Consolidated composite adsorbent containing graphite flake for sorption cooling systems

Heat-driven sorption technology, as a sustainable and clean solution for thermal management and heat storage, has drawn a significant interest in academic and industrial research community. This interest has been intensified in the last decade as environmental and climate changes issues are becoming major global challenges. Numerous studies aim to improve materials sorption performances, as it is at the core of sorption cooling or storage systems. Due to the nature of the sorption process, heat and transport properties, e.g., thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of the adsorbent material play an important role in their performance. Higher thermal diffusivity can enhance the heat transfer rate and lead to faster sorption/desorption cycles and more efficient (more compact) heat-driven sorption chillers. A key part of the sorption chillers design is developing adsorbent materials (or composites) with superior hydrophilicity, high water uptake capacity, low regeneration temperature (60-150°C), and high thermal diffusivity. The focus of this research is to design tailored consolidated composite adsorbent containing graphite flakes with improved heat and mass transfer properties for sorption cooling systems. The presented Ph.D. dissertation is divided into three main parts: (i) composite adsorbent fabrication and characterization; (ii) consolidated composite characterization; and (iii) thermal properties modeling of consolidated composite adsorbent. Fabricated loose grain and consolidated composite were characterized in Dr. Bahrami’s Laboratory for Alternative Energy Conversion (LAEC) and SFU 4D LABS.