Experimental investigation of a solar adsorption refrigeration system working with silicagel/water pair: A case study for Bou-Ismail solar data

Abstract

The objective of the present work is to build and test a solar adsorption refrigeration device with an adsorbent-adsorbate silicagel-water pair in the weather conditions of Bou-Ismail, Algeria. The refrigeration system proposed in this study consists of three major components: a solar collector (tubular adsorbent bed, reflecting surface, single glazed cover, and 4.5 kg of silicagel material), an air-cooled condenser, an evaporator and supplementary system components. The working operation parameters of the cooling adsorption system were tested successfully. Experimental results indicated that the maximum temperature generated varied from 95 °C to 117 °C, 33 °C of average ambient temperature, the condensing temperature varied from 45 °C to 53 °C, +5 °C of minimum evaporator temperature, and the pressure values recorded in the adsorbent bed during the heating desorption period varied from 80 to 100 mbar. With a total energy received of around 19 MJ/m2, this solar adsorption refrigeration device can provide a solar COP ranging from 0.083 to 0.09. Such results show the practicability of our solar adsorption refrigeration module and that it has a favorable design for use in medical storage in areas without an electrical network (e.g. the Algeria Sahara region).