Design and testing of a solid-sorption heat-pump system

The solid-sorption refrigeration cycle was first commercialized for food preservation in the early part of this century. Renewed research interest in the 1980s focused on the development of the cycle for use in a natural-gas heat pump for residential space heating and cooling. Several prototype systems employing a high-efficiency regenerative cycle have been designed, built and tested. This paper presents recent experimental results from a two-bed system which uses the activated carbon/ammonia sorbent/sorbate pair. Seasonal performance based on this experimental data and computed using the ANSI Standard Z21.40 for performance rating of gas-fired heat pumps is presented. In addition, a design optimization methodology that has been developed is presented. New carbons being developed for methane storage offer advantages when applied to the solid-sorption refrigeration arena. The implications of using these new carbons and their effect on the design of the system are discussed.