On the development of an innovative adsorber plate heat exchanger for adsorption heat transformation processes; an experimental and numerical study

An innovative adsorber plate heat exchanger (APHE), which is developed for application in adsorption heat pumps, chillers and thermal energy storage systems, is introduced. A test frame has been constructed as a representative segment of the introduced APHE for applying loose grains of AQSOA-Z02. Adsorption kinetic measurements have been carried out in a volumetric large-temperature-jump setup under typical operating conditions of adsorption processes. A transient 2-D model is developed for the tested sample inside the setup. The measured temporal uptake variations with time have been fed to the model, through which a micro-pore diffusion coefficient at infinite temperature of 2 E−4 [m2s−1] and an activation energy of 42.1 [kJ mol−1] have been estimated. A 3-D model is developed to simulate the combined heat and mass transfer inside the APHE and implemented in a commercial software. Comparing the obtained results with the literature values for an extruded aluminium adsorber heat exchanger coated with a 500 μm layer of the same adsorbent, the differential water uptake obtained after 300 s of adsorption (8.2 g/100 g) implies a sound enhancement of 310%. This result proves the great potential of the introduced APHE to remarkably enhance the performance of adsorption heat transformation appliances. •An innovate stainless steel adsorber plate heat exchanger (APHE) is introduced.•Representative APHE-segment is experimentally tested with AQSOA–Z02 loose grains.•2-D and 3-D Simulations carried out on the representative segment and the APHE.•Diffusion coefficient at infinite temperature (D∞) and (Ea) are obtained.•Performance of the introduced APHE outreaches coated aluminium heat exchangers.