Regenerative Absorption Cooling/Refrigeration System for Energy Efficient Vehicle

Refrigeration and cooling systems for mocing vehicles are usually powered by internal combustion engines which convert two-thirds of the fuel energy into waste heat. The recovery and efficient utilization of this waste heat is hindered by its low temperature which is sufficient only for energizing sorption cycles. In addition to having low overall efficiency, liquid sorption systems are difficult or impossible to operate in a moving vehicle. The solid/gas absoption system utilizing zeolites has te unique capability of converting small variations in temperature into large variations in pressure which permits waste heat conversion to cooling by small and efficient devices. Combining the zeolite technology with the principle of energy regeneration results in high conversion efficiencies and an overall increase of the coefficient of performance (COP) to 1.0 or more. This technology has been proven in our successful development of residentail heat pumps and solar refrigerators. It is environmentally benign since it reduces CO2 emissions and does not use any ozonedepleting CFCs or HCFCs. We propose to investigate the applicability of the regenerative zeolite absorption technology to the colling and refrigernation needs of energy efficient vehicles. For this purpose we will construct and test a small-scale prototype and evaluate its performance and operating efficiency when energized by waste heat. As a refrigerant we will consider both water and alcohols in order to cover evaporator temperatures from OoF to 45oF and to satisfy cooling needs ranging from air conditions to deep freezing. Anticipated Benefits: The potential benefits to the military range from cooling for tanks and other vehicles to frontline medical refrigeration for blood supplies and serums. Commercial applications include air conditioning needs of buses, passenger trains and automobiles, refrigerated transportation of perishables and, when combined with a solar collector, cooling at remote sites where electricity is not available.