorption refrigeration system utilizing solar heat is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1

The system is composed of a container of adsorbents, which serves as a solar collector, a condenser and an evaporator which acts as a refrigerator. A combination of adsorbent and adsorbate is confined in a closed system where no carrier gas exists. For illustration, activated carbon-Methanol is used as adsorbent-adsorbate pair here. The collector is supplied with activated carbon (A.C) which is adsorbed with methanol. During the day-time the activated carbon along with the methanol is heated in the collector. Methanol evaporates from the activated carbon and is then cooled by the condenser and stored in the evaporator. During the night-time, the collector is cooled by ambient air and the temperature of the activated carbon reaches a minimum. In this period, methanol begins to evaporate by absorbing heat from the water to be frozen and is adsorbed by the activated carbon. As the evaporation of the methanol continues, the water temperature decreases until it reaches 0o C, where ice starts to be formed.
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The principle of the adsorption refrigeration (water chiller in this case) is explained using a Clapeyron diagram (ln P versus -1/T). Figure 2 shows the idealized process undergone by A.C + methanol in achieving the refrigeration effect (producing ice).

Figure 2 The cycle begins at a point A where the adsorbent is at a low temperature TA and at low pressure Pe (evaporator pressure). During the daylight, AB represents the heating of A.C along with methanol. The progressive heating of the adsorbent from B to D causes some adsorbate to be desorbed and its vapor to be condensed at the condenser pressure Pc. When the adsorbent reaches its maximum temperature TD, desorption ceases. Then the liquid methanol is transferred into the evaporator. During night, the decrease in temperature from D to F induces the decrease in pressure from Pc to Pe. Then the adsorption and evaporation occur while the adsorbent is cooled from F to A. During this cooling period heat is withdrawn both to decrease the temperature of the adsorbent and to withdraw adsorption heat. From the Clapeyron diagram, the total energy gained by the system during the heating period
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QT will be the sum of the energy QAB used to raise the temperature of the A.C+ methanol from Point A to B and the energy QBD used for progressive heating of the A.C to point D and desorption of methanol. QT = QAB + QBD QAB = ( mA.C CP A.C + mmA CPm ) (TB TA) QBD = [ mA.C. CPA.C + CPm { ( mm A + mm D )/2}] (TD TB) + (mm A - mm D) H The gross heat released during the cooling period Qe1 will be the energy of vaporization of Methanol. Qe1 = ( mm A - mm D) x L But the net energy actually used to produce ice Qe will be Qe = Qe1 - Qe2 Where Qe2 is the energy necessary for cooling the liquid adsorbate from the temperature at which it is condensed to the temperature at which it evaporates. Qe2 = ( mm A - mm D) x Cpm x (TC Te) Qice1 is the energy required to cool water from TA to 0 0C and to produce ice Qice1 = M* x [ L* + Cpwater (TA - 0) ] Where M* and L* are the mass and latent heat of fusion of ice and net cooling produced will be Qice = M* x L* The performance estimates of the closed type adsorption refrigeration system could be expressed in terms of ; 1. The collector efficiency: 1 = QT / QI , where QI is the total solar energy input to the system during the day. 2. The evaporator efficiency: 2 = Qice1 / Qe 3. The cycle COP = Qe1/ QT 4. The net solar COP = Qice / QI

There are several working pairs for solid adsorption. For the successful operation of a solid adsorption system, careful selection of the working medium is essential. It is because; the performance of the system varies over a wide range using different working pairs at different
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temperatures. The advantages and disadvantages of different working media and their properties can be found in literature [7]. For any refrigerating application, the adsorbent must have high adsorptive capacity at ambient temperatures and low pressures but less adsorptive capacity at high temperatures and high pressures. Thus, adsorbents are first characterized by surface properties such as surface area and polarity. A large specific surface area is preferable for providing large adsorption capacity, and hence an increase in internal surface area in a limited volume inevitably gives rise to large number of small sized pores between adsorption surfaces. The size of the micropores determines the effectiveness of adsorptivity and therefore distribution of micropores is yet another important property for characterizing adsorptivity of adsorbents. Based on the above discussion, the choice of the adsorbent will depend mainly on the following factors: high adsorption and desorption capacity, to attain high cooling effect; good thermal conductivity, in order to shorten the cycle time; low specific heat capacity; chemically compatible with the chosen refrigerant; Low cost and widely available.

The selected adsorbate (working fluid) must have most of the following desirable thermodynamics and heat transfer properties: high latent heat per unit volume; molecular dimensions should be small enough to allow easy adsorption; high thermal conductivity; good thermal stability; low viscosity; low specific heat; non-toxic, non-inflammable, non-corrosive; and Chemically stable in the working temperature range.

Based on the above criteria, some of the appropriate working pairs are zeolitewater, zeolite organic refrigerants, silica gelwater, zeolitewater and activated carbonmethanol in solid adsorption systems.

Conclusion Adsorption refrigeration is a promising area of development and will boost power conservation. The advantage of utilization of waste heat and/ or solar heat is an incentive for continuing research in this field. An overall thermodynamics-based comparison of sorption systems shows that the performance of adsorption systems depends highly on both the adsorption pairs and processes [8]. The technology continues to develop, and the cost of producing power with solar thermal adsorption refrigeration is falling. If the costs of fossil fuels, transportation, energy conversion, electricity transmission and system maintenance are taken into account, the cost of energy produced by solar thermal adsorption systems would be much lower than that for conventional refrigeration systems. This paper presents a general overview of adsorption refrigeration systems which can be used both for air conditioning and refrigeration alike. It was seen that it is possible to consider adsorption refrigeration systems can be an alternative to reduce carbon dioxide emission and the electricity demand when they are driven by waste heat or solar energy. Although, for a broader utilization, the researches should continue aiming for improvements in heat transfer, reductions of manufacturing costs and for the formulation of new adsorbent compounds with enhanced adsorption capacity and improved heat and mass transfer properties.

References [1.] Critoph R.E., Performance limitations of adsorption cycles for solar cooling. Solar Energy. 41(1), 1988, pg 21-31 [2.] Luo L., Feidt M., Tehrmodynamics of adsorption Cycles: A theoretical Study., Heat Transfer Engg. 13(4), 1992, pg 19-31. [3.] Teng Y., Wang R.Z., Wu J. Y., Study of the Fundamentals of Adsorption Systems. Appl. Thermal Engg. 17(4), 1997, pg 327-338. [4.] Wang R.Z., Ge T. S., Chen C. J., Ma Q., Xiong Z. Q., Solar sorption cooling systems for residential applications: Options and guidelines, International Journal of Refrigeration, 32, 2009, Pg 638-660 [5.] Wang R. Z. and Oliveira R.G., Adsoption refrigeration- An efficient way to make good use of waste heat and solar energy, International Sorption Heat Pump Conference, 2004 [6.] Khattab N. M. , A novel solar-powered adsorption refrigeration module, Applied Thermal Engineering 24, 2004, Pg 2747-2760 [7.] Sumathy K., Yeung K. H., Yong Li, Technology development in the solar adsorption refrigeration systems, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 29, 2003, pg 301-327. [8.] Pons M, Meunier F, Cacciola G, Critoph RE, Groll M,Puigjaner L, Spinner B, Ziegler F., Thermodynamic based comparison of sorption systems for cooling and heat pumping., Int J Refrigeration ,22,1999, pg 517.