METAL HYDRIDE REFRIGERATORS

POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT FROM HYDROCARBONS USED IN CONVENTIONAL REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS IS A SERIOUS THREAT. TO REDUCE THIS PROBLEM, REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS ARE PLANNED BASEDON THE USE OF HYDROGEN ABSORBED AND DESORBED BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT METAL HYDRIDES. BECAUSE THESE MATERIALS STORE EXTREMELY LARGE VOLUMES OF HYDROGEN, THEY HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR COOLING AND REFRIGERATION, WHICH OCCURS WHEN HYDROGEN IS DESORBED FROM ONE OF THE HYDRIDES IN THE SYSTEM. HOWEVER, NO CURRENT HYDROGEN SYSTEM DESIGNS HAVE A COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE (COP) LARGE ENOUGH TO COMPETE WITH CONVENTIONAL CHLOROFLUOROCARBON (CFC) SYSTEMS. DURING SOME RECENTLY COMPLETED RESEARCH WORK, AN APPROACH THAT ALLOWS A HYDRIDE-DRIVEN REFRIGERATION SYSTEM TO EXCEED THE COP OF CONVENTIONAL CFC SYSTEMS WAS DISCOVERED. BASED ON CALCULATIONS, THIS INNOVATIVE SYSTEM, WITH A CHOICE OF CERTAIN METAL HYDRIDE PAIRS, APPROACHES THE EFFICIENCY OF A CARNOT CYCLE, AND THE COP CAN BE AS HIGH AS 1.0. THE PURPOSE OF THE PHASE I RESEARCH IS TO TEST A LABORATORY WORKING MODEL OF THIS INNOVATIVE HYDRIDE-DRIVEN REFRIGERATORAND TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH. EXPERIMENTALLY DETERMINED COPS NEAR 1.0 WILL CORROBORATE THECALCULATIONS AND PROVE THAT METAL HYDRIDE SYSTEMS CAN BE MADE TO BE VERY COMPETITIVE WITH CONVENTIONAL REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS. THIS APPROACH IS A GENERAL ONE, SO THAT SYSTEMS DESIGNED FOR RESIDENTIAL AND AUTOMOBILE AIR CONDITIONERS AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL REFRIGERATORS, CAN BE MADE POLLUTION FREE.