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Abstract: Consolidated composite material made from expanded graphite (EG) powder impregnated with LiCl salt is proposed for use in solar powered adsorption ice makers. Laboratory experiments were done to test the adsorption and desorption performance of the sorbent under different temperature conditions suitable for solar energy utilization. More than 75% of the reaction between LiCl and ammonia was completed after 30min of synthesis at evaporation temperatures of −10 and −5°C and adsorption temperature between 25 and 35°C. Under the same period, it was possible to obtain 80% conversion in the desorption phase, when the generation temperatures ranged between 75 and 80°C, and the condensation temperature varied from 25 to 35°C. The highest average specific cooling power during the synthesis phase was 117W per kg of the block. The calculated theoretical coefficient of performance (COP) under different cycle conditions was nearly constant at 0.47. Moreover, the new composite sorbent showed higher Specific Cooling Capacity (SCC), compared to activated carbon (AC)/methanol pair. Experiments done with blocks with different proportion of EG, showed that the proportion of EG influence the cooling capacity per unit mass of salt and had almost no influence on the cooling capacity per unit mass of the block. Moreover, the reaction enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS) were calculated from experimental data obtained experimentally, and confirmed previous reported values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The utilization of a composite sorbent (NaBr and expanded graphite) in chemisorption air conditioning systems driven by low-grade heat source, and in resorption systems with simultaneous heating and cooling effects was experimentally investigated using bench-scale prototypes. The mass of ammonia desorbed and adsorbed was measured, and used to calculate the specific cooling capacity. The sorbent produced 219kJkg−1 of cooling at 5°C and 510kJkg−1 at 15°C, when the heat source temperature was 65°C and the heat sink temperature was 30°C. The air conditioning system mean specific cooling power (SCP), and mean coefficient of performance (COP) were calculated based on the desorbed and adsorbed masses, and on the variation of temperature in the reactors. For the same heat source and heat sink temperatures mentioned above, the air conditioning system had a SCP of 129±7Wkg−1 and a COP of 0.46±0.01, when cooling occurred at 15°C. Regarding the utilization of the composite sorbent in resorption machines, the prototype was tested for production of cooling/heating at −5/50°C, and at 10/70°C. In the former condition, the COP was only 0.02, but in the latter condition, there was a tenfold increase in the COP, and the combined coefficient of performance and amplification reached 1.11, which indicates the energy saving potential of resorption systems using the studied sorbent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A combined double-way thermochemical sorption refrigeration thermodynamic cycle was proposed and tested. Both adsorption refrigeration and resorption refrigeration processes were combined in order to improve the system performance. Two different consolidated composite materials were used as the reactive sorbents and ammonia was used as the refrigerant. Experimental results showed that a system operating with such proposed cycle can have two useful cold productions during one cycle at the expense of only one heat input at high temperature. The average specific cooling power (SCP) during the adsorption refrigeration phase was 301Wkg−1. Analysis of the experimental data showed that the driving equilibrium drop during the resorption process was much lower than that during the adsorption process, when the cold production temperature was similar. The proposed combined double-way sorption cycle has a larger cooling capacity per unit of heat input and the maximum theoretical coefficient of performance (COP) is 1.24 when MnCl2 and BaCl2 are used as the reactive sorbents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a new consolidated composite sorbent made from barium chloride and expanded graphite is presented for solar-powered thermochemical sorption cooling systems. A larger sorption capacity and volume cooling density can be obtained with chemisorption systems when compared with those based on physicosorption. The heat transfer and sorption characteristics of the composite sorbent were investigated. Experimental results showed that the chemical composite sorbent can effectively utilize solar energy or low-grade waste heat sources with temperature ranging from 75 to 90°C, and it could incorporate 0.61kg of ammonia per kg of the reactive salt. The temperature evolution in the reactor was strongly influenced by the physicochemical reaction, whereas the transient heat transfer properties in the reactive composite material were different during the decomposition and the synthesis phases owing to the variation of the ammonia content and solid configuration inside the metallic salt complex. The rate of conversion in the reactor was very sensitive to the working temperatures and pressures, and the COP (coefficient of performance) obtained with the consolidated composite sorbent varied between 0.50 and 0.53 when the evaporation temperature ranged from 0 to 15°C at a generation temperature of 80°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An innovative combined double-way chemisorption refrigeration cycle based on adsorption and resorption processes is presented. Two different reactive salts were used as sorbents and ammonia was utilized as the refrigerant in the proposed cycle. The useful cold was obtained from the evaporation heat of the refrigerant during the adsorption process and from the reaction heat of the low-temperature salt during the resorption process. The proposed combined double-way cycle has a distinct advantage of higher coefficient of performance (COP) in comparison with conventional adsorption cycle or resorption cycle. Experimental verification indicated that the advanced combined double-way cycle is feasible for refrigeration application, and the ideal COP of the basic cycle was about 1.24. Theoretical results showed that the proposed combined double-way cycle could improve COP by 167% and 60% when compared with conventional adsorption cycle and resorption cycle, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]