CPO-27(Ni) metal–organic framework based adsorption system for automotive air conditioning

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new class of adsorbent materials that have high surface area, high pore volume, uniform pore size and highly tunable structural properties. Although many MOFs were developed mainly for gas storage applications, few were investigated for water adsorption heat pumping applications. This paper investigates the feasibility of a commercially available MOF, CPO-27(Ni), for automotive adsorption air conditioning through dynamic modelling and experimental testing. A single adsorption bed system was developed to investigate the performance of CPO-27(Ni) at different operating conditions. Also, a Simulink model was developed to simulate the performance of a 2.4 kW two bed adsorption system for automotive air conditioning. Results showed that this adsorption air conditioning system can produce a specific cooling power (SCP) of 440 W kg−1 and a coefficient of performance (COP) of 0.456 at a desorption temperature of 130°C which can be obtained by the engine’s exhaust gas. Finally, a comparison between the performance of CPO-27(Ni) and advanced zeolite material (SAPO-34) was held proving that CPO-27(Ni) outperformed SAPO-34 producing 42% higher SCP value and hence leading to a more compact system. This work highlights the potential of using MOF materials in automotive air conditioning systems.