Adsorption Cold Storage for Mobile Applications

Abstract

In recent years, hot and cold storage systems demonstrated themselves to be key components, especially in systems for waste heat exploitation. Moreover, mobile A/C and refrigeration set new efficiency challenges in the field of goods and passengers transport. In such a context, adsorption cold storage devices enable new possibilities and show promising features: high energy density and the possibility of being operated both for heat and cold release to the user. However, only a few studies on small and compact systems for mobile applications have been carried out so far, especially for cold storage exploiting low-temperature sources (<100 °C). The present paper describes the realization and testing of two different types of cold storage based on two innovative adsorbent reactors: a pelletized adsorber filled with commercial FAM Z02 zeolite, and a composite adsorber based on an aluminum porous structure and a SAPO-34 coating. An already developed testing procedure was employed to characterize the prototypes under cold storage mode for mobile refrigeration purposes. The test clearly showed that prototypes can store up to 580 Wh, with an average power during the discharging phase that ranges from 200 W to 820 W and an energy efficiency of 0.3 Whdischarged/Whcharged for the operations in the selected conditions, thus revealing promising opportunities for future further developments.