AN ENERGY EFFICIENT SOLAR ICE- MAKER USING ADSORPTION REFRIGERATION

The idea of environmental protection intensifies efforts on development of ozone and global warming safe heat pump technology, because of its promising potential for competing with conventional vapor compression refrigeration.  With the development of different adsorbent materials and solar energy collecting technology, there is a real possibility to achieve commercialization of such systems. This paper presents the description and operation of a solar-powered ice-maker, with solid adsorption pair of activated carbon and methanol. A domestic type of charcoal is chosen as the adsorbent, and a simple flat-plate collector with an exposed area of 0.92 m² is employed to produce ice of about 4-5 kg/day. Also, it is intended to introduce a hybrid system consisting of solar water heater and ice-maker, which can satisfy the requirements of both the solar ice-making needs as well as good heat collection and heat release in the adsorber since, the hybrid system of solar powered water heater and refrigerator will be able to satisfy both heating and cooling needs, it increases the total efficiency of the system. This device can be applied to many energy saving fields such as waste heat recovery in industry. Such a novel concept of energy utilization would also contribute to more efficient methods in this field.