Experimental Study of Three-Bed Adsorption Chiller with Desalination Function

Abstract

Energy efficiency is one of the most important topics nowadays. It is strictly related to energy demand, energy policy, environmental pollution, and economic issues. Energy efficiency can be increased and operating costs reduced by using waste heat from other processes. One of the possibilities is to use sorption chillers to produce chilled water and desalinated water. Low-temperature waste heat is not easy to utilize because of the low energy potential. Using adsorption chillers in low-temperature conditions allows utilizing waste heat and producing useful products in many regions of the world. The paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out on a three-bed adsorption chiller with desalination function, using silica gel and water as a working pair. The laboratory test stand included one evaporator, one condenser, and three separate tanks for water, desalinated water, and brine, respectively. The test stands scheme and description were presented. All results were obtained during several test hours with stable temperature conditions in the range of 57–85 °C for the heating water. It is found that the Coefficient of Performance (COP) increased from 0.20 to 0.58 when the heating water temperature increased from 57 to 85 °C. A similar finding is reported for Specific Cooling Power (SCP), which increased from 27 to 160 W/kg as the heating water temperature increased from 57 to 85 °C. It can be concluded that the heating water temperature strongly impacts the performance of the adsorption chiller.