Adsorption kinetics and isotherms of zeolite coatings directly crystallized on fibrous plates for heat pump applications

• Thick zeolite A coatings were grown on fibrous metal plates.
• Use of fibrous supports improved heat transfer quality.
• Coating thickness influenced adsorption kinetics notably.
• Inclusion of an additional polymer layer changed kinetics and isotherm type.

Zeolite A coatings were grown on porous fibrous metal plates by using the substrate heating synthesis method. The coatings prepared were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and laser microscopy. Kinetic measurements were performed to determine the rates of adsorption of these materials while their adsorption isotherms were obtained by thermogravimetry (TG). The overall adsorption kinetics varied with the different samples investigated. The zeolite A coating grown on a copper fibrous support generally exhibited superior overall adsorption kinetics compared to a zeolite X coating with close mass, prepared previously on a stainless steel flat plate. The coating thickness as well as the support properties affected the performances of the samples. The inclusion of an additional polymer layer exhibited adverse impact on the kinetics especially after relatively high normalized loadings. The adsorption isotherms obtained for the zeolite coatings on fibrous supports were quite typical for zeolite A while the addition of polymer changed the isotherm type.