Adsorptive machines with advanced cycles for heat pumping or cooling applications

In these advanced adsorption cycles vapour is internally recovered between the two adsorbers, in which temperature is either uniform or non-uniform. In the first case, the cycles use the heat recovery process (double effect cycles), in the second case they use the heat regeneration process (thermal wave cycles). The full analysis (first law and second law) of vapour recovery is developed for either type of cycle. Different possible presentations in the entropic diagram of the cycles with heat recovery and those with heat regeneration are discussed. The thermodynamic differences between the two types of cycle can then clearly be highlighted. In addition, an evaluation of the current state of art of these two technologies is briefly presented. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.