Development of New Composite Beds for Enhancing the Heat Transfer in Adsorption Cooling Systems

Łukasz Mika, Tomasz Bujok (), Karol Sztekler, Wojciech Kalawa, Ewelina Radomska, Agata Mlonka-Mędrala, Jakub Čespiva and Piotr Boruta
Additional contact information
Łukasz Mika: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Tomasz Bujok: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Karol Sztekler: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Wojciech Kalawa: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Ewelina Radomska: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Agata Mlonka-Mędrala: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Jakub Čespiva: Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies, Energy Research Centre, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. Listopadu 2172/15, 70800 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Piotr Boruta: Department of Thermal and Fluid Flow Machines, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Adsorption chillers are distinguished by their low electricity consumption, lack of moving parts and exceptional reliability. However, their considerable weight, due to the low sorption capacity of conventional adsorbents, remains a key limitation. This study investigates the effect of introducing thermally conductive additives—aluminium powder, copper powder and graphite flakes—at 5, 15 and 25 wt.% to silica-gel-based adsorbent beds on the enhancement of heat transfer. In contrast to other works, this study also includes a novel analysis of the thermal properties of dry sorbents, since the moisture content affects the thermal conductivity. Additives improve the thermal conductivity, as measured by the laser flash method (LFA), of the bed by up to 20.7% while maintaining a reasonable sorption capacity, as measured by the dynamic vapor sorption (DVS). Additions of copper at 5–15 wt.% and graphite flakes at 15–25 wt.% provide an optimal compromise between thermal conductivity and sorption capacity. Aluminium powder, on the other hand, offers flexibility over a wider range (5–25 wt.%). The increased thermal conductivity of these modified materials is expected to lead to more efficient heat transport, which suggests the hypothesis that it could reduce the cycle time and increase the efficiency of adsorption chillers.

Keywords: adsorption chiller; composite beds; sorption isotherm; thermal conductivity; heat transfer; porous media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/584/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/584/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:3:p:584-:d:1577617

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().