Study of adsorption-based cooling and potable water generation

• Main Author: Tay, Xiu-Ling
• Other Authors: Leong Kai Choong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Aeronautical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/71376
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In present day, global warming and climate change have become more apparent. The Kyoto Protocol increased pressure on governments to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. One such group of gases are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used as refrigerants in refrigeration systems. Additionally, a typical refrigeration system uses electricity that requires the burning of fossil fuels, to operate. Hence, there is greater global interest in exploring greener alternatives to alleviate the issue. Adsorption refrigeration system presents itself as a cleaner alternative to the typical refrigeration system as it utilizes waste heat instead of electricity as a power source. Moreover, environmentally friendly substances like silica gel-water pair are used as refrigerants. In this project, the adsorption refrigeration cycle using a two-bed adsorption system was investigated. The refrigerant used was silica gel-water pair. Parameters such as the temperature of heat source and cycle time were varied to understand their effect on the system performance. From the experimental results, a maximum COP of 0.274, SCP of 21.29 W/kg and water production rate of 2.19 mL/min were obtained. Simulations were performed on MATLAB using the lumped parameter modelling. The same parameters varied experimentally were implemented in the simulations. Experimental results calculated were then compared with simulation results. The trends obtained for the effect of hot water inlet temperature on COP and SCP were similar. However, the trend for the effect of cycle time on COP and SCP differed.