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Experimental study on activated carbon–nitrogen pair in a prototype pressure swing adsorption refrigeration system

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Abstract

Pressure swing adsorption of nitrogen onto granular activated carbon in the single-bed adsorber–desorber chamber has been studied at six different pressures 6–18 kgf/cm2 to evaluate their performance as an alternative refrigeration technique. Refrigerating effect showed a linear rise with an increase in the operating pressure. However, the heat of adsorption and COP exhibited initial rise with the increasing operating pressure but decreased later after reaching a maximum value. The COP initially increases with operating pressures however, with the further rise of operating pressure it steadily decreased. The highest average refrigeration, maximum heat of adsorption and optimum coefficient of performance was evaluated to be 415.38 W at 18 kgf/cm2, 92756.35 J at 15 kgf/cm2 and 1.32 at 12 kgf/cm2, respectively. The system successfully produced chilled water at 1.7 °C from ambient water at 28.2 °C.

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Abbreviations

H a :

Heat of adsorption (J/kg)

\( m_{ad} \) :

Mass of the adsorbent (g)

\( s_{ad} \) :

Specific heat of the adsorbent (J/g/K)

\( m_{ec} \) :

Mass of the embedded coil (g)

\( s_{ec} \) :

Specific heat of the embedded coil (J/g/K)

\( m_{t} \) :

Mass of the tubing (g)

\( s_{t} \) :

Specific heat of the material of tubing (J/g/K)

\( \Delta T_{ads} \) :

Bed temperature difference during the adsorption phase (K)

\( H_{c} \) :

Cooling effect (J)

\( m_{adc} \) :

Mass of the adsorption chamber (g)

\( s_{adc} \) :

Specific heat of material of the adsorption chamber (J/g/K)

\( \Delta T \) :

Temperature drop inside the chamber (K)

\( m_{cf} \) :

Mass of the cooling fluid (g)

\( s_{cf} \) :

Specific heat of the cooling fluid (J/g/K)

\( \Delta T^{ * } \) :

Temperature drop of the cooling fluid (K)

\( t \) :

Total adsorption/desorption time (min)

\( W \) :

Work done (J)

\( n \) :

Number of moles of adsorbate (mol)

\( R \) :

Universal gas constant (J/mol/K)

\( T \) :

Temperature (K)

\( P_{1} \) :

Initial pressure of the system (kgf/cm2)

\( P_{2} \) :

Final pressure of the system (kgf/cm2)

\( V_{1} \) :

Initial volume of the adsorbate (cm3)

\( V_{2} \) :

Final volume of the adsorbate (cm3)

\( H_{w} \) :

Refrigerating effect produced (W)

\( H^{*} \) :

Cooling imparted to water to be cooled (J)

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Acknowledgments

This research work has been financially supported by the Fast Track Young Scientist Research Fund from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India through the project no. DST/FTYS/Dec/9-10.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, 713209, West Bengal, India

    Kumar Anupam, Avinash V. Palodkar & G. N. Halder

  2. Physical Chemistry, Pulping and Bleaching Division, Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Himmat Nagar, Sharanpur, 247001, Uttarpradesh, India

    Kumar Anupam

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  1. Kumar Anupam
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Correspondence to G. N. Halder.

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Anupam, K., Palodkar, A.V. & Halder, G.N. Experimental study on activated carbon–nitrogen pair in a prototype pressure swing adsorption refrigeration system. Heat Mass Transfer 52, 753–761 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1591-6

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