Pressurized adsorption cooling cycles driven by solar/waste heat

•Description of the T–s, and T–h diagrams of an adsorption cooling cycle.•We regressed heterogeneous carbons + 6 commercial refrigerants pairs with improved phase volume.•We analyzed the SCE and COP.•We analyzed pair selections for given operational requirements: regeneration, ambient and the required cooling.

This article presents the performance analysis of single-stage two bed adsorption refrigeration cycles working at pressurized conditions. Four specimens of activated carbon adsorbent and refrigerant pairs, which are Maxsorb III with Propane, n-butane, HFC-134a, R-32, and R507a are studied. The relationships between equilibrium pressures, adsorbent temperatures and equilibrium adsorption concentrations (Dühring diagram) are presented. Parametric analyses have been carried by varying the regeneration, cooling water and evaporation temperatures. Theoretical analysis for these adsorption cycles working pairs shows that the choice of refrigerants amongst these pairs depends on the operational requirements and conditions. The authors thus present in a graphical representation of the choice based on these requirements. At higher required chilling temperatures and lower ambient temperatures, R-32 is preferred with higher specific cooling capacities. When lower temperature cooling is required while the ambient temperature is high, Propane is preferred.