Evaluation of the cooling performance of a consolidated expanded graphite–calcium chloride reactive bed for chemisorption icemaker

The cooling performance of a consolidated composite reactive bed made from expanded graphite impregnated with CaCl₂ was experimentally assessed under different evaporation and heat sink temperatures. The compound presented a specific cooling power (SCP) higher than 1000 W kg_Salt⁻¹ at several studied conditions. The calculated coefficient of performance (COP) was about 0.35 when the amount of refrigerant consumed in the reaction was 0.80 kg kg_Salt⁻¹. Both SCP and COP changed with the cycle time, and thus, with the degree of the reaction. The synthesis time to maximise the SCP, under any studied condition, was about 5 min, and the absorbed quantity greatly varied among the different operation conditions. When compared to the time necessary to obtain an absorbed amount of 0.80 kg kg_Salt⁻¹, the synthesis time of 5 min could improve the SCP in about 15–68%, however, COP would be deployed in about 14–50%.