Production of cold heat energy by alcohol/activated carbon adsorption heat pump with a disk-module-type adsorber

For producing of high quality and high power cold heat energy, the alcohol/activated carbon adsorption heat pump (AHP) with a disk-module-type adsorber, which was composed of super activated carbon (SAC) and actived carbon fiber, was proposed. The heat and mass transfer characteristics in adsorption and regeneration processes of the AHP operation were experimentally investigated. It was found that the adsorption/regeneration cycle period was about 10 times shorter than that of the packed-bed-type adsorber of SAC. The equilibrium adsorption capacity per weight was reduced by SAC modulation, but the cold heat output per unit time of the proposed AHP system was enlarged. The present system works well with regeneration temperatures of around 350 K and readily generates cold heat at around 270 K. It is concluded that AHP fabricated with the proposed disk-module adsorber units can be used as a compact refrigeration unit for generating cold heat energy below 273 K by using a low temperature waste heat energy source.