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Energy & Fuels 2007, 21, 354-360

Development of a Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube

Xiaodong Ma,* Zhenyan Liu, and Huizhong Zhao
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong UniVersity, Shanghai, 200030, Peoples Republic of China ReceiVed August 10, 2006. ReVised Manuscript ReceiVed September 25, 2006

This paper presents the development of a new solar-powered adsorption cooling tube. It uses zeolite13Xwater as a working pair. The operating principle of this solar-powered adsorption cooling tube, which consists of four major components: solar collector, adsorbent bed, condenser, and evaporator, all in one glass tube, is also presented. The experimental investigations of three generations of the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube were carried out to evaluate the system coefficients of performance (COPsys). The experimental results show that the COPsys values were 0.094, 0.161, and 0.182 for the first, second, and third generations of the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube, respectively.

1. Introduction The ecological problems and energy crisis in the world have aroused scientists to develop sustainable energy utilization systems. Solar energy shows much attraction for these scientists because it is clean, renewable, and environmentally protected. Solar refrigeration is an important use of solar energy because the supply of solar energy and the demand for refrigeration are the greatest during the same season. Even though the coefficient of performance (COP) of solar refrigerator is lower compared to the one of conventional vapor compression refrigerators, a solar-powered adsorption refrigerator is more attractive for its free energy source. It is also noiseless, low cost, simple to manufacture, and environmentally friendly. The adsorption refrigeration cycle can be achieved by the desorption process (when heated) and the adsorption process (when cooled) with working pairs, such as zeolite-water,1,2 activated carbonmethanol,3-5 silica gel-water,6,7 and activated carbon-ammonia.8,9 The results obtained show that zeolite-water is the best working pair for air-conditioning application. The activated
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Telephone: 0086-0216407-6226. E-mail: mageersh@163.com or mageersh@yahoo.com.cn. (1) Tchernev, D. I. Natural zeolites: Occurrence properties and use; Pergamon Press: London, U.K., 1978. (2) Yunzhuang, L.; Wang, R. Z.; Jianzhou, S.; Xu, Y. X.; Wu, J. Y. Practical experiments on an adsorption air conditioner powered by exhausted heat from a diesel locomotive. Appl. Therm. Eng. 2004, 24, 1051-1059. (3) Wang, R. Z.; Li, M.; Xu, Y. X.; Wu, J. Y. An energy efficient hybrid system of solar powered water heater and adsorption ice maker. Sol. Energy 2000, 68, 189-195. (4) Anyanwu, E. E.; Ezekwe, C. I. Design, construction and test run of a solid adsorption solar refrigerator using activated carbon/methanol as adsorbent/adsorbate pair. Energy ConVers. Manage. 2003, 44, 2879-2892. (5) Lemmini, F.; Errougani, A. Building and experimentation of a solar powered adsorption refrigerator. Renewable Energy 2005, 30, 1989-2003. (6) Bucher, F.; Hildbrand C.; Dind, Ph.; Pons, M. Experimental data on an advanced solar-powered adsorption refrigerator. Heat powered cycles 01; international conference, 2001; pp 61-68. (7) Saha, B. B.; Akisawa, A.; Kashiwagi, T. Solar/waste heat driven twostage adsorption chiller: The prototype. Renewable Energy 2001, 23, 93101. (8) Critoph, R. E. Laboratory testing of an ammonia carbon solar refrigerator; ISES, Solar World Congress, Budapest, Hungary, August 1993; pp 23-26. (9) Vasiliev, L. L.; Mishkinis, D. A.; Antukh, A. A.; Vasiliev, L. L., Jr. Solar-gas solid sorption refrigerator. Adsorption 2001, 7, 149-161.

Figure 1. Clapeyron diagram (ln P versus -1/T) of the ideal adsorption cycle.

carbon-ammonia is preferred for ice making, deep-freezing, and food preservation.10 Most solar-powered adsorption refrigerators contain three major components: solar collector/adsorbent bed container, condenser, and evaporator, which are connected by steel tubes and valves. Because of the air leakage through the joints and valves, the vacuum in such a system is difficult to maintain over a long period. The vacuum is one of the most important factors affecting the desorption/adsorption rate in the solid adsorption refrigeration system.11 Recently, some tubular adsorption refrigerators, which have the adsorption bed, the condenser, and the evaporator all in one tube, are used in the adsorption system.12,13 The adsorption generator is at one end of the tube, and a combined evaporator and condenser are at the other end.
(10) Anyanwu, E. E.; Ogueke, N. V. Thermodynamic design procedure for solid adsorption solar refrigerator. Renewable Energy 2005, 30, 8196. (11) Anyanwu, E. E. Review of solid adsorption solar refrigerator I: An overview of the refrigeration cycle. Energy ConVers. Manage. 2003, 44, 301-312. (12) Critoph, R. E. Simulation of a continuous multiple-bed regenerative adsorption cycle. Int. J. Refrig. 2001, 24, 428-437. (13) Khattab, N. M. A novel solar-powered adsorption refrigeration module. Appl. Therm. Eng. 2004, 24, 2747-2760.

10.1021/ef0603683 CCC: $37.00 2007 American Chemical Society Published on Web 11/10/2006

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Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2007 355

Figure 2. Sketch of the first generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube.

Figure 4. Sketch of the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube and its cross-section.
Table 1. Main Parameters of the First Generation Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube parameters outside diameter of outer glass tube outside diameter of adsorbent bed value 47 mm 44 mm 10 mm 200 mm parameters wall thickness of glass tube length of solar collector/ adsorbent bed mass of adsorbent bed length of evaporator value 1.5 mm 1000 mm 1.25 kg 200 mm

Figure 3. Photo of the experimental setup of the first generation solar cooling tube.

In recent years, a new solar-powered adsorption cooling tube has been developed in our laboratory. Its adsorbent bed, solar collector, condenser, and evaporator are all in one glass tube, and no joints and valves are used. The experimental studies were carried out to test the performances of three generations of the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube. 2. Working Principle of A Solar-Powered Adsorption Refrigerator
The main components of a solar-powered adsorption refrigerator include the solar collector, adsorbent bed, condenser, and evaporator. It makes use of the working pair, adsorbent-refrigerant, in the process of desorption and adsorption. Figure 1 shows the ideal cycle of the adsorption refrigeration in the Clapeyron diagram (ln P versus -1/T). In an ideal process, the cycle of adsorption refrigeration consists of two periods: a heating-desorptioncondensation period and a cooling-adsorption-evaporation period. The process goes as follows. During the daytime (the heating-desorption-condensation period), sunlight falls on the solar collector, which contains the adsorbent bed and refrigerant (state A, as shown in Figure 1). The solar energy heats the adsorbent bed until its temperature rises to the temperature Tb (state B), which raises the vapor pressure of the

inside diameter of adsorbent bed length of condenser

desorbed refrigerant up to the condensing pressure (Pc). The desorption at a constant pressure is initiated, and the desorbed refrigerant vapor is condensed in the condenser and flows into the evaporator. As the temperature of adsorbent bed continues to rise because of the solar heating, the maximum temperature Td could be achieved at the end of this period (state D). During the nighttime (the cooling-adsorption-evaporation period), the adsorbent bed is cooled and its temperature drops after sunset (state D-state F). The decrease in temperature from Td to Tf induces the decrease in pressure from Pc to Pe. Then, adsorption and evaporation occur, while the adsorbent bed is cooled from Tf to Ta (state F-state A). During this cooling period, the refrigerant begins to evaporate and is re-adsorbed by the adsorbent bed. The adsorption refrigeration will continue for the whole night until the next morning. From the Clapeyron diagram, the total solar energy that the solar adsorption refrigerator gained during the heating period QAD will be the sum of the energy QAB and the energy QBD. The energy QAB is used to raise the temperature of the adsorbent bed and the refrigerant from point A to B, and the energy QBD is used for progressive heating of the adsorbent bed to point D and desorption of the refrigerant.

356 Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2007 QAD ) QAB + QBD QAB ) Mad(CPad + XaCPre)(Tb - Ta) (1) (2)

Ma et al.
Table 2. Main Parameters of the Second Generation Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube parameters outside diameter of evacuated solar collector tube outside diameter of adsorbent bed length of evaporator/condenser value 58 mm 44 mm 350 mm parameters inside diameter of evacuated solar collector tube length of solar collector/ adsorbent bed mass of adsorbent bed value 47 mm 1000 mm 0.95 kg

Here, Mad is the mass of the adsorbent bed; CPad is the specific heat of the adsorbent bed; Xa is the adsorption capacity before desorption; and CPre is the specific heat of the refrigerant in the adsorbed state. QBD ) Mad[Cpad + (Xa + Xd)Cpre/2](Td - Tb) + HdMad(Xa - Xd) (3) Here, Xd is the adsorption capacity after desorption. Hd is the desorption heat. The adsorption capacity X can be expressed using the DubininAstakhov (D-A) equation X ) x0 exp -k

[ (

T -1 TS

)]
n

(4)

In this equation, k and n are the characteristic parameters of the adsorptive working pair. X0 is the adsorption capacity when T ) TS and P ) PS (TS is the saturation temperature at pressure PS). T is the adsorption temperature. The cooling produced in the evaporator during the adsorption process is Qre ) Mad(Xa - Xd)Lre (5)

where Lre is the latent heat of the evaporation of the refrigerant. Some of the cooling production will be consumed to cool the refrigerant liquid from the condensing temperature Tc to the evaporation temperature Te Qce ) Mad(Xa - Xd)CPre(Tc - Te) (6)

The COP of the adsorption refrigeration cycle can be expressed as COPcyc ) Qre - Qce QAD (7)

The efficiency of the solar collector is col ) QAD Qsol (8)

where Qsol is the total solar energy input to the solar collector. It can be expressed as Qsol )

solAc

dt

(9)

where sol is the solar flux density to the solar collector and Ac is the actual absorber surface of the solar collector. The COP of solar-powered adsorption refrigeration system is COPsys ) Qre - Qce Qsol (10)

3. Development of the Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube On the basis of the solid adsorption refrigeration theory, the first generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube was developed in 2000.14,15 The zeolite13X-water is chosen as the
(14) Liu, Z.; Lu, Y; Zhao, J. Zeolite-active carbon compound adsorbent and its use in adsorption solar cooling tube. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 1998, 52, 45-53. (15) Liu, Z.; Lu, Y. A solar refrigeration system composed of cooling tubes (in Chinese). J. Eng. Therm. Energy Power 2000, 15, 587-589.

working pair in the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube. Its adsorption refrigeration cycle can be made without noise and pollution. However, the COPsys value was only 0.094. A lot of adjustments were made to the first generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube to improve its performance, and the second and third generations of the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube were developed recently. 3.1. First Generation Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube. The sketch of the first generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube is shown in Figure 2. It consists of a solar collector, an adsorbent bed, a condenser, and an evaporator. The adsorbent bed is set in the upper part of the outer glass tube. A spiral glass tube is set in the outer glass tube and used as a condenser. The lower end of the outer glass tube is used as an evaporator. Both the lower and upper ends of the outer glass tube are closed. When the adsorbent bed is heated by solar energy in the daytime, the desorbed refrigerant vapor is condensed in the condenser. Then, the condensed refrigerant flows into the lower end of the outer glass tube. When the adsorbent bed is cooled during the nighttime, the condensed refrigerant in the lower end of the outer glass tube begins to evaporate and be re-adsorbed by the adsorbent bed. Therefore, the lower end of the outer glass tube is used as an evaporator. The outer glass tube is made of high-quality borosilicate glass with high transmittance and low absorptance to solar radiation. The solar selective coating material is coated on the inside of the upper part of the outer glass tube. The coating material is aluminum, with aluminum nitride coating with high absorptance to the solar radiation and low thermal emittance. The adsorbent bed is a cylinder, with an inside diameter of 10 mm, an outside diameter of 44 mm, and an axial length of 1000 mm. Some technical parameters of the solar cooling tube are given in Table 1. The system experimental setup is shown in Figure 3. It consists of 13 solar-powered adsorption cooling tubes, a singlelayer glass cover, a condensing-water tank, a chilled-water tank, and a hot-water storage tank. The condensers are connected in series, with one end connected with the condensing-water tank and the other end connected with the hot-water storage tank. The evaporators are inserted into the chilled-water tank. The hot-water storage tank is used to collect the sensible heat, and the condensing heat is discharged from the desorbed refrigerant vapor in the daytime. The chilled-water tank is used to collect the refrigeration capacity produced by the evaporation of the refrigerant during the nighttime. Each of the three water tanks was made of a 1 mm thick sheet of iron framing with polyurethane foam of 50 mm in thickness for insulation. The experimental setup is mounted facing south at an angle of 30 from the horizon on a steel shelf. The latitude of the location is about 32. The solar-powered adsorption cooling tubes received solar energy from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. The measured solar energy to the solar cooling tube was about 20 MJ/m2 in the daytime.

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Figure 5. System experimental setup of the second generation solar cooling tube.
Table 3. Main Parameters of the Third Generation Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube parameters outside diameter of outer glass tube outside diameter of evacuated solar collector tube outside diameter of adsorbent bed length of solar collector/ adsorbent bed length of evaporator value 58 mm 47 mm 35 mm 1000 mm 180 mm parameters wall thickness of glass tube inside diameter of evacuated solar collector tube inside diameter of adsorbent bed mass of adsorbent bed length of condenser value 1.5 mm 38 mm 8 mm 0.75 kg 180 mm

Figure 6. Daily evolution of temperatures of the adsorbent bed, ambient, and solar radiation.

At night, 25 kg of water at 28 C in the chilled-water tank dropped to 17 C during the adsorption process and the refrigeration capacity was about 1150 kJ. The net solar collector area is 0.611 m2. The COPsys value was about 0.094. The reasons for its low performance are that (1) the heat loss is considerable from the outer glass tube and (2) the sensible heat and adsorption heat of the adsorbent bed are not taken out during the adsorption process. Some adjustments were made to the first generation solarpowered adsorption cooling tube to solve these existing problems, and then the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube was developed. 3.2. Second Generation Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube. The sketch of the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube is shown in Figure 4. It consists of a solar collector, an adsorbent bed, a U-shaped cooling water pipe, and a condenser/evaporator. To enhance the solar collector efficiency and reduce the heat loss from the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube, the all-glass evacuated solar collector tube has been applied to heat the adsorbent bed. The adsorbent bed is set in the solar collector. A U-shaped glass tube is inserted into the adsorbent bed. It is used to cool the adsorbent bed during the adsorption process. Moreover, for better mass transfer in the adsorbent bed, four vapor passages are arranged symmetrically in the adsorbent bed. The evaporator/condenser is a coaxial dual-tube structure designed to increase the heat-

exchange efficiency. The condensed refrigerant is stored in the space between the inner and outer glass tube walls of the evaporator/condenser. Some technical parameters of the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube are given in Table 2. When the adsorbent bed is heated by solar energy in the daytime, the desorbed refrigerant vapor flows in the vapor passages and is condensed in the condenser; when the adsorbent bed is cooled by the water in the U-shaped cooling water pipe during the nighttime, the condensed refrigerant in the condenser begins to evaporate and to be re-adsorbed by the adsorbent bed. Therefore, the condenser is used as an evaporator too. In comparison with the first generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube, the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube has the following features: (1) a high efficiency heating can be achieved by using the evacuated solar collector tube; and (2) sensible heat and adsorption heat of the adsorbent bed can be taken out during the adsorption process. The system experimental setup of the second generation solarpowered adsorption cooling tube is shown in Figure 5. It consists of 12 solar-powered adsorption cooling tubes and a condensing/ chilled-water tank. The evaporators/condensers of these solar cooling tubes are inserted into the water tank. The experimental setup is mounted facing south at an angle of 30 from the horizon on a steel shelf. The latitude of the location is about 32. Figure 6 shows the daily evolution of temperatures of the adsorbent bed, ambient, and solar radiation. The solar-powered adsorption cooling tubes received solar energy from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. The solar radiation reached its peak value at 11:30

358 Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2007

Ma et al.

Figure 7. Sketch of the third generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube and its cross-section.

Figure 8. System experimental setup of the third generation solar cooling tube.

am, and the measured solar energy to the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube was about 18.7 MJ/m2. The net solar collector area is 0.564 m2. The temperature of the adsorbent bed reached its peak value at 130 C. During the adsorption process, 27 kg of water at 28 C decreased to 13 C in the chilled-water tank. The refrigeration capacity was 1693 kJ, and the COPsys value of the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube was about 0.161. The disadvantages of the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube are that (1) the heat loss from the solar collector is considerable, (2) because the condenser and evaporator are the same part of the solar cooling tube, the

condensing heat significantly affects the refrigeration capacity in the condensing/chilled-water tank, and (3) the cooling water pipe cannot be maintained easily. Some adjustments were made to the second generation solarpowered adsorption cooling tube, and the third generation solarpowered adsorption cooling tube was then developed. 3.3. Third Generation Solar-Powered Adsorption Cooling Tube. The main components of the third generation solarpowered adsorption cooling tube include a solar collector, an adsorbent bed, a condenser, and an evaporator as shown in Figure 7. The third generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube has the outer and inner glass tubes with the lower ends of the two glass tubes all closed. The upper end of the outer glass

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Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2007 359

Figure 9. Daily evolution of temperatures of the adsorbent bed, cooling water, ambient, and solar radiation.

Figure 10. Night evolution of temperatures of cooling water, chilling water, and ambient.

tube is jointed together with the same end of the inner glass tube. The solar collector and adsorbent bed are set in the outer glass tube, and the inner glass tube is inserted into the absorbent bed and used to cool the adsorbent bed during the adsorption process. When the adsorbent bed is heated by solar energy in the daytime, the desorbed refrigerant vapor flows upward in the vapor passages and is condensed in the upper end of the outer glass tube and then condensed refrigerant flows into the lower end of the outer glass tube; when the adsorbent bed is cooled during the nighttime, the condensed refrigerant stored in the lower end of the outer glass tube begins to evaporate and be re-adsorbed by the adsorbent bed. Therefore, the upper and lower ends of the outer glass tube are used as a condenser and an evaporator, respectively. The outer glass tube is applied to reduce the heat loss and enhance the efficiency of the solar collector. The adsorbent bed is a cylinder, with an inside diameter of 8 mm, an outside diameter of 35 mm, and an axial length of 1000 mm. Three vapor passages are arranged symmetrically in the adsorbent bed. Each of them is 4 mm in diameter and 1000 mm in length. All tubes are made of high-quality borosilicate glass with high transmittance and low absorptance to the solar radiation. Some technical parameters of the third generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube are given in Table 3In comparison with the second generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube, the third generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube has the following features: (1) a better heat insulation of the solar

collector and higher efficiency heating can be achieved by using the outer glass tube; and (2) refrigeration and heat can be gained apart from two parts of the solar cooling tube by using the upper and lower end of the outer glass tube as a condenser and an evaporator, respectively. The system experimental setup of the third generation solarpowered adsorption cooling tube is shown in Figure 8. It consists of 60 solar cooling tubes, condensing/cooling water tanks, chilled-water tanks, water pipes, and a steel shelf. The evaporators and condensers are inserted into the condensing-water tanks and chilled-water tanks, respectively. The condensing-water tanks are used to collect the sensible heat and condensing heat discharged from the desorbed refrigerant vapor in the daytime. The cooling water tanks are used to collect the sensible heat and adsorption heat of the adsorbent bed at night. The chilledwater tanks are used to collect the refrigeration capacity produced by the evaporation of the refrigerant during the nighttime. Figure 9 shows the daily evolution of temperatures of the adsorbent bed, cooling water in the condenser, ambient, and solar radiation. During the desorption process, the adsorbent bed was heated by solar energy from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, and its temperature reached its peak value at 210 C. The solar radiation reached its peak value at 12:00 pm. The measured solar energy to the solar cooling tube was about 19 MJ/m2 in the daytime. The net solar collector area is 2.28 m2. The ambient temperature varied within the range of 24-32 C. The 120 kg of water at 25 C in the condensing-water tank was heated by the latent heat discharged from the refrigerant vapor. Its temperature could reach about 49 C at the end of the daily desorption process. During the adsorption process, 145 kg of water at 25 C in the chilled-water tank decreased to 12 C and 120 kg of water at 25 C was heated to 36 C by the adsorbent bed. The refrigeration capacity was 7880 kJ, and the COPsys value was about 0.182. The adsorption refrigeration could last until the second morning (Figure 10). 4. Conclusion This paper presents the development of a solar-powered adsorption cooling tube. The first generation solar-powered adsorption cooling tube was developed on the basis of the solid adsorption refrigeration theory. Its COPsys value was only 0.094. To improve its performance, some adjustments were made to it. Then, the second and the third generations of the solarpowered adsorption cooling tube were developed. The experimental studies of three generations of the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube were carried out. The experimental results show that the COPsys values were 0.094, 0.161, and 0.182 for the first, second, and third generations of the solar-powered adsorption cooling tube experimental system, respectively. Each solar-powered adsorption cooling tube is a solar refrigerator. A solar-powered adsorption refrigeration system consisting of solar cooling tubes has the advantages of a simple structure, low cost, and high efficiency.
Acknowledgment. The authors thank Huaiyin Huihuang Solar Energy Co., Ltd. for its support toward this research work.

Nomenclature
A-F ) points on the Clapeyron diagram Ac ) area of the collector (m2) CPad ) specific heat of the adsorbent bed (kJ kg-1 K-1)

360 Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2007 CPre ) specific heat of the refrigerant (kJ kg-1 K-1) COPcyc ) coefficient of performance of the adsorption refrigeration cycle COPsys ) coefficient of performance of the adsorption refrigeration system Ha ) adsorption heat (kJ/kg) Hd ) desorption heat (kJ/kg) k,n ) characteristic parameters of the adsorptive working pair Lre ) latent heat of the refrigerant (kJ/kg) Mad ) mass of the adsorbent bed (kg) Q ) heat (kJ) Qre ) cooling production (kJ)

Ma et al. Qsol ) total solar energy input to the solar cooling tube (kJ) Xa ) adsorption capacity before desorption Xd ) adsorption capacity after desorption X0 ) adsorption capacity at T ) TS and P ) PS T ) temperature (K) Tc ) condensing temperature (K) Te ) evaporation temperature (K) TS ) saturation temperature at pressure PS (K) sol ) solar flux density radiation (W/m2)
EF0603683