Sorption cooling systems, their use in automotive cooling applications and methods relating to the same

A method of providing cooled air to the interior of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• evaporating an aqueous-based refrigerant in an evaporator, said evaporator comprising a thermally conductive sidewall;
• flowing air proximal to said thermally conductive sidewall to produce cooled air;
• adsorbing the aqueous-based refrigerant in an adsorber, the adsorber comprising:
• i. a plurality of desiccant sheets comprising a carbon impregnated with a metal salt, each of said plurality of sheets comprising at least one aperture;
• and
• ii. a coolant flow path fluidly isolated from a refrigerant flow path, wherein said at least one aperture is a portion of one of said coolant flow path and said refrigerant flow path;
• and
• providing said cooled air to the interior of the vehicle.

A sorption cooling system for providing cooled air to the cabin of a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a refrigerant source;
• an adsorber;
• and
• a thin-film evaporator fluidly connected to said refrigerant source, said evaporator comprising:
• i. a sheet of vapor-permeable and liquid impermeable membrane material;
• ii. an air flow channel proximal to a first side of said membrane material;
• iii. a refrigerant flow channel proximal to a second side of said membrane material;
• and
• iv. a thermally conductive sidewall proximal to said refrigerant flow channel;
• and
• a cabin air flow path fluidly connected to said cabin of said vehicle, a portion of said cabin air flow path being proximal to said thermally conductive sidewall.