Chlorofluorocarbon andhydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerantshavebeenwidelyusedintraditional
cooling systems.TheserefrigerantsacceleratethedepletionoftheEarth’s ozonelayer.Therefore,
adsorption air-conditioningtechnologyattractedmuchattentionrecentlyasanalternativesolutiondue
to itsadvantageofenvironmentalfriendliness.Thissystemasitpoweredbywasteand/orsolarheatcan
help toreducerequiredenergyandthermalpollution.Thispaperpresentsanoverviewofresearch
which havebeencarriedoutonadsorptioncoolingsystemspoweredbywasteheatfromautomobiles.
Manyadsorptionpairshavebeenstudied.Zeolite–waterasaworkingadsorptionpairhasbeenwidely
used inautomobileadsorptioncoolingsystems.Thispairhasbeenpoweredbyexhaustgasesfromthe
engine duetoitsrelativelyhighworkingtemperature.Silicagel–waterpairhasbeenalsowidelyusedin
automobile adsorptioncoolingsystems.Ithasbeenpoweredbywasteheatfromwatercoolantinthe
engine duetoitsrelativelylowworkingtemperature.Resultsshowthatthistechnologycanhelpin
increasing overallengineefficiency andreducethermalpollutionfromengines.Variousmodifications in
adsorption coolingsystemsarestillrequired.Oneofthebottleneckswhichpreventstheimprovementof
adsorption coolingtechnologyisitsrelativelylowperformancecomparedtoconventionalvapor
mechanical compressiontechnologies.