The performance of two adsorption ice making test units using activated carbon and a carbon composite as adsorbents

The available adsorption working pairs applied to adsorption refrigeration system, which utilize activated carbon as adsorbent, are mainly activated carbon–methanol, activated carbon–ammonia, and composite adsorbent–ammonia. The adsorption properties and refrigeration application of these three types of adsorption working pairs are investigated. For the physical adsorbents, consolidated activated carbon showed best heat transfer performance, and activated carbon–methanol showed the best adsorption property because of the large refrigerant amount that can be adsorbed. For the composite adsorbents, the consolidated composite adsorbent with mass ratio of 4:1 between CaCl2 and activated carbon, showed the highest cooling density when compared to the granular composite adsorbent and to the merely chemical adsorbent. The physical adsorption icemaker that employs consolidated activated carbon–methanol as working pair had the optimum coefficient of refrigeration performance (COP), volume cooling power density (SCPv) and specific cooling power per kilogram adsorbent (SCP) of 0.125, 9.25 kW/m3 and 32.6 W/kg, respectively. The composite adsorption system that employs the consolidated composite adsorbent had a maximum COP, SCPv and SCP of 0.35, 52.68 kW/m3 and 493.2 W/kg, respectively, for ice making mode. These results are improved by 1.8, 4.7 and 14 times, respectively, when compared to the results of the physical adsorption icemaker.