Metal foam packed adsorbent bed boosting the performance of the adsorption-based desalination and cooling system

Adsorption-based desalination and cooling system serve as an alternative technology to relieve deteriorated water scarcity and energy shortage. In this study, a complete transient mathematical model considering the complete cycle and the dynamics of all components is developed, where the local mass and heat transfer processes in the adsorption bed are solved via the computational fluid dynamics, whose boundary conditions are obtained via solving zero-dimensional energy and mass balance equations in the evaporator and condenser. Based on the proposed model, bed configuration optimization in a metal foam packed bed regarding metal porosity, bed porosity, and metal and adsorbent type is conducted to augment the system production of cooling and water. Results reveal that the optimal system with a metal porosity of 0.8 and bed porosity of 0.25 exhibits a cooling effect of 8.74 kW and potable water of 300 m3 per day. In addition, the effect of advanced asymmetric cycle condition on system throughput is comprehensively explored. The optimal advanced asymmetric cycle conditions for cooling and water productipn are, respectively, identified, where 11.5% improvement in cooling and 11.3% improvement in water production in water production are achieved.

Automated summary

A complete transient mathematical model is developed to optimize the bed configuration in a metal foam packed bed for enhanced production of cooling and water in an adsorption-based desalination and cooling system. The results show that the optimal system with a metal porosity of 0.8 and bed porosity of 0.25 can achieve a cooling effect of 8.74 kW and a potable water production of 300 m3 per day. Additionally, the impact of advanced asymmetric cycle conditions on system throughput is explored, leading to improvements in cooling and water production.