Influence of Microporous Characteristics of Activated Carbons on the Performance of an Adsorption Cycle for Refrigeration

The performance of an adsorption refrigerating process, quantified by the coefficient of refrigerating performance (COP), depends on the adsorbent. From the Dubinin−Astakhov equation, it is possible to calculate the performance of a basic adsorption cycle, taking the characteristics of the adsorbate and the adsorbent into account. The influence of the physical characteristics of the adsorbent on performance is shown by way of the parameters of the Dubinin−Astakhov equation: total micropore volume, W 0, characteristic energy, E o; and exponent, n. The influence of the pore size dispersion is estimated thanks to the Dubinin−Stoeckli equation and by comparison of the performances simulated with measured characteristics of several activated carbons. This study shows that there exists, for given thermodynamic conditions, an activated carbon having optimal physical characteristics that allows us to obtain the best performance.