A REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN SOLID-VAPOR ADSORPTION-REFRIGERATION AND HEAT-PUMP SYSTEMS

Over the past decade there have been considerable efforts to use solid -vapour adsorption technology for refrigeration, but intensified effor ts were initiated only since the imposition of international restricti ons on the production and use of chlorofluorocarbons. Yet, to this dat e only the desiccant evaporative cooling system of the open type has a chieved commercial use, predominantly in the USA. Closed-type solid-va pour refrigeration and heat-pump systems are still at the laboratory t esting stage. Promising recent developments in japan, Europe and the U SA include the use of porous metal hydrides and composite adsorbents. Various analytical investigations relate to devising methods for impro ving system performance, such as the use of thermal wave concept. They predict considerable improvement in the performance of solid-vapour a dsorption systems with cooling COP values of more than unity. This pap er presents the status of solid-vapour adsorption-refrigeration and he at-pump technologies investigated by various researchers, with emphasi s on salient experimental achievements.