NSF Award
9760662
*** 9760662 Feldman This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project will develop a new liquid absorbent for a new absorption heat pump that is compact, environmentally clean and has the potential to be twice as efficient as current systems. The new absorbent is an organometallic "HySorb liquid" with a large heat of desorption and cooling produced when gas is desorbed from the liquid. A small quantity of HySorb liquid has been synthesized, demonstrating the feasibility of reversible absorption/desorption of hydrogen gas refrigerant. The proposed Phase I research would investigate the feasibility of a nonflammable nitrogen gas refrigerant by making a sample of the liquid and measuring its absorption capability and thermophysical properties. Methods for large scale manufacturing of the HySorb liquids will be initiated during Phase I and developed during Phase II. It is anticipated that a family of HySorb liquids can be formulated to operate with nitrogen refrigerant for both compressor driven and heat driven heat pumps. The environmentally clean HySorb technology will allow air conditioners, refrigerators, ice makers and heat pumps to be twice as efficient as current systems. If this more efficient technology were fully implemented the energy saving would be approximately 11 Quads or 14% of US energy consumption. ***
