Development of an all-in-one type adsorption heat pump for heating application

The present research of adsorption heat pump system for heating application mainly focuses on its miniaturization and high output. When the adsorption heat pump is downsized the heat energy is insufficient to meet heating application. In addition, a large amount of low-temperature heat energy in industry has not been utilized but discharged into the atmosphere as waste heat. To improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emission, it is important to effectively utilize the low-temperature heat source which is usually discarded as waste heat. In order to solve the problem between the miniaturization and the high output, a miniature all-in-one type adsorption heat pump which can effectively utilize waste heat is designed. In this design, a heat exchanger coated with adsorption material is used as an adsorber or desorber, and another heat exchanger is used as an evaporator or condenser. A seal unit is formed by assembling two heat exchangers into a vacuum tight container and is connected to the surroundings only by hydraulic piping. Moreover, the adsorbent is a functional adsorbent material-zeolite (AQSOA FAM-Z02, Mitsubishi Plastics) which can be regenerated by utilizing the low-temperature heat energy between 75 and 100°C. In this paper the design and experimental performance of this all-in-one type adsorption heat pump are described. Copyright © 2011 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved.