Coated, packed and combined wire finned tube adsorption cooling and desalination system using metal-organic framework: Numerical study

The adsorber bed design and the method of integrating the adsorbent material in the bed have a major effect on the overall performance of the adsorption system. This study numerically investigates the performance of wire finned tube adsorber bed with aluminium fumarate metal-organic framework material integrated either using coating, packing, or combination of coating and packing. A 3D heat and mass transfer model using the coupled solution approach with a variable vapor pressure through the adsorbent voids between the particles is developed. Results showed that the coated wire finned heat exchanger outperforms the packed and the combined packed and coated in terms of the specific daily water production (SDWP) and specific cooling power (SCP). Also, a parametric study was carried out of the coated wire finned heat exchanger geometry including different tube diameters, fin height, and number of fins to predict the best geometrical parameters that produce maximum output using different coating thicknesses. Results revealed that using tube diameter of 22 mm, fin height of 20 mm, 44 fins per loop, and coating thickness of 0.5 mm can provide maximum water daily water production of 300 L/day and cooling power of 8.3 kW. •Wire finned tube numerical model is developed in the adsorption system.•The optimum geometrical design is addressed in the adsorption system.•A case study for 300 L/day of water production is analysed.•The validated design is based on using aluminium fumarate.