Technical Notes - Ammonia Refrigerant

In Refrigeration World.

Project: -

Facility: - Cold Storage Rooms with Ammonia Vapor Compression System.

Introduction:-
Today and for the future, low temperature refrigeration is indispensable. With the exception of few
special fields, refrigeration is being used in all the field for different application, it can be food
preservation and processing in Food industry, in chemical and pharmaceutical company used to extract
reaction and process heat, in material treatment process companies, and many more.

The circulatory system of refrigeration works because of the refrigerant used in systems. It is the same
like a blood circulation in body. For constructing the effective and optimum refrigeration system, the
best refrigerant is required and from decades the ammonia has been proved to be best and perfect
refrigerant.

In fact, most of the ammonia produced globally is destined for agriculture where it is injected directly
into the soil in order to boost the nitrogen content for the next crop. Nitrogen fixing bacteria metabolize
the ammonia and convert it to nitrates, which the plant can use as a nitrogen source.

Technical Details:-

1) Age of Ammonia –
Ammonia has played a vital role in refrigeration system it was among the early refrigerants used in
mechanical systems, and it's the only one of the early refrigerants to secure a lasting role as a
refrigerant. Mechanical refrigeration was developed in the 1800s based on the principle of vapor
compression. The first practical refrigerating machine using vapor compression was developed in 1834
and by the late 1800s refrigeration systems were being used in breweries and cold storage warehouses.
The basic design of the vapor compressor refrigeration system, using ammonia as a refrigerant in a
closed cycle of evaporation, compression, condensation, and expansion, has changed very little since
the early 1900s. During the 1930s, air conditioning markets began to develop, first for industrial
applications and then for human comfort.
2) Environmentally Friendly –
Ammonia gas is referred to as a Natural refrigerant. Ammonia leaks have no environmental impact
in terms of ozone depletion or global warming effect. Ammonia is environmentally compatible. It does
not deplete the ozone layer and does not contribute to global warming. Ammonia breaks down very
quickly once it leaves the system. The long-term environmental safety of ammonia as compared to the
other refrigerants is a considerable advantage. The "total equivalent warming impact," TEWI, is defined
as the sum of these direct and indirect contributions. Ammonia's TEWI score is very low because
ammonia itself does not contribute to global warming.

The other refrigerants are nearly odorless and leaks tend to go unnoticed by anyone outside of the
maintenance group. That reduced risk of litigation is a great advantage. However, the fact that the other
refrigerants are nearly odorless creates a huge risk in that a large leak can silently displace the oxygen
atmosphere in some areas of the plant, and cause a tragedy that ammonia refrigerant in a similar
situation may not cause.
3) Accepted World Wide –
 According to ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers)
and the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR), as fewer and fewer CFCs and HCFCs
gases are available for use as refrigerants, ammonia can become more popular in future as a
replacement. Ammonia is a cost-effective & efficient alternative to CFCs and HCFCs and that too safe for
the environment. Ammonia is a common, naturally occurring compound in the environment that breaks
down naturally into hydrogen and nitrogen molecules (the atmosphere consists of nearly 80% nitrogen
and hydrogen). Ammonia is made up of one atom of nitrogen and three atoms of hydrogen, with the
chemical symbol NH3. Ammonia is a key element in the nitrogen cycle, and under normal conditions, is
essential for many biological processes. Ammonia can be found in water, soil, and air, and is a source of
much needed nitrogen for plants and animals. In fact, ammonia is among the most abundant gasses in
the environment.

Ammonia was first synthesized in 1823 by reacting air and hydrogen. The first commercial production of
synthetic ammonia began in 1913. Presently, there are an estimated two billion metric tons of ammonia
present in the world. Of this amount, approximately one to two percent is man-made. Approximately 10
million metric tons of ammonia is produced annually in North America alone, and of this amount, very
small percent is used for refrigeration. (picture shown the volume comparison)

4) Cost Effective –
Generally speaking, ammonia refrigeration systems cost 15-20% less to install than systems
using competitive industrial refrigerants. Thermodynamically, ammonia is 7-10% more efficient than
competitive refrigerants; as a result ammonia systems use less electricity than competitive refrigerants.
 The cost of ammonia itself is significantly less than competitive industrial refrigerants and less ammonia
is also generally required to do the job than other industrial refrigerants. All of that adds up to lower
operating costs for food processors and cold storage facility operators, and that means lower grocery
bills for the average household.

5) Energy Efficiency –
Due to its highly favorable thermodynamic properties (high latent heat of vaporization), ammonia
requires less primary energy to produce a certain refrigeration effect compared to other commonly used
refrigerants. Evaporating one pound of liquid ammonia absorbs about 161 Watts compared to 12 to 25
Watts for Freon.

Ammonia R717 - 1371.2 kJ/kg

R22 - 233.95 kJ/kg

R134a - 215.9 kJ/kg

R404a/R507 - 208.0 kJ/kg

**Latent heat of vaporization (kJ/kg) is the heat absorbed when a substance changes phase from liquid
to gas.

Applications:-
 Ice Plants-commercial/amusement centers
 Cold storages-Fruit/Vegetables/meat/Fish/Seeds/Dry fruits
 Freezing of foods-Fish/meat/Fruits/Vegetables
 Breweries/ Dairies
 Chemical/Dyestuff –process cooling
 Concrete cooling-Dams/Roads/Runways
 Water Chillers-Air conditioning
 Thermal storages-Heat Pumps
 Super markets-Ammonia/CO2 cascade
 Industrial Process/Fertilizer plants
 Bottling plant – Pepsi/Coca Cola.
 Food processing systems – IQF/Blast freezers/Plate freezers, etc
Pros and Cons:-
 Ammonia is safe for the environment
 Ammonia based refrigeration systems cost less build and install
 Ammonia chillers have a better load capacity
 Better heat transfer capabilities than other chemical refrigerants
 Ammonia generally costs less than most chemical refrigerants.
 Ammonia is non explosive gas.
 Suitable Thermal and Chemical Properties & Easy availability.
 An ammonia-based refrigeration systems costs 10-20% less to build than one that uses CFCs
because narrower-diameter piping can be used.
 Ammonia is a 3-10% more efficient refrigerant than CFCs, so an ammonia-based system
requires less electricity, resulting in lower operating costs.
 Ammonia is safe for the environment, with an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) rating of 0 and
a Global Warming Potential (GWP) rating of 0.
 It is not compatible with copper, so it cannot be used in any system with copper pipes.
 Ammonia is poisonous in very high concentrations. Two factors, however, mitigate this risk:
ammonia’s distinctive smell is detectable at concentrations well below those considered to be
dangerous, and ammonia is lighter than air, so if any does leak, it will rise and dissipate in the
atmosphere.

Thank You,
Fanar Refrigeration Presentation.