Second law analysis of adsorption cycles with thermal regeneration

Adsorption processes can be used for operating environment-friendly refrigeration cycles. When combined with the thermal regeneration process, these cycles can have quite high performance. The second law analysis of the adsorption cycles with thermal regeneration is fully developed. The different heat transports between heat transfer fluid and adsorbent, between adsorbate and condenser/evaporator heat sources, and between heat transfer fluid and heat sources are analyzed. The entropy balance is then completely established. Consistency between the first law and second law analysis is verified by the numerical values of the entropy productions. The optimal operation of an adsorber is then described, and the study of those optimal conditions lend to some correlation between the different internal entropy productions.