A comparison of three adsorption equations and sensitivity study of parameter uncertainty effects on adsorption refrigeration thermal performance estimation

This paper presents isosteric-based adsorption equilibrium tests of three activated carbon samples with methanol as an adsorbate. Experimental data was fitted into Langmuir equation, Freundlich equation and Dubinin-Astakov (D–A) equation, respectively. The fitted adsorption equations were compared in terms of agreement with experimental data. Moreover, equation format’s impacts on calculation of the coefficient of performance (COP) and refrigeration capacity of an adsorption refrigeration system was analyzed. In addition, the sensitivity of each parameter in each adsorption equation format to the estimation of cycle’s COP and refrigeration capacity was investigated. It was found that the D–A equation is the best form for presenting the adsorptive property of a carbon-methanol working pair. The D–A equation is recommended for estimating thermal performance of an adsorption refrigeration system because simulation results obtained using the D–A equation are less sensitive to errors of experimentally determined D–A equation’s parameters.