Energy and exergy analysis of a adsorption chiller

Abstract

This paper shows the energy and exergy analysis of a two-bed adsorption chiller. The system was developed at LES/CEAR/UFPB, and constitutes of two adsorption reactors, a condenser and an evaporator, which function independently. Cycle times and secondary flow switching control scheduling is performed using a LabVIEW® interface that allows automatically secondary flow control through the cycle management system (SGC). The experimental tests were performed with the silica gel / water adsorptive pair. The specific cooling capacity (SCP) and coefficient of performance (COP) of the two-reactor chiller were 81.4 W kg-1 and 0.52 respectively, with an exergetic efficiency of 8.2% for the best working conditions, represented by the triplet 72/30/15 ℃ and a cycle time of 35 min. The results reached the levels of recent publications of literature describing models with the same characteristics. The maximum temperature required for the operation of this system is compatible with the use of low-temperature industrial thermal waste and flat type solar collectors, which may allow its production on a commercial scale.