Performance analysis of an adsorption refrigerator using activated carbon in a compound adsorbent

To improve the performance of the adsorption refrigeration of CaCl2–ammonia adsorption system, activated carbon has been distributed uniformly in the mass of CaCl2, thereby helping to enhance mass transfer and uplift the cooling power density. A multifunctional heat pipe adsorption refrigerator, in which activated carbon-CaCl2 is used as compound adsorbent and ammonia as refrigerant, is designed. Water and acetone are used as working liquids for the heat pipe. This paper presents a study on the adsorption refrigeration performances of this adsorption refrigerator under two different working conditions, ice-maker for fishing boat driven by the waste heat from exhaust gases, and solar ice-maker driven by solar water heating. The obtained average SCP (specific cooling power) and the COP (coefficient of performance) of the refrigerator were measured to be 770.4 W/kg and 0.39 at about −20 °C of evaporating temperature for the former working condition, and they were 161.2 W/kg and 0.12 at about −15 °C of evaporating temperature for the later working condition.