Study on boundary conditions of adsorption heat pump systems using different working pairs for heating application

The objectives of this paper are to analyze adsorption heat pump (AHP) systems using different working pairs such as silica gel/water, zeolite/water, SAPO-34/water, FAPO-34/water and activated carbon/ammonia, and to carry out their boundary conditions. According to the Clapeyron diagram, adsorption equilibrium equations and energy balance equations, feasibility and economic studies under various working conditions are made. Silica gel/water, SAPO-34/water and FAPO-34/water AHPs can feasibly operate for space heating and domestic hot water. Beyond that, zeolite/water and activated carbon/ammonia AHPs can even feasibly operate for heating network or industrial heating/preheating. However, ranges of economic operation are much stricter than that of feasible operation. Silica gel/water, SAPO-34/water and FAPO-34/water AHPs are not convenient for cold winter except zeolite/water and activated carbon/ammonia AHPs. Activated carbon/ammonia AHP even can economically operate in the cold winter with −15 °C ambient temperature. Floor heating is the most convenient technique for silica gel/water, SAPO-34/water and FAPO-34/water AHPs. Zeolite/water and activated carbon/ammonia AHPs require more than 130 °C and more than 140 °C driving source for economic use, respectively. The sequence according to the value of COPH is as follows: silica gel/water, FAPO-34/water, SAPO-34/water, zeolite/water and activated carbon/ammonia AHPs.