Applicability of eco-friendly solar adsorption refrigeration systems to reduce the energy consumption in industrial refrigeration applications

Abstract

Hot and humid countries in the tropics spend a significant amount of energy for their refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) applications due to the year-round high temperatures and relative humidities in the region. The choice of an efficient RAC system will reduce the cost of energy as well as the emission of greenhouse gasses while controlling the required thermal condition for the given applications. Introducing and off-grid RAC system for a multi-day fishing boat beneficial as currently a fishing boat carries ice to fish ratio of 2:1 per one turn, to preserve the catch. The presence of onboard refrigeration system powered by renewable energy, will triple the fish harvest per turn due to the savings of the space occupied by ice. The conventional refrigeration systems such as the Vapor Compression Refrigeration systems consume electricity due to the compression process. A solar powered adsorption refrigeration systems can be a better alternative to a vapor compression system. The systems can be designed from a pair of Activated Carbon - Ammonia as adsorbent - adsorbate pair. Adsorption bed can be heated by the solar radiation instead of fossil fuels. This paper presents the numerical analysis of a solar-adsorption refrigeration system for fish preservation application.