The present work for the first time explores the possibility of a small-scale cogeneration unit by combining solid–gas chemisorption refrigeration cycle and a scroll expander. The innovation in this work is the capability of producing refrigeration and electricity continuously and simultaneously without aggravating the energy scarcity and environmental impact. Individual modelling for each component, which has been validated by experimental data, was firstly investigated in order to identify the proper operation condition for the cogeneration mode achieving 1000W power output. Subsequently, with the integrated modelling of two components the cogeneration performance was studied to demonstrate the viability of this concept. However, because of the mutual constraint between the chemisorption and the expansion when they link in series, the power output of the cogeneration mode was only around one third of the original expectation under the same condition identified in the individual modelling. Methods of improving the global performance including the selection of reactive mediums were also discussed and would be of referable value for the future practical investigation

The integrated chemisorption technology driven by ultra-low grade heat for simultaneous electrical power and thermal energy storage has been investigated in this work. A resorption cycle employing low and high temperature salts, with the coupling between manganese chloride (MnCl2), calcium chloride (CaCl2) and sodium bromide (NaBr), was evaluated and compared in the proposed integrated system for a heat source temperature of between 30°C and 100°C. During the energy charging process, working fluid compression was introduced to convert mechanical power or electricity into chemical energy so that it could be stored during the adsorption process at the same time as utilising low temperature heat energy. During the energy discharging process, mechanical power could be generated via the expansion of the desorbed high pressure working vapour from the low temperature salt reactor, there is also a by-product potential of the cooling energy which can be extracted from the cold expansion exhaust. In addition to the power generation and the potential cold energy, upgraded heat could also be provided by the exothermic adsorption process in the high temperature salt reactor. The performance of this integrated cycle in terms of energy and exergy efficiency and energy density have been discussed. With the help of ultra-low grade heat, a 100% round-trip electricity storage efficiency of the proposed system has been found to be achievable using CaCl2–NaBr and MnCl2–CaCl2 pairs when the heat source temperature was higher than 50°C and 60°C, respectively. Also a temperature lift of the heat by 15–33°C and 22–68°C respectively was possible using these two adsorbent pairs