A state of the art of required techniques for employing activated carbon in renewable energy powered adsorption applications

This paper reviews, for the first time, the measurement adsorption characteristics techniques to facilitate optimal testing of the validity of adsorbent materials in adsorption applications. Thermo-physical properties, adsorption characteristics and modelling techniques are presented. The characterisation of material thermo-physical properties includes true and bulk densities, specific heat capacity, surface area, pore volume distribution and thermal conductivity. The adsorption characteristics were categorized into adsorption isotherms and kinetics including experimental and theoretical equations. A range of models used in the simulation of adsorption cooling systems is presented and discussed. The paper highlights the conditions for which each measurement technique is most suitable and the limitations of modelling techniques, which is a vital element in the robust assessment of the performance of adsorption cooling units.