Advancements in adsorption bed for cooling applications: A comprehensive review of configurations and operating parameters

Given the growing global demand for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable cooling solutions, adsorption cooling systems, driven by low-grade heat sources such as waste heat, solar energy, and bio energy, offer a promising alternative. However, their commercialization is hindered by their relatively low performance metrics, including specific cooling power and coefficient of performance, leading to larger system sizes and higher costs. This review paper aims to fill the existing research gaps by concentrating on the advancements in adsorbent bed configurations, with the goal of enhancing performance and expanding the range of earlier investigations. The review discusses the heat and mass transfer processes within the bed, factors affecting adsorption dynamics and performance, modelling techniques and simulation tools to predict performance and optimize them. The review examines different configurations for the adsorbent beds, including multibed configurations, multistage operation modes, and innovative designs such as finned adsorbent beds, coated and metal additive adsorbent bed heat exchangers, aerogel bed structure, metal foam, triply periodic minimal surface and fluidized adsorbent beds. The review highlights significant advancements in bed design, such as metal additive-incorporated beds that increase specific cooling power by up to 40 % and triply periodic minimal surface configurations that improve performance by 12.4 % compared to conventional finned beds. Additionally, the review examines operating parameters that influence system performance, such as cycle time, inlet temperatures, and flow rates. This comprehensive review, covering advancements from 2000 to 2024, aims to bridge research gaps to facilitate future studies and broader adoption of adsorption cooling technologies.