This paper presents a simulation and optimization of a tubular solar collector/adsorber destined for an adsorption refrigeration system developed in El Oued region, which is situated in the sub-Sahara regions of Algeria. The system uses activated carbon-methanol as a working pair, under real climatic data of the region. A theoretical model coupled between heat and mass transfer in adsorbent bed and energy balance in the solar collector/adsorber was presented in Dubinin-Astakhov equation was used to describe the adsorption phenomena. Effect of some important parameters, such as activated carbon types, adsorber tube size, tube wall material and collector glazing cover, on the system performances were investigated. The temperature, pressure and adsorbed mass profiles inside the adsorber have been shown and energy balance for the whole system was determined with relative error 0.014%. The optimized solar collector/adsorber was corresponded to a tube diameter of D = 0.118 m and a number of 8 tubes for filling 1 m(2) double glazed cover collector by about 38.59 kg of activated carbon based on stone coal. This design has a solar coefficient of performance about 0.21 and a collector efficiency eta =44.23% for a tilt angle 20.5 during August at this region. Use of this system, in this region, may be preserve electrical energy of about 28,303 MW h or 2434.058 toe of fossil fuel corresponding to 18396.950 tonne of carbon dioxide emission prevented from being released into the atmosphere. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.