The effect of microwave regenerated adsorbent bed on the performance of an adsorption heat pump

The heat transfer problem of an adsorption heat pump during the regeneration of adsorbent bed was investigated numerically. A numerical analysis of the heat and mass transfer in an adsorbent bed during an adsorption heat pump cycle, achieved with both conventional and microwave heating, was successfully simulated. The influence of the microwave heating on the performance criteria of an adsorption heat pump was investigated. The distributions of temperature, pressure and adsorbate concentration of adsorbent bed through the radius of the bed were analyzed. The Clausius–Clapeyron diagram was constructed for both cases. The period of the cycle was improved by about 20% with the microwave regeneration, since the period of the isobaric desorption process for a microwave heated cycle was enhanced by 51% relative to the period of the isobaric desorption process for a conventional heated cycle. The COP for the microwave heated cycle was improved by 61% according to the conventional heated cycle.