Silica gel water advanced adsorption refrigeration cycle

We present results of an analytic investigation on the influence of the thermal conductance of sorption elements (adsorber/desorber, evaporator and condenser) on the performance of a silica-gel-water advanced adsorption chiller, with consideration of the thermal capacitance ratio of the adsorbent and metal of the adsorber/desorber heat exchanger. The analysis was performed by using a cycle-simulation model developed by us and a coworker. The chiller is driven by exploiting waste heat at a temperature 50°C with a cooling source at 30°C for air-conditioning and refrigeration purposes. The results show that the cycle performance is strongly affected by the thermal capacitance and adsorber/desorber thermal conductance due to severe sensible heating/cooling requirements resulting from batched cycle operation. The model is somewhat sensitive to the thermal conductance of the evaporator. The thermal conductance of the condenser is the least sensitive parameter, as the adsorption behavior of the adsorbent/adsorbate pair at a fixed temperature is defined for desorption and condensation.