EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE REFRIGERANT-ADSORBENT PAIRS FOR REFRIGERATION CYCLES

The refrigerant-adsorbent pairs at present preferred for solid-sorptio n refrigeration cycles are ammonia-carbon, methanol-carbon, ammonia-sa lts and water-zeolite. Porosity tests have been carried out on a range of alternatives, including R32 and butane, as refrigerants and new mo nolithic carbon adsorbents. The results of fitting to the Dubinin equa tion and modelling of cycles based on these pairs are presented. Ammon ia is still preferred on efficiency grounds but R32 may have applicati ons where the toxicity and incompatibility of ammonia and copper preve nt its use. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.