A test setup was built to study the adsorption performance of the composite adsorbent used in the adsorption system. The isovolume measurement method is adopted in the test setup to measure the adsorption isosteres of the composite adsorbent and ammonia working pair. The adsorption isosteres are the curves of the adsorption pressures variation with adsorption temperatures at constant adsorption quantity, which are convenient for the calculation of the adsorption heat and selection of the adsorption working pairs. The adsorption heats were calculated according to the adsorption isosteres, three clear crest values indicate that there were three types of reaction during the reaction processes of ammoniate calcium chloride and ammonia. The kinetic model of adsorption isosteres is obtained by the Temkin model, it is useful to estimate the adsorption performance of the working pairs and useful to guide the design of adsorption system. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.