Performance of LiCl impregnated mesoporous material coating over corrugated heat exchangers in a solid sorption chiller

Abstract

The composite material made by impregnating 40 wt. % lithium chloride (LiCl) into the mesopores of a kind of natural porous rock (Wakkanai Siliceous Shale: WSS) micropowders (short for “WSS + 40 wt. % LiCl”) had been developed previously, and can be regenerated below 100 °C with a cooling coefficient of performance (COP) of approximately 0.3 when adopted as a sorbent in a sorption cooler. In this study, experiments have been carried out on an intermittent solid sorption chiller with the WSS + 40 wt. % LiCl coating over two aluminum corrugated heat exchangers. Based on the experimental condition (regeneration temperature of 80 °C, condensation temperature of 30 °C in the desorption process; sorption temperature of 30 °C and evaporation temperature of 12 °C in the sorption process), the water sorption amount changes from 20 wt. % to 70 wt. % in one sorption cooling cycle. Moreover, a specific cooling power (SCP) of 86 W/kg, a volumetric specific cooling power (VSCP) of 42 W/dm3, and a specific sorption power of 170 W/kg can be achieved with a total sorption and desorption time of 20 min. The obtained cooling COP is approximately 0.16.