Experimental Investigation of the Effect Of Zeolite Coating Thickness on the Performance of a Novel Zeolite-Water Adsorption Heat Pump Module

Abstract

A novel zeolite-water absorption heat pump module comprising an adsorber, an evaporator and a condenser heat exchanger as well as a module non-return valve in a hermetically sealed vessel is introduced. The investigated adsorber heat exchanger is an extruded aluminum finned-tube heat exchanger coated with AQSOA-Z02 zeolite of Mitsubishi Plastics Incorporation (MPI). The effect of the Zeolite layer thickness (300 and 500 micrometers) on the performance of the heat pump module has been experimentally investigated under different operating conditions related to floor heating systems in Middle Europe. A coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.18 has been measured with the 300 micrometers coated adsorber at a return temperature of 35 C, increasing 1.23 at a return temperature of 25 C. With the 500 micrometer coated adsorber, the measured COPs have been enhanced to 1.27 and 1.35, respectively. This enhancement has been attributed to the increase of the ration between zeolite and heat exchanger heat capacities.