Experimental study on mass and heat recovery in adsorption cooling using CaCl2–carbon

This study explores an optimised adsorption refrigeration system by integrating mass and heat recovery using CaCl2 impregnated activated carbon as the adsorbent. Experiments assessed the effects of recovery mechanisms and temperature conditions on system performance, particularly specific cooling power (SCP) and coefficient of performance (COP). Tests were conducted with a heating power of 3.6 kW and an evaporator temperature of −20°C. Without recovery, the system achieved an SCP of 514.3 W/kg. Introducing mass recovery increased SCP to 797.5 W/kg (a 28.7% gain), while the combined mass and heat recovery approach elevated SCP to 1026.2 W/kg (70.8% improvement). COP values improved accordingly, indicating enhanced energy efficiency. Further analysis showed that increasing cooling water temperatures (14–26 °C) reduced SCP from 340 to 280.5 W/kg and COP from 0.14 to 0.10. Heating power variations (1.64–1.96 kW) also influenced performance, confirming the system’s sensitivity to thermal conditions. The optimised system reached a maximum SCP of 0.45 kW/kg and a COP of 0.62, demonstrating the effectiveness of recovery strategies for low-grade thermal energy applications.