Experimental investigation on different sorption-based refrigeration cycles with SrCl2 and PbCl2

Ammonia sorption refrigeration provides a potential alternative to conventional vapor compression systems for reducing electricity consumption. Although various sorption cycle configurations have been proposed to enhance heat-source adaptability and refrigeration capability, systematic experimental comparisons, particularly for cycles using PbCl2 are limited. In this work, three sorption cycles are experimentally studied, and the performance of PbCl2 as the low-temperature side and intermediate stage are explored via the same reactor design and unified testing methods. The resorption cycle exhibits the best refrigeration performance within a desorption temperature range of 89-117 °C and an evaporation range of 0-10 °C, achieving a maximum specific cooling capacity of 658.0 kJ/kg and a COP of 0.696. The cascading cycle demonstrates the highest overall adaptability. Under freezing conditions of −10 °C, the single-stage cycle attains the highest COP of 0.260, while the cascading cycle delivers the largest cooling capacity of 263.246 kJ/kg. By providing that the PbCl2-based cycles have ideal performance over the temperature range involved, this study offers quantitative guidance for cycle selection under low-grade heat-driven refrigeration and freezing applications.