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flefrigerants

Introduction

Refrigerants are the working fluids used in refrig-


eration and air conditioning. At certain times,

during a cycle, they evaporate and so absorb heat


and at other times they condense and reject heat.

I! l'

The refrigerant is a heat carrying medium


which during their cycle (Le. compression,
condensation, expansion and evaporation) in the
refrigeration system absorbs heat from a low
temperature system and discards the heat so
absorbed to a higher temperature system.
Desirable properties of an Ideal Refrigerant

have discussed above that there is no ideal refrigerant. A refrigerant is said to be ideal
III of the following properties :

low boiling and freezing point.

2. High critical pressure and temperature.

. High latent heat of vaporisation.

Low specific heat of liquid. and high specific heat of vapour.


“ . Low specific volume of vapour.
High thermal conductivity.

. Non-corrosive to metal.

Non—Runnable and non-explosive.

. Nonvtoxic.

. Low cost.

. Easin and regularly available.

. . Easy to liquify at moderate pressure and temperature.


’ . Boy of locating leaks by odour or suitable indicator.
I . Mixes well with oil.

. High coefficient of performance, and

Ozone friendly.

‘clmmeatlon ol Items-rents
The refrigerants may. broadly. be classified into the following two groups :
I. Primary refrigerants. and 2. Secondary refrigerants.

The refrigeraan which directly take part in the refrigeration system are called prunan
tr whereas the refrigerants which are first cooled by primary refrigerants and then used
ling purpous are known as mwndary refrigerant).

The primary refrigerants are further classified into the following four groups :
l. Halo-carbon or organic refrigerants,
2. Azeotrope refrigerants.

3. Inorganic refrigerants. and

4. Hydro-carbon refrigerants.

An internationally reco nised system of num-


bering has been develope for refrigerants. Each
number begins with R, for refrigerant. Probably
the most commonly used refrigerant is R12. R22 is
also common and R717 is ammonia, used in
absorption systems. R744 is carbon dioxide, which
is used in some high pressure refrigeration systems
on board ships.

It is now considered that some types of refriger-


ant cause damage to the environment. R12, for
example, is a compound which is made entirely of
chlorine, fluorine and carbon and is known as a
chlorofluorocarbon or CFC. CFCs are very stable
and if they et into the atmosphere they drift
upwards unti? they destroy ozone in the upper
atmosphere. They may also be responsible for a rise

in the temperature of the earth, or so-called global


warming.

Throughout the world, scientists and engineers


are working to find replacement refri erants which
do not damage the atmosphere at afi. R134a is a
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), one of a group of
compounds that has been developed that has no
effect on the ozone layer. ICI, a large chemical
company, have produced their version of R134a,
tradenamed KLEA 134a, as their contribution to
cleaner refrigerants.
Secondary refrigerants

The common secondary refri erants are water and


brines. Water is used frequentfy in air-conditioning
systems, where it is passed over the surface of an
evaporator and then pumped through pipes to a
cooling coil or a water spray . Water
flows easily and has a high specmc heat capacity, so
it makes a very good secondary refrigerant. It is
also used in some types of coolers

Water is unsuitable for use where the temperature


drops below 0°C.
Brines

Originally brine was the name for a mixture of


common salt and water. Sea water is mainly brine.
Brine has a lower feezing point than water, so in
cold countries, salt is thrown on to frozen and
snowy roads, brine is formed, and the snow melts.
Common salt is a chemical compound called
sodium chloride. Brines used in refrigeration sys-
tems can either be sodium chloride or calcium
chloride. Both calcium and sodium chloride belong
to a group of com ounds known as salts.

Up to a point, t e more salt (sodium or calcium


chloride) that is added to water, the lower is the
freezing point, although if too much is added, the
freezin point rises again. Calcium chloride brine is
used w ere temperatures of less than about —18°C
are needed and it is used for freezing a variety of
products, including food. A disadvantage of cal-
cium chloride brine is that, if it leaks from the
system, it makes food taste bitter. Where such
contamination may occur, sodium chloride brine is
used. Temperatures as low as -21°C can be
obtained with a mixture of 23% by mass of sodium
chloride and 77% water.
Antifreezes

Compounds known as antifreezes are being used


to replace brines in a number of systems. Pro ylene
glycol is the most widely used of the antiiieezes
and, like brines, it reduces the freezing point of
water. It has the advantage over brines in that it
does not corrode metal surfaces. Other antifreezes
are ethylene glycol, methanol and glycerine.
Antifreezes are used to protect closed circuit
coolers which cool condenser refrigerant. Closed
circuit coolers, like cooling towers, are installed on
roofs or walls and antifreeze is used to ensure that

the water employed as a coolant does not freeze in


wmter.

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