Review of Heat and Mass Transfer Enhancement Techniques and Current Advancement for Adsorption Heating/Cooling Systems

Adsorption heating/cooling became an alternative to vapour compression system due to low ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP). However, more investigation is required due their low efficiency when compared to conventional heating/cooling systems. This review emphasizes on the mathematical modelling simplification and heat transfer enhancement method that applied by many researchers to improve the performance of adsorption heating and cooling technologies. Various techniques investigated by many researchers on solving low thermal conductivity and the different methods for enhancing heat and mass transfer in the adsorbed bed/pipe also discussed. Common techniques used to enhance heat and mass transfer in the adsorbed bed/pipe include the fin type adsorbent tube/ heat exchanger, amalgamated adsorbent bed with a metal foam, consolidated adsorbent, adsorbent coating and adsorbent with multi cooling tubes. Other than that, recent advancements in adsorption cooling/heating systems also discussed in this review.