An experimental study of the adsorption performances of NH₃ on several commercial activated carbons was described. Firstly, the specific surface area, pore size distribution and morphological structure of the activated carbons have been characterized by N₂ adsorption, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The adsorption capacities of four kinds of activated carbons were compared based on adsorption isotherms at 30℃. Results show that a type of activated carbon MSC30 with high adsorption capacity of NH₃ is a promising adsorbent for NH₃ because of its large specific surface area and high pore volume. Secondly, the effect of adsorption temperature on the adsorption capacity of NH₃ on MSC30 was investigated. A modified Dubinin-Astakhov equation was employed to describe the adsorption isotherms, with the reliability and accuracy evaluation. The isosteric heat of adsorption of MSC30-NH₃ as a function of the amount adsorbed was calculated applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation with isotherms obtained at 20℃ and 30℃. Thirdly, a packed-bed type adsorber was used to evaluate the influence of cycle time on the system cooling performance (coefficient of performance, specific cooling performance, and volumetric cooling performance) of the MSC30-NH₃ pair at the evaporating temperatures of 5℃, 10℃ and 15℃ with a fixed adsorption/condensing temperature and desorption temperature of 30?C and 80℃, respectively. Finally, a long term operation without degradation for MSC30-NH₃ adsorption was experimentally demonstrated from the 80 consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles.