HARAMAYA INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (MEng 5212)

By Firomsa D. (MSc. Thermal Engineering)

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 PART ONE
REFRIGERATION SYSTEM.

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 Definitions:
 Refrigeration: is the 'artificial' extraction of heat from a substance in order to lower its
temperature to below that of its surroundings.

 Primarily, heat is extracted from fluids such as air and many liquids, but ultimately from any
substance.

 Refrigeration is the achievement of temperatures below that of the local environment.

 The main purpose of refrigeration is thermal conditioning (e.g. for food preservation or air
conditioning), and the basic apparatus is a refrigerator, a thermal machine producing cold.

 The Refrigerator: is the cooling household appliance system where removing the heat from the
system to surrounding by the heat pump so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature
below the ambient temperature of the room.
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Types of refrigeration systems:
1. Natural Refrigeration
Use of Ice
Evaporative cooling: the process of reducing the temperature of a system by
evaporation of water.
Cooling By Salt: Certain substances such as common salt, when added to water
dissolve in water and absorb its heat of solution from water (endothermic process).
This reduces the temperature of the solution (water + salt)
2. Artificial Refrigeration
Vapour Compression Refrigeration Systems
Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Systems
Solar energy based refrigeration system
Gas Cycle Refrigeration
Steam Jet Refrigeration System

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3. Artificial refrigeration based on the type of the external work,

Using mechanical energy:

a. Cold air refrigeration

b. Vapors compression refrigeration system (VCRS)

Using heat energy:

a. Simple vapour absorption refrigeration system (SVARS)

b. Actual vapour absorption refrigeration system (AVARS)

4. Artificial refrigeration Based on the usage:

a. Primary refrigeration

b. Secondary refrigeration.
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 Basic Concepts
What is Refrigeration? What is Refrigerator?
What is Refrigerant?
What is Refrigeration cycle?
Refrigeration
A system requires to transfer heat from low temperature medium to a high temperature
medium.
Lowering the temperature of an enclosed space by removing heat from that space and
transferring it elsewhere.
Purpose: to attain and maintain a temperature below that of the surroundings, the aim being
to cool some product or space to the required temperature.
Principle of refrigeration: It is based on the second law of thermodynamics that the
heat can made to flow from cold body to a hot body with the help of external source.

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Refrigerants.
A substance which creating a cooling effect by removing heat from a space to elsewhere and the
working fluids used in the refrigeration cycles.
Refrigeration cycles
Called Reversed Carnot cycle.
The cycles on which refrigeration processes are operate.
Refrigerator: it is a machine which produces cold.
A device that needs to transfer of heat from a low-temperature region to a high temperature one.
It is used to remove heat from the refrigerated space and reject it to atmosphere.
Hence it maintains the temperature below the surrounding atmosphere.
Ton of refrigeration(TR): It is the standard unit of the refrigerator. 1 TR is defined as the heat
removal rate so as to freeze 1 ton (1000 kg) of water at 0°C into ice at 0°C in twenty-four hours.
In actual practice, one TR is equivalent to 210 kJ/min or 3.5 kJ/s or 3.5kW

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 Domestic Refrigerator

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 …Con’t…
Coefficient of performance: it is the measure of the performance of the
refrigeration system.
It is the ratio of the refrigerating effect to the input work required to produce the
effect.
COP = Output/input = Q/W.
The value of the COP may be less than the unity or greater than unity.
Relative COP: it is the ratio of the actual COP to the theoretical COP.
Relative COP = Actual COP/theoretical COP.

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 Parts of a refrigerator and their functions:
1. Evaporator: It is used to receive the liquid refrigerants from the condenser through
throttle valve and to evaporate it.
It is also called as cooling unit or freezing unit.
2. Compressor: It is used to draw the refrigerant from the evaporator through suction
valve at low pressure and to force it to the condenser through exhaust valve at high
pressure and temperature.
3. Condenser: It is used to condense the refrigerants at saturation temperature from
vapour to liquid by transferring its latent heat to the cooling medium (water or air).
4. Throttle valve: It is used to control the rate of admission of refrigerants to the
evaporator.
As the refrigerant expands in the valve, it looses its pressure and temperature at its
exit end and gets cooled.

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 Vapor compression refrigeration

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 Working cycle of refrigeration system

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5. Absorber: It is a unit contains water.

It is used to receive the refrigerant from the evaporator and to absorb it with
water to become a strong solution of ammonia or other solution with an
increase in temperature.

6. Pump: it is used to pump the strong ammonia or other solution solution

from the absorber to the separator.

7. Separator: It is used to separate the ammonia or other solution vapour

from the strong solution using heat energy and then send it to the condenser.

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 Vapour Compression Refrigeration:
Principle: here the mechanical energy is utilized to achieve refrigeration.
A compressor is used to increase the temperature and pressure of the
refrigerant vapour.
The refrigerant alternatively evaporates and condenses.
Construction: Here an evaporator is kept in a storage room.
A compressor is connected in between an evaporator and a condenser.
Both the condenser and the evaporator consist of pipes in coil form to provide
more contact surface area for the refrigerant.
Arrangement is made to circulate cold water or air around the condenser.
A tray as a collector for exit water is placed nearby the condenser.
A throttle valve is connected in between the condenser and the evaporator.

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Working: The unit completes one cycle with the following operations.
Suction, compression, condensation, expansion and Vaporization.
Suction: the low pressure vapour in dry state is drawn from the evaporator during suction stroke of the
compressor through its inlet valve.
Compression: During this stroke the pressure and temperature of the refrigerants increases and it is
discharged through the exhaust valve and enters the condenser.
Condensation: The condenser absorbs its heat.
The heat now flows from condenser to the cooling water or air which is circulated around it.
As a result vapour is cooled and a return to liquid state.
It is then made to exit through the throttle valve.
Expansion: The exit or expansion of the liquid result in decrease of its temperature and pressure to about
-10 0C and enters the evaporator kept in the storage room.
Vaporization: As the temperature of the liquid is less than that of the storage room, the heat will be
absorbed by it from the room.
As the result the liquid evaporates to almost dry vapour.
Now this is dry vapour and is ready to start its next cycle.
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 Standard Vapour Compression Refrigeration System (VCRS) on cyclic
process
On the Figure below shows the schematic of a standard, saturated, single
stage (SSS) vapour compression refrigeration system and the operating
cycle on a T-S diagram.
As shown in the figure the standard single stage, saturated vapour
compression refrigeration system consists of the following four processes:
Process 1-2: Isentropic compression of saturated vapour in compressor
Process 2-3: Isobaric heat rejection in condenser
Process 3-4: Isenthalpic expansion of saturated liquid in expansion device
Process 4-1: Isobaric heat extraction in the evaporator

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 Standard Vapour compression refrigeration system
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 Analysis of standard vapour compression refrigeration System
 A simple analysis of standard vapour compression refrigeration system can be carried out by
assuming
a) Steady flow;
b) Negligible kinetic and potential energy changes across each component, and
c) No heat transfer in connecting pipe lines. The steady flow energy equation is applied to each of
the four components.
Evaporator: Heat transfer rate at evaporator or refrigeration capacity, Qe is given by:

Where ṁr is the refrigerant mass flow rate in kg/s, h1 and h4 are the specific enthalpies (kJ/kg) at the
exit and inlet to the evaporator, respectively. (h1 h4 ) is known as specific refrigeration effect or
simply refrigeration effect, which is equal to the heat transferred at the evaporator per kilogram of
refrigerant.
The evaporator pressure Pe is the saturation pressure corresponding to evaporator temperature Te, i.e.,

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 Compressor: Power input to the compressor, Ẇc is given by:

Where h2 and h1 are the specific enthalpies (kJ/kg) at the exit and inlet to the
compressor, respectively. (h2 – h1) is known as specific work of compression or simply
work of compression, which is equal to the work input to the compressor per kilogram
of refrigerant.
Condenser: Heat transfer rate at condenser, Qc is given by:

Where h3 and h2 are the specific enthalpies (kJ/kg) at the exit and inlet to the condenser,
respectively.
The condenser pressure Pc is the saturation pressure corresponding to evaporator
temperature Tc , i.e.,

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Expansion device: For the isenthalpic expansion process, the kinetic energy change across the
expansion device could be considerable, however, if we take the control volume, well
downstream of the expansion device, then the kinetic energy gets dissipated due to viscous
effects, and h3 = h4

The exit condition of the expansion device lies in the two-phase region, hence applying the
definition of quality (or dryness fraction), we can write:

Where x4 is the quality of refrigerant at point 4, hf,e, hg,e, hfg are the saturated liquid enthalpy,
saturated vapour enthalpy and latent heat of vaporization at evaporator pressure, respectively.

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The COP of the system is given by:

At any point in the cycle, the mass flow rate of refrigerant ṁr can be written in terms of volumetric
flow rate and specific volume at that point, i.e.,

Applying this equation to the inlet condition of the compressor,

Where V1 is the volumetric flow rate at compressor inlet and v1 is the specific volume at
compressor inlet.
At a given compressor speed, V1 is an indication of the size of the compressor.
We can also write, the refrigeration capacity in terms of volumetric flow rate as:

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 The quality of refrigerant at the inlet to the evaporator (x4) could be obtained from the known
values of h3, hf,e and hg,e.
 Once all the state points are known, then from the required refrigeration capacity and various
enthalpies one can obtain the required refrigerant mass flow rate, volumetric flow rate at
compressor inlet, COP, cycle efficiency etc.
 Use of Pressure-enthalpy (P-h) charts:

 Standard vapour compression refrigeration cycle on a P-h chart

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 The Ideal Vapor‐Compression Refrigeration Cycle
The vapor-compression refrigeration is the most widely used cycle for
refrigerators, air conditioners, and heat pumps.

Figure: Schematic for ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.

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Assumptions for ideal vapor-compression cycle:
 Irreversibilities within the evaporator, condenser and compressor are ignored
 No frictional pressure drops
 Refrigerant flows at constant pressure through the two heat exchangers (evaporator and condenser)
 Heat losses to the surroundings are ignored
 Compression process is isentropic

Figure: T-s and P-h diagrams for an ideal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
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1-2: A reversible, adiabatic (isentropic) compression of the refrigerant.
 The saturated vapor at state 1 is superheated to state 2.
wc = h2 h1
2-3: An internally, reversible, constant pressure heat rejection in which the working substance is de-
superheated and then condensed to a saturated liquid at 3.
 During this process, the working substance rejects most of its energy to the condenser cooling water.
qH = h2 h3
3-4: An irreversible throttling process in which the temperature and pressure decrease at constant
enthalpy.
 The refrigerant enters the evaporator at state 4 as a low-quality saturated mixture.
h3 = h4
4-1: An internally, reversible, constant pressure heat interaction in which the refrigerant (two-phase
mixture) is evaporated to a saturated vapor at state point 1.
 The latent enthalpy necessary for evaporation is supplied by the refrigerated space surrounding the
evaporator.
The amount of heat transferred to the working fluid in the evaporator is called the refrigeration load.
qL = h 1 h 4

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Example (Simple Vapour compression refrigeration cycle) Refrigerant-134a is the
working fluid in an ideal compression refrigeration cycle. The refrigerant leaves the
evaporator at -200C and has a condenser pressure of 0.9 Mpa. The mass flow rate is
3 kg/min. find:
a) Rate of heat removal from refrigerated space.
b) Rate of heat rejection from refrigerant to the surroundings.
c) Power input to the compressor
d) COPR of the cycle
e) COPR,carnot
f) Tons of refrigeration (1TR = 210kJ/min)

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Solutions: Using steam table of Refrigerant-134a

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 The Reversed Carnot Cycle
Reversing the Carnot cycle does reverse the directions of heat and work interactions.
A refrigerator or heat pump that operates on the reversed Carnot cycle is called a Carnot
refrigerator or a Carnot heat pump.

Figure: T-s diagram and major components for Carnot refrigerator.

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Reversed Carnot Cycle consists of four processes. They are
Isentropic or Adiabatic Process (1-2)
Isothermal Compression Process (2-3)
Isentropic or Adiabatic Expansion Process (3-4)
Isothermal Expansion Process (4-1)
The reversed Carnot cycle is the most efficient refrigeration cycle operating between two
specified temperature levels.
It sets the highest theoretical COP.
The coefficient of performance for Carnot refrigerators and heat pumps are:

The Carnot cycle cannot be approximated in an actual cycle, because:

1- Executing Carnot cycle requires a compressor that can handle two-phases
2- Also process 4-1 involves expansion of two-phase flow in a turbine.
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What is Absorption Refrigeration System(VARS)?
The vapor absorption refrigeration system comprises of all the processes in the
vapor compression refrigeration system like compression, condensation,
expansion and evaporation.
In the vapor absorption system the refrigerant used is ammonia, water or lithium
bromide.
The refrigerant gets condensed in the condenser and it gets evaporated in the
evaporator.
The refrigerant produces cooling effect in the evaporator and releases the heat to
the atmosphere via the condenser.
The major difference between the two systems is the method of the suction and
compression of the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle.
In the vapor compression system, the compressor sucks the refrigerant from
evaporator and compresses it to the high pressure.
The compressor also enables the flow of the refrigerant through the whole
refrigeration cycle.
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In the vapor absorption cycle, the process of suction and compression are carried out by two different
devices called as the absorber and the generator.
Thus the absorber and the generator replace the compressor in the vapor absorption cycle.
The absorbent enables the flow of the refrigerant from the absorber to the generator by absorbing it.
Another major difference between the vapor compression and vapor absorption cycle is the method in
which the energy input is given to the system.
In the vapor compression system the energy input is given in the form of the mechanical work from the
electric motor run by the electricity.
In the vapor absorption system the energy input is given in the form of the heat.
This heat can be from the excess steam from the process or the hot water.
The heat can also be created by other sources like natural gas, kerosene, heater etc. though these
sources are used only in the small systems.

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Simple Absorption System and How it Works?
1) Condenser: Just like in the traditional condenser of the vapor
compression cycle, the refrigerant enters the condenser at high pressure
and temperature and gets condensed.
۩The condenser is of water or air cooled type.
2) Expansion valve or restriction: When the refrigerant passes through the
expansion valve, its pressure and temperature reduces suddenly.
۩This refrigerant (ammonia in this case) then enters the evaporator.
3) Evaporator: The refrigerant at very low pressure and temperature enters
the evaporator and produces the cooling effect.
۩In the vapor compression cycle this refrigerant is sucked by the
compressor, but in the vapor absorption cycle, this refrigerant flows to
the absorber that acts as the suction part of the refrigeration cycle.
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4) Absorber: The absorber is a sort of vessel consisting of water that
acts as the absorbent, and the previous absorbed refrigerant.
۩Thus the absorber consists of the weak solution of the refrigerant
(ammonia in this case) and absorbent (water in this case).
۩When ammonia from the evaporator enters the absorber, it is absorbed
by the absorbent due to which the pressure inside the absorber reduces
further leading to more flow of the refrigerant from the evaporator to
the absorber.
۩At high temperature water absorbs lesser ammonia, hence it is cooled
by the external coolant to increase it ammonia absorption capacity
5) Pump: When the absorbent absorbs the refrigerant strong solution of
refrigerant-absorbent (ammonia-water) is formed.
۩This solution is pumped by the pump at high pressure to the generator.
۩Thus pump increases the pressure of the solution to about 10bar.

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6) Generator: The refrigerant-ammonia solution in the generator is heated by the
external source of heat.
۩ This is can be steam, hot water or any other suitable source.
۩ Due to heating the temperature of the solution increases.
۩ The refrigerant in the solution gets vaporized and it leaves the solution at high
pressure.
۩ The high pressure and the high temperature refrigerant then enters the condenser,
where it is cooled by the coolant, and it then enters the expansion valve and then
finally into the evaporator where it produces the cooling effect.
۩ This refrigerant is then again absorbed by the weak solution in the absorber.
۩ When the vaporized refrigerant leaves the generator weak solution is left in it.
۩ This solution enters the pressure reducing valve and then back to the absorber, where
it is ready to absorb fresh refrigerant.
۩ In this way, the refrigerant keeps on repeating the cycle.
۩ The pressure of the refrigerant is increased in the generator, hence it is considered to
be equivalent to the compression part of the compressor.
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 Comparison between vapour compression and vapour absorption
refrigeration.

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 Ammonia Absorption Refrigeration system
ARS involves the absorption of a refrigerant
by a transport medium.
Most widely used system is NH3 – H2O
system, where NH3 serves as refrigerant
and H2O as transport medium.
Other systems include water–lithium bromide
and water–lithium chloride systems, where
water serves as the refrigerant.
These systems are limited to applications such
as A-C where the minimum temperature is
above the freezing point of water.

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 Advantages of ammonia systems
Ideally fits into the concept of Integrated Energy Systems such as Cogeneration involving
combined generation, heat, refrigeration and power (CHRP Plants) on various fuels like
bio-mas, coal, Natural Gas, Heavy Oil, Solar, geothermal, etc.

Excellent for waste heat utilization

Earns carbon credits, reduces taxes, promotes sustainable development.

Uses best eco-friendly refrigerant – ammonia

Wide operational range + 5 0C to – 55 0C

Low maintenance cost – no moving parts

Can operate well for over 25 years

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 Mass and Energy Balance of NH3 - H2O Solution
Considering mass flow rate, m (kg/s); enthalpy, h (kJ/kg); heat rejected by the
absorber to the surrounding, a (W); heat input to the generator, g (W); heat rejected
by the condenser to the surrounding, c (W); and heat input to the evaporator, e (W),
conservation laws were applied to each of the components as follows:

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 VAR COPmax
The COP depends on the main three operating temperatures:
Temperature of the heat source (High temperature)
Temperature of Condenser/ Absorber (They can be different)
Temperature of the refrigeration space (Low temperature)
Hot source should be as high as possible
Condenser/Absorber should be low
Refrigeration temperature should be high.
If Condenser and Absorber temperatures are different, then maximum COP is given by

COPMax =
*

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 Laboratory trainer kit

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 Electrolux ammonia refrigerator

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 Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Systems Based On Water - Lithium Bromide

Vapour absorption refrigeration systems using water-lithium bromide pair are

extensively used in large capacity air conditioning systems.
In these systems water is used as refrigerant and a solution of lithium bromide in
water is used as absorbent.
Since water is used as refrigerant, using these systems it is not possible to provide
refrigeration at sub-zero temperatures.
Hence it is used only in applications requiring refrigeration at temperatures above
00C.
Hence these systems are used for air conditioning applications.
The analysis of this system is relatively easy as the vapour generated in the
generator is almost pure refrigerant (water), unlike ammonia-water systems where
both ammonia and water vapour are generated in the generator.

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 Properties of water-lithium bromide solutions
Composition:
The composition of water-lithium bromide solutions can be expressed either in mass
fraction (ξ) or mole fraction (x).

For water-lithium bromide solutions, the mass fraction ξ is defined as the ratio of mass of
anhydrous lithium bromide to the total mass of solution, i.e.,

Where mL and mW are the mass of anhydrous lithium bromide and water in solution,
respectively.

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The composition can also be expressed in terms of mole fraction of lithium
bromide as:

Where nL and nW are the number of moles of anhydrous lithium bromide and
water in solution, respectively.

The number moles of lithium bromide and water can easily be obtained from their
respective masses in solution and molecular weights, thus;

Where ML (= 86.8 kg/kmol) and MW (= 18.0 kg/kmol) are the molecular weights
of anhydrous lithium bromide and water respectively.
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Enthalpy of water-lithium bromide solutions

Enthalpy values for pure water (liquid and superheated vapour)

For all practical purposes, liquid water enthalpy, hW,liquid at any
temperature T can be obtained from the equation:

The enthalpy of superheated water vapour, hW,sup at low pressures and

temperature T can be obtained approximately by the equation:

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 Steady flow analysis of Water-Lithium Bromide Systems
Figure below shows the schematic of the system indicating various state points.
A steady flow analysis of the system is carried out with the following
assumptions:
i. Steady state and steady flow
ii. Changes in potential and kinetic energies across each component are negligible
iii. No pressure drops due to friction
iv. Only pure refrigerant boils in the generator.
The nomenclature followed is:
ṁ = mass flow rate of refrigerant, kg/s
ṁss = mass flow rate of strong solution (rich in LiBr), kg/s
ṁws = mass flow rate of weak solution (weak in LiBr), kg/s

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 Figure: Schematic of a H2O-LiBr system
A: Absorber; C: Condenser; E: Evaporator; ES: Solution Expansion valve; G: Generator; P: Solution
Pump SHX: Solution HX; ER: Refrigerant Expansion valve; ES: Solution Expansion valve
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The circulation ratio (λ) is defined as the ratio of strong solution flow rate to
refrigerant flow rate. It is given by:

This implies that the strong solution flow rate is given by:
The analysis is carried out by applying mass and energy balance across each
component.

Where Tc is the condenser temperature

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 From mass balance for pure water:

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The first term in the above equation m(h4 – h5) represents the enthalpy change of water as
changes its state from vapour at state 4 to liquid at state 5.

The second term m λ 10 5 represents the sensible heat transferred as solution at

state 10 is cooled to solution at state 5.

However, if we assume the solution to be incompressible, then:

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 Where vsol is the specific volume of the solution which can be taken to be
approximately equal to 0.00055 m3/kg.
 Even though the solution pump work is small it is still required in the selection of
suitable pump.

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In the above equation the 1st term on the RHS m( 1 7) represents energy required
to generate water vapour at state 1 from solution at state 7 and the 2nd term mλ( 8

7) represents the sensible heat required to heat the solution from state 7 to state 8.

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In order to find the steady-state performance of the system from the above set of
equations, one needs to know the operating temperatures, weak and strong solution
concentrations, effectiveness of solution heat exchanger and the refrigeration
capacity.

It is generally assumed that the solution at the exit of absorber and generator is at
equilibrium so that the equilibrium P-T-ξ and h-T-ξ charts can be used for evaluating
solution property data. The effectiveness of solution heat exchanger, εHX is given by:

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From the above equation the temperature of the weak solution entering the
generator (T7) can be obtained since T6 is almost equal to T5 and T8 is equal to the
generator temperature Tg.

The temperature of superheated water vapour at state 1 may be assumed to be

equal to the strong solution temperature T8.

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 Heat sources for water-lithium bromide systems
Water-lithium bromide systems can be driven using a wide variety of heat sources.

Large capacity systems are usually driven by steam or hot water.

Small capacity systems are usually driven directly by oil or gas.

A typical single effect system requires a heat source at a temperature of about

1200C to produce chilled water at 70C when the condenser operates at about 460C
and the absorber operates at about 400C.

The COPs obtained in the range of 0.6 to 0.8 for single effect systems while it can
be as high as 1.2 to 1.4 for multi-effect systems.

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Example: A single stage vapour absorption refrigeration system based on H2O-LiBr has a
refrigeration capacity of 300 kW. The system operates at an evaporator temperature of 50C (Psat
= 8.72 mbar) and a condensing temperature of 500C (Psat = 123.3 mbar). The exit temperatures
of absorber and generator are 400C and 1100C respectively. The concentration of solution at the
exit of absorber and generator are 0.578 and 0.66, respectively. Assume 100 percent
effectiveness for the solution heat exchanger, exit condition of refrigerant at evaporator and
condenser to be saturated and the condition of the solution at the exit of absorber and generator
to be at equilibrium. Enthalpy of strong solution at the inlet to the absorber may be obtained
from the equilibrium solution data.
Find:
a) The mass flow rates of refrigerant, weak and strong solutions
b) Heat transfer rates at the absorber, evaporator, condenser, generator and solution heat
exchanger
c) System COP and second law efficiency, and
d) Solution pump work (density of solution = 1200 kg/m3).

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Assuming the refrigerant vapour at the exit of generator to be in equilibrium with the
strong solution leaving the generator

⇒ Temperature of vapour at generator exit = 1100C

⇒ Enthalpy of vapour = 2501+1.88 X 110 = 2708 kJ/kg

From the definition of effectiveness of solution HX;

εHX = [mSSCp,SS (T8-T9)]/[mSSCp,SS (T8-T6)] = 1.0 (∵ mSS < mWS)

⇒ T9 = T6 = 400C

From the above equation, the following property data at various points are obtained
using refrigerant property charts and water – LiBr solution property charts
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 Introduction to Refrigerants
Refrigerant : Is the primary working fluid used for absorbing and transmitting
heat in a refrigeration system.

In principle, any fluid can be used as a refrigerant.

Refrigerants absorb heat at low temperature and low pressure and release heat
at a higher temperature and pressure

Typically, refrigerants undergo phase-changes during heat absorption

(evaporation) and heat releasing (condensation)

Air used in air-cycle refrigeration system can also be considered as a

refrigerant (no phase-change).
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 Classes of refrigerants
Organic:
Hydro-carbons HC (natural starting molecules from
which most refrigerants are synthesized)
Methane (R-50) and Ethane (R-170)
Chloro-Flouro Carbons (CFC)
Hydro Chloro-Flouro Carbons (HCFC)
Hydro-Fluoro Carbons (HFC)
In-organic: Some examples
Water
Ammonia
CO2

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 Primary and Secondary Refrigerants
Refrigerant can be classified as primary and secondary refrigerant.
Primary refrigerants are those fluids, which are used directly as working fluids, for
example in VCRS and absorption based systems.
These fluids provide the necessary refrigeration by undergoing a phase-change
process in the evaporator, absorbing latent heat.
As the name implies, secondary refrigerants are those liquids, which are used for
transporting thermal energy from one location to other.
Secondary refrigerants are also known referred to as brines or antifreezes.
If the operating temperatures are above 00C, then pure water can also be used as
secondary refrigerant
Antifreezes or brines are used when refrigeration is required at sub-zero
temperatures.
Unlike primary refrigerants, secondary refrigerants do not undergo phase change as
they transport energy from one location to other.
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 Refrigerant consumption in developing countries (2015)

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 Designation /Nomenclature of Refrigerants
Since a large number of refrigerants have been developed over the years for a wide variety of
applications, a numbering system has been adopted to designate various refrigerants.
From the number one can get some useful information about the type of refrigerant, its chemical
composition, molecular weight etc.
All the refrigerants are designated by R followed by a unique number.
The number assigned to each refrigerant is related to its chemical composition and the system has
been formalized as ASHRAE.
Broadly, the numbering system is as follows:
 000 Series Methane Based
 100 Series Ethane Based
 200 Series Propane Based
 300 Series Cyclic Organic Compounds
 400 Series Zeotropes
 500 Series Azeotropes
 600 Series Organic Compounds
 700 Series Inorganic Compounds
 1000 Series Unsaturated Organic Compounds

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Hydrocarbon refrigerants
Many hydrocarbon gases have successfully been used as refrigerants in industrial,
commercial and domestic applications.
Examples:
R170, Ethane, C2H6
R290 , Propane C3H3
R600, Butane, C4H10
R600a, Isobutane, C4H10
Blends of the above gases
Halocarbons refrigerants
Halocarbon refrigerants are all synthetically produced and were developed as the FREON
family of refrigerants.
Examples :
CFC’s : R11, R12, R113, R114, R115
HCFC’s : R22, R123
HFC’s : R134a, R404a, R407c, R410a
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 Blending of refrigerants

Two or more refrigerants can be suitably blended to achieve the required/desired properties

Flammability

Volumetric Capacity

Limit discharge superheating for lower discharge Temperature

Two Basic Types:

Zeotropes

Azeotropes

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Azeotropic refrigerants
A stable mixture of two or several refrigerants
whose vapor and liquid phases retain identical
compositions over a wide range of temperatures.

Examples:

R-500: 73.8% R12 and 26.2% R152

R-502: 48.8% R22 and 51.2% R115

R-503: 40.1% R23 and 59.9% R13

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 Zeotropic refrigerants
A zeotropic mixture is one whose composition in
liquid phase differs to that in vapor phase.
Zeotropic refrigerants therefore do not boil at
constant temperatures unlike azeotropic refrigerants
Examples:
R404a : R125/143a/134a (44%,52%,4%)
R407c : R32/125/134a (23%, 25%, 52%)
R410a : R32/125 (50%, 50%)
R413a : R600a/218/134a (3%, 9%, 88%)

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1. Fully saturated, halogenated compounds:

These refrigerants are derivatives of alkanes (CnH2n+2) such as methane (CH4), ethane
(C2H6) and propane (C2H8).
These refrigerants are designated by R-XYZ, where:
X+1 indicates the number of Carbon (C) atoms
Y-1 indicates number of Hydrogen (H) atoms, and
Z indicates number of Fluorine (F) atoms
The balance indicates the number of Chlorine atoms.
Only 2 digits indicates that the value of X is zero.

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Example: R 22
X = 0 ⇒ No. of Carbon atoms = 0 + 1 = 1 ⇒ derivative of methane (CH4)
Y = 2 ⇒ No. of Hydrogen atoms = 2-1 = 1
Z = 2 ⇒ No. of Fluorine atoms = 2
The balance = 4 – no. of (H+F) atoms = 4-1-2 = 1 ⇒ No. of Chlorine atoms = 1
∴ The chemical formula of R 22 = CHClF2
Similarly it can be shown that the chemical formula of:
 R12 = CCl2F2
R134a = C2H2F4 (derivative of ethane)
(letter a stands for isomer, e.g. molecules having same chemical composition but
different atomic arrangement, e.g. R134 and R134a)
 2. Inorganic refrigerants:
These are designated by number 7 followed by the molecular weight of the refrigerant
(rounded-off).
Ex.: Ammonia: Molecular weight is 17, ∴ the designation is R-717
Carbon dioxide: Molecular weight is 44, ∴ the designation is R-744
Water: Molecular weight is 18, ∴ the designation is R-718

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Properties of Refrigerants

Essential properties of refrigerants

Latent heat of vaporization is one of the most important properties.

Chemical stability under conditions of use is another equally important characteristics.

Safety codes may require a non-flammable refrigerant of low toxicity for most
applications.

Cost, availability, efficiency, and compatibility with compressor lubricants and materials
with which the equipment is constructed.

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Physical properties
The refrigerants are arranged in
increasing order of atmospheric boiling
point, from air at -194.3°C to water at
100°C

Normal boiling point is most important

because it is a direct indicator of the
temperature level at which a refrigerant
can be used.

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Refrigerant selection criteria
Selection of refrigerant for a particular application is based on the following
requirements:

Thermodynamic and thermo-physical properties.

Environmental and safety properties, like: Ozone depletion potential (ODP), global
warming potential (GWP), and combustibility

Economics of production/maintenance/etc.

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 Environmental and safety properties
 In contemporary times, environment friendliness of the refrigerant is a major factor in deciding its
usage.
 Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): According to the Montreal protocol, the ODP of refrigerants
should be zero, i.e., they should be non-ozone depleting substances.
 Refrigerants having non-zero ODP have either already been phased-out (e.g. R11, R12) or will be
in near-future (e.g. R22).
 Since ODP depends mainly on the presence of chlorine or bromine in the molecules, refrigerants
having either chlorine (i.e., CFCs and HCFCs) or bromine cannot be used under the new
regulations.
 Global Warming Potential (GWP): Refrigerants should have as low a GWP value as possible to
minimize global warming.
 Refrigerants with zero ODP but a high value of GWP (e.g. R134a) are likely to be regulated in
future.
 Total Equivalent Warming Index (TEWI): The factor TEWI considers both direct (due to release
into atmosphere) and indirect (through energy consumption) contributions of refrigerants to global
warming.
 Naturally, refrigerants with as a low a value of TEWI are preferable from global warming point of
view.
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 …Con’t…
Toxicity: Ideally, refrigerants used in a refrigeration system should be non-toxic.
However, all fluids other than air can be called as toxic as they will cause suffocation
when their concentration is large enough.
Hence, toxicity is a relative term, which becomes meaningful only when the degree of
concentration and time of exposure required to produce harmful effects are specified.
Some fluids are toxic even in small concentrations. Some fluids are mildly toxic, i.e., they
are dangerous only when the concentration is large and duration of exposure is long.
Some refrigerants such as CFCs and HCFCs are non-toxic when mixed with air in normal
condition. However, when they come in contact with an open flame or an electrical
heating element, they decompose forming highly toxic elements (e.g. phosgene-COCl2).
In general the degree of hazard depends on:
Amount of refrigerant used vs total space
Type of occupancy
Presence of open flames
Odor of refrigerant, and
Maintenance condition

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 …Con’t…
Flammability: The refrigerants should preferably be nonflammable and non-explosive.
For flammable refrigerants special precautions should be taken to avoid accidents.
Based on the above criteria, ASHRAE has divided refrigerants into six safety groups (A1
to A3 and B1 to B3).
Refrigerants belonging to Group A1 (e.g. R11, R12, R22, R134a, R744, R718) are least
hazardous, while refrigerants belonging to Group B3 (e.g. R1140) are most hazardous.
Finally, economic properties: The refrigerant used should preferably be inexpensive and
easily available.

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 Properties of good (ideal) refrigerants:
An ideal refrigerant should have the following properties:
1. Low viscosity
2. Low freezing point
3. Low boiling point
4. Low heat capacity
5. Low specific volume
6. Low saturation pressure
7. Odorless
8. High latent heat of vaporization.
9. Good thermal conductivity.
10. High COP
11. Non inflammable and non explosive.
12. High critical pressure and temperature.

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 Uses of Refrigerants:
Ammonia: Ice plants, large cold storages, etc.
Carbon dioxide: Marine refrigerators, dry ice making and air conditioning.
Methyl chloride: Domestic and industrial refrigerators
Fluorocarbon refrigerants: Freon-11, 12, 13, 22,113,114, etc.
These are used in domestic refrigerators, water coolers, air conditioning
plants cold storages etc.
Sulphur dioxide: Domestic refrigerators.

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 Uses of refrigeration:
1. Ice making
2. Preservation of food products and medicines.
3. Air conditioning.
4. Computer functioning.
5. Products of rocket fuels.
6. Transportation of foodstuffs, dairy products.
7. Special industrial processes.

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