TY  - GEN
AU  -   Exell, R.H.B.
AU  -   Bhattacharya, S.C.
AU  -   Upadhyaye, Y.R.
TI  -   Research and development of solar-powered desiccant refrigeration for cold-storage applications
PB  -   RERIC
KW  -   REFRIGERATION
KW  -   SOLAR ENERGY
KW  -   ENERGY
KW  -   FREEZING
KW  -   ENERGY RESOURCES
KW  -   THAILAND
N2  -  Studies have been made of the intermittent zeolite-water and charcoal-methanol absorption refrigeration system used in solar powered cold storage units in tropical rural areas. A commercially made intermittent zeolite-water refrigerator was tested and found not to perform well, possibly due to damage in transit. Attention was then directed to the experimental determination of charcoal-methanol absorption properties using activated carbon samples imported from the United Kingdom and samples made in Thailand.  One of the imported types of activated carbon was then used in a solar refrigerator designed, constructed and tested in the Asian Institute of Technology. The solar collector, of area one square metre, contained the activated carbon from which methanol was distilled by day and onto which methanol was reabsorbed at night. The performance of the solar part of the system exceeded our expectations. The unit was able to produce 4kg of ice at -4 C by the evaporation of the distilled methanol after a clear day. An economic evaluation suggested that such refrigerators could be less expensive than solar photovoltaic refrigerators currently used for vaccine storage and freezing ice packs in remote areas
ER  -