CONVENTIONAL AND NON CONVENTIONAL

REFRIGERATION & AIR CONDITIONING

FACULTY-Prof. Gaurav Gupta

2019
DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT-1

MUKUND MISRA
17BEM0134
A review e Status of CO2 as a low temperature refrigerant: Fundamentals and
R&D Opportunities
Carbon dioxide (CO2) has emerged as one of the most promising and preferred refrigerants for
low temperature refrigeration systems in the food and refrigeration industry and/or recreational
activities. In recent times, the widespread use of CO2 refrigerant, particularly in supermarkets,
has proved commercially attractive worldwide. Some of the designs that are most commonly
used in industry include cascade, transcritical and transcritical booster, while many other
interesting designs and variations are also being consistently used for specific situations. This
paper presents the holistic view of the fundamentals and application of CO2 refrigerant in low
temperature refrigeration systems, along with some discussion on its benign properties,
thermodynamic analysis, the challenges, the need for fundamental research and design of novel
systems for its continuing dominance in the refrigeration industry.
Thermoephysical properties of CO2 at low temperatures
The lower density ratio of liquid to vapour results in a smaller change in velocity and lower two-phase
Reynolds number for a fixed mass flow rate during the boiling process. This feature can improve the two-
phase distribution of CO2 inside the direct expansion type evaporators. Simultaneously the lower liquid
viscosity of CO2 leads to smaller pressure losses than other refrigerants.
The vapour pressure curve of CO2 is much steeper than the other refrigerants [1], which makes it
a favourable refrigerant especially at low temperatures with a small temperature difference per unit
pressure difference. This feature results in higher flow velocities and hence a good two-phase
distribution inside a heat exchanger. On the other hand, the other refrigerants operate at sub-atmospheric
pressures at low temperatures, and hence suffer from low velocities to keep a check on the
pressure drop so that the log-mean temperature difference (LMTD) does not drop steeply. These lower
velocities often lead to phase separation and oil management problems in the system. Therefore,
the higher liquid and vapour thermal conductivities, with lower liquid viscosity and surface tension make
CO2 an ideal refrigerant for two-phase boiling and condensation applications.
Safety and high pressure issues with CO2

One of the biggest concerns about CO2 refrigerant is related to safety, where most building codes require
a more complex pressure relief system that can be isolated. The rupture of any piping/tubing,
vessel and/or hose with high pressure gas/liquid CO2 can be quite violent and fatal where, if CO2
concentration in the air exceeds 5%, can pose breathing difficulties leading to unconsciousness. Therefore,
the system should also be designed to vent CO2 directly to the atmosphere to prevent personal injury in
occupied spaces.
Cascade refrigeration systems
Two circuit cascade refrigeration systems (see Fig. 5) can be used to achieve low temperatures down to
(_)50 _C, where two single stage units are thermally coupled through evaporator/condenser
cascades. Each circuit has a different refrigerant suitable for that temperature; the lower temperature units
progressively use lower boiling point refrigerants. The high-temperature circuit of a cascade
refrigeration system can be CO2 but typically is NH3, R134a, R404A, R290 or R1270;while CO2 is used
in the lowstage in direct expansion (w25 bar), and/or in a combination with a brine which could be
either liquid CO2 (w40 bar) or propylene glycol. The lower boiling point refrigerant (e.g. CO2) has
higher saturation pressure at low temperatures that keeps the ingress of air under control and requires
a smaller compressor for the same refrigerating effect due to higher density of suction vapour. The Tes
and Peh diagrams, corresponding to Fig. 5 withammonia in the high-temperature circuit andCO2 in the
low temperature circuit.

Transcritical CO2 system

This designwas the natural progression from the first subcritical cascade systems, and is a popular design
that has now been used in more than 400 supermarkets globally, mainly in Europe [29,30].
These systems use CO2 in both the transcritical/subcritical cycles depending upon the ambient
temperature and supply both the low- and medium temperature refrigeration. A transcritical system,
in practice, is found to be at least as efficient, if not more, as the corresponding ‘state-of-the-art’ R404A
system. This is because these systems tend to operate subcritically most of the year, and have reduced
amount of superheat in the discharge temperature of the high-temperature circuit that results in a reduced
capacity of the high-temperature condenser and an increased refrigeration effect. However, these systems
need to be adjusted for high ambient conditions [11], such as in Brazil or Saudi Arabia, where
HFC systems may perform better. These systems tend to be costly and complex due to the cascade heat
exchanger but could also often be difficult to control.
Conclusions
This paper presents a comprehensive summary on the emergence of CO2 as the most promising
refrigerant for low temperature applications especially in the food industry for its benign properties
of being environmentally friendly and cost competitive. The transcritical booster system in the colder
climates, and subcritical CO2 in a cascade with a hydrocarbon (or an HFC) in the warmer
climates, seem to be the popular choices.The experimental flow boiling heat transfer results at the
University of Auckland suggest that the htp of CO2 decreases with decreasing temperature, and varies
between 3500 and 7500 W m_2 K_1 at different vapour qualities at about (_)40 _C,
while htp can be as high as 13 kWm_2 K_1 in copper microfin tubes. Such high values of htp would
inadvertently promote the use CO2 even further in low temperature refrigeration systems. Recent
studies on cascade systems revealed that these systems with CO2 as a refrigerant perform up to 60%
better than the conventional single stage supermarket refrigeration systems operating with R404A at
low temperatures. There is, however, a need for further fundamental research on unravelling the
physics of boiling and condensation heat transfer of CO2 and CO2eoil mixtures extending
to mini and micro channel heat exchangers operating at low temperatures. This will consequently result
in the optimal designs of compact and efficient heat exchangers for the refrigeration
industry.
References
Pradeep Bansal*,1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019 Auckland, New
Zealand

Performance improvements evaluation of an automobile air conditioning

system using CO 2 -propane mixture as a refrigerant

The main purpose of this work is to enhance the energy efficiency of CO 2 automobile air conditioning
system. Theoretical analysis demonstrated that the mixture of CO 2 and propane can improve its
perfor- mance, thus, experiments have been carried out to see effects of various CO 2 -propane mass
fractions of 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 50/50 on the system performance at different ambient
temperatures and gas cooler frontal air velocities. Experimental results show similar trends with those
from the the- oretical results. It has been shown that under the same compressor speed, system COP
reaches highest at 60% of CO 2 mass fraction, which is 29.4% higher than pure CO 2 system and even
achieves equal level of the R134a system, the optimum pressure and discharge temperature are
reduced up to a maximum of 40% and 47 °C during the research range. Furthermore, comparison was
carried out under the same cooling capacity by adjusting compressor speed for different mass fraction
of CO 2 , results demonstrate that the use of CO 2 -propane mixtures yields a maximum COP rise of
22%even when cooling capacity is kept constant. A new optimum high pressure control algorithm for
the transcritical CO 2 -propane mixture cycle has been developed based on the experimental data within
a deviation of 5%.
In present study, the thermodynamic simulation of CO 2 - propane binary mixture refrigeration cycle has
been performed firstly. Next, based on the simulation results, the performance characteristics of an
AMAC system using CO 2 -propane mixture as a refrigerant have been experimentally evaluated,
experimental conditions include CO 2 -propane mass fractions of 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, a
wide range of outdoor temperatures, from 27 °C to 45 °C, and gas cooler frontal air velocity, from 1.5
m/s to 4.5 m/s. The work accomplished will be of great value for promotion of natural refrigerants to
protect our environment. The main conclusions obtained are as follow: The AMAC system benefits
greatly from using CO 2 -propane mixture as a refrigerant, under the condition of same compressor
speed with pure CO 2 system, COPs of CO 2 -propane mixtures reach highest at 60% of CO 2 mass
fraction, which is 29.4% higher than pure CO 2 system and even has achieved equal level of the R134a
prototype system, this will contribute a lot to improve fuel economy for ICEVs and extend driving range
for EVs. The optimum pressure and discharge temperature are reduced up to a maxi- mum of 40% and
47 °C during the research range, and this will effectively release the CO 2 compressor load such as high
pressure leakage and thermal deformation. Cooling capacity decreases with reduction of CO 2 mass
fraction, and the slope of cooling capacity increases with reducing CO 2 mass fraction, results show that
the CO 2 mass fraction of 70% is a significant point, the cooling capacity declines slightly only within a
5.7% level if the CO 2 mass fraction is higher than this point.

Binbin Yu a , Dandong Wang a , Cichong Liu a , Fuzheng Jiang a , Junye Shi a , b , Jiangping Chen a , b
,∗
a Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China b Shanghai
High Efficiency Cooling System Research Center, Shanghai, China

Carbon dioxide—new uses for an old refrigerant

Carbon dioxide has been used as a refrigerant in vapour compression systems of many types for over
130 years, but it is only in the last decade that inventive minds and modern techniques have found new
ways to exploit the uniquely beneficial properties of this remarkable substance. This paper traces the
development of the old carbon dioxide systems, considers the technical, commercial and social reasons
for their slow development and subsequent decline and examines the recent renaissance across a
surprisingly broad range of applications, from trans-critical car air conditioners to low temperature
industrial freezer plants. The paper then concentrates on industrial refrigeration systems, which were
the basis of early developments in the period 1865–1885, but which have been somewhat overlooked in
the current renaissance. The paper concludes with a review of possible future developments, indicating
the areas of research and product development required to maximize the potential of the only non-
toxic, non-flammable, non-ozone-depleting, non-global-warming refrigerant available for Rankine cycle
vapour compression systems in the 21st century.The limiting factor for most carbon dioxide systems is
currently pressure. This does not appear to be a long-term impediment, and compressors, pumps, valves
and controls are already on the market suited to operation at 40 bar g.
This is sufficient for cascade operation with an intermediate temperature of about 0 8C, but it is not quite
high enough to enable an effective hot gas defrost to be engineered. The key development required in the
near future for industrial systems is therefore compressors capable of operation at 50 bar g. for cascades,
or 100 bar g. for trans-critical systems. The latter have not yet been applied to industrial
applications, but this may follow, provided compressors are available, and appropriate control devices can
be devised. These systems will be particularly appropriate where there
is a need for high-grade heat recovery. The use of economised circuits will also gain importance as
cascade system intermediate pressures increase since the percentage benefit of economising increases as
the critical temperature is approached. These developments in the industrial fieldneed not only apply to
very large systems. As compressor development continues and smaller machines become
available, it will be possible to engineer packaged cascade plant comprising a semihermetic carbon
dioxide compressor of, say 50 kW capacity with a suitable ammonia or propane compressor, perhaps also
semihermetic, using brazed plate, plate and shell or microchannel heat exchangers to give a low charge,
virtually leak-proof, compact installation using only ‘natural’ refrigerants. The system could be arranged
to provide reverse cycle defrosting of low temperature CO2 evaporators, making it eminently suitable for
small freezers and low temperature cold stores. Efficiencies for this system, should be at least as good as
for economised single-stage ammonia plant, and better than a typical HFC installation of
this size, and capital cost will depend primarily on the unit cost of the components. This, in turn, will be
primarily dictated by the size of the market. Carbon dioxide system development was driven in the 19th
century by the shortcomings of the alternatives; air cycle, ether, absorption and ammonia. It was impeded
by lack of knowledge, lack of commercial awareness, lack of manufacturing capability and lack of
concern for safety.Carbon dioxide was probably the cheapest available refrigerant. One system patent
even describes it as a byproduct of the production of calcium chloride, used as the brine for the ice-maker.
In the 21st century it is no longer necessary to make your own brine or carbon dioxide.However, many of
the drivers for development—shortcomings in the alternatives—have come to the fore again.
This time round, manufacturing is easily able to cope with the requirements, and an increased level of
safety awareness backed by appropriate international codes and legislation will help to make carbon
dioxide a preferred choice for industrial systems in the near future.
Andy Pearson*
Star Refrigeration Ltd, G46 8JW, Glasgow, UK
Received 5 September 2005; received in revised form 12 September 2005; accepted 13 September 2005

Performance of diffusion absorption refrigeration cycle with various working

fluids.
A diffusion absorption refrigeration (DAR) cycle is driven by heat and utilizes a binary
solution of refrigerant and absorbent as working fluid, together with an auxiliary inert gas.
Commercial DAR systems operate with ammonia–water solution and hydrogen or helium
as the inert gas. In this work, the performance of a simplified DAR system working with an
organic absorbent (DMAC – dimethylacetamide) and five different refrigerants and helium
as inert gas was examined numerically, with the aim of lowering the generator temperature
and system pressure along with a non-toxic refrigerant The refrigerants were:
chlorodifluoromethane (R22), difluoromethane (R32), 2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane
(R124), pentafluoroethane (R125) and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R134a). The results were
compared with the performance of the same system working with ammonia–water and
helium. Similar behavior was found for all systems, regarding the coefficient of performance
(COP) and rich and poor solution concentrations as functions of generator
temperature. It was found that typical generator temperature with the new substances was
150 _C, yet lower COPs, higher evaporator temperatures and lower condensation temperature
of about 40 _C governed these systems.
A diffusion absorption refrigeration (DAR) cycle is driven by heat and utilizes a binary
solution of refrigerant and absorbent as working fluid, together with an auxiliary inert gas.
Commercial DAR systems operate with ammonia–water solution and hydrogen or helium
as the inert gas. In this work, the performance of a simplified DAR system working with an
organic absorbent (DMAC – dimethylacetamide) and five different refrigerants and helium
as inert gas was examined numerically, with the aim of lowering the generator temperature
and system pressure along with a non-toxic refrigerant The refrigerants were:
chlorodifluoromethane (R22), difluoromethane (R32), 2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane
(R124), pentafluoroethane (R125) and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R134a). The results were
compared with the performance of the same system working with ammonia–water and
helium. Similar behavior was found for all systems, regarding the coefficient of performance
(COP) and rich and poor solution concentrations as functions of generator
temperature. It was found that typical generator temperature with the new substances was
150 _C, yet lower COPs, higher evaporator temperatures and lower condensation temperature
of about 40 _C governed these systems.\
Refrences
A. Zohar, M. Jelinek, A. Levy*, I. Borde
Pearlstone Center for Aeronautical Engineering Studies, Mechanical Engineering Department, Ben-
Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box
653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel