Open Adsorption System for an Energy Efficient Dishwasher

Open adsorption systems using water as adsorbate, zeolite as adsorbent and air as heat and mass carrier can be used for heating, cooling and thermal energy storage (TES). In an adsorption cycle air is dehumidified, so drying processes are a promising field of application. The objective of the work presented was to reduce the energy consumption of a dishwasher by means of an open adsorption system. The water heating phase of the main washing cycle has been used to desorb a pak-ked bed of zeolites. The common water heating phase before the drying of the dishes has been omitted and replaced by an adsorption phase in which the dishes are dried by hot air. In this context the adsorption system was used as a thermally driven heat pump and a thermal energy storage system. The energy consumption is reduced by 25 % compared to a conventional dishwasher.