A review on recent developments in new refrigerant mixtures for vapour compression‐based refrigeration, air‐conditioning and heat pump units

In the present paper, an attempt has been made to review the performance of new refrigerant mixtures employed in vapour compression-based refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump units. The studies reported with refrigerant mixtures are categorized into six groups as follows: (i) hydrocarbon (HC), (ii) hydroflurocarbons (HFC), (iii) HFC/HC, (iv) hydrochloroflurocarbons (HCFC), (v) carbon dioxide (R744) and (vi) ammonia (R717). This paper explores the studies reported with new refrigerant mixtures in domestic refrigerators, commercial refrigeration systems, air conditioners, heat pumps, chillers and in automobile air conditioners. In addition, the technical difficulties faced with new refrigerant mixtures, further research needs in this field and future refrigerant options for new upcoming systems have been discussed in detail. This paper concludes that HC based refrigerant mixtures are identified as a long-term alternative to phase out the existing halogenated refrigerants in the vapour compression-based systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[1]  Arif Hepbasli,et al.  Exergetic modeling and assessment of solar assisted domestic hot water tank integrated ground-source heat pump systems for residences , 2007 .

[2]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  Performance of R433A for replacing HCFC22 used in residential air-conditioners and heat pumps , 2008 .

[3]  Bilal Akash,et al.  Assessment of LPG as a possible alternative to R-12 in domestic refrigerators , 2003 .

[4]  Samuel M. Sami,et al.  Effect of magnetic field on the performance of new refrigerant mixtures , 2003 .

[5]  Piotr A. Domanski,et al.  A Comparison Of An R22 And An R410A Air Conditioner Operating At High Ambient Temperatures , 2002 .

[6]  S. Jayaraj,et al.  Environment friendly alternatives to halogenated refrigerants—A review , 2009 .

[7]  D. B. Jabaraj,et al.  Experimental investigation of HFC407C/HC290/HC600a mixture in a window air conditioner , 2006 .

[8]  Lin Shi,et al.  Application of nanoparticles in domestic refrigerators , 2008 .

[9]  B. Palm.  Hydrocarbons as refrigerants in small heat pump and refrigeration systems – A review , 2008 .

[10]  Donald J. Cleland,et al.  Use of hydrocarbons as drop-in replacements for HCFC-22 in on-farm milk cooling equipment , 2009 .

[11]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  Performance of alternative refrigerants for residential air-conditioning applications , 2007 .

[12]  Akhilesh Arora,et al.  Thermodynamic analysis of R422 series refrigerants as alternative refrigerants to HCFC22 in a vapour compression refrigeration system , 2009 .

[13]  Yu Zhang,et al.  Performance of R170 mixtures as refrigerants for refrigeration at −80 °C temperature range , 2009 .

[14]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  Performance of alternative refrigerant R430A on domestic water purifiers , 2009 .

[15]  S. Jayaraj,et al.  A comparison of the performance of a direct expansion solar assisted heat pump working with R22 and a mixture of R407C–liquefied petroleum gas , 2009 .

[16]  Dong Yeon Lee,et al.  Performance characteristics of a small-capacity directly cooled refrigerator using R290/R600a (55/45) , 2008 .

[17]  Shengjun Zhang,et al.  Experimental investigation of moderately high temperature water source heat pump with non-azeotropic refrigerant mixtures , 2010 .

[18]  S. Sekhar,et al.  HFC134a/HC600a/HC290 mixture a retrofit for CFC12 systems , 2005 .

[19]  Ciro Aprea,et al.  An experimental analysis of a thermodynamic model of a vapour compression refrigeration plant on varying the compressor speed , 2004 .

[20]  Hans Buchwald,et al.  Results of experimental and theoretical studies of the azeeotropic refrigerant R507 , 1997 .

[21]  Rita Mastrullo,et al.  An analysis of the performances of a vapour compression plant working both as a water chiller and a heat pump using R22 and R417A , 2004 .

[22]  Lin Shi,et al.  Moderately high temperature water source heat-pumps using a near-azeotropic refrigerant mixture , 2005 .

[23]  Ciro Aprea,et al.  Experimental comparison of R22 with R417A performance in a vapour compression refrigeration plant subjected to a cold store , 2004 .

[24]  Gadhiraju Venkatarathnam,et al.  Effect of mixture composition on the formation of pinch points in condensers and evaporators for zeotropic refrigerant mixtures , 1999 .

[25]  Per Lundqvist,et al.  A method to estimate the circulated composition in refrigeration and heat pump systems using zeotropic refrigerant mixtures , 2001 .

[26]  Eric Johnson,et al.  Global warming from hfc , 1998 .

[27]  A study on the performance of multi-stage heat pumps using mixtures , 1999 .

[28]  W. F. Stoecker,et al.  Refrigeration and air conditioning , 1958 .

[29]  Ying Zhang,et al.  Testing of the mixing refrigerants HFC152a/HFC125 in domestic refrigerator , 2005 .

[30]  Guangming Chen,et al.  Cycle performance study on R32/R125/R161 as an alternative refrigerant to R407C , 2007 .

[31]  Erol Arcaklioğlu,et al.  An algorithmic approach towards finding better refrigerant substitutes of CFCs in terms of the second law of thermodynamics , 2005 .

[32]  K. O. Suen,et al.  Influence of liquid receiver on the performance of reversible heat pumps using refrigerant mixtures , 2004 .

[33]  Jiufa Chen,et al.  Zeotropic refrigerants and the special characteristics , 2005 .

[34]  Jiangtao Wu,et al.  Performance of mixture refrigerant R152a/R125/R32 in domestic air-conditioner , 2009 .

[36]  D. Didion,et al.  Performance Evaluation of Two Azeotropic Refrigerant Mixtures of HFC-134a With R-290 (Propane) and R-600a (Isobutane) , 1994 .

[37]  Khalid A. Joudi,et al.  Experimental and computer performance study of an automotive air conditioning system with alternative refrigerants , 2003 .

[38]  M. Fatouh,et al.  Assessment of propane/commercial butane mixtures as possible alternatives to R134a in domestic refrigerators , 2006 .

[39]  S. Joseph Sekhar,et al.  Improved energy efficiency for CFC domestic refrigerators retrofitted with ozone-friendly HFC134a/HC refrigerant mixture , 2004 .

[40]  N. K. Sane,et al.  Performance assessment of HCFC-22 window air conditioner retrofitted with R-407C , 2005 .

[41]  D. Jung,et al.  Testing of propane/isobutane mixture in domestic refrigerators , 2000 .

[42]  Jianlin Yu,et al.  Performance of a new refrigeration cycle using refrigerant mixture R32/R134a for residential air-conditioner applications , 2008 .

[43]  Bourhan Tashtoush,et al.  Experimental study of new refrigerant mixtures to replace R12 in domestic refrigerators , 2002 .

[44]  Somchai Wongwises,et al.  Experimental investigation of hydrocarbon mixtures to replace HFC-134a in an automotive air conditioning system , 2006 .

[45]  K. S. Kumar,et al.  Computational and experimental investigation of low ODP and low GWP HCFC-123 and HC-290 refrigerant mixture alternate to CFC-12 , 2007 .

[46]  N. E Carpenter.  Retrofitting HFC134a into existing CFC12 systems , 1992 .

[47]  Cecilia Gabrielii,et al.  Drop-in replacement of R22 in heat pumps used for district heating : influence of equipment and property limitations , 2001 .

[48]  Experimental study of zeotropic refrigerant mixture HFC-407C as a replacement for HCFC-22 in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems , 2006 .

[49]  Maurizio Fermeglia,et al.  A perturbed hard sphere chain equation of state for applications to hydrofluorocarbons, hydrocarbons and their mixtures , 1998 .

[50]  Samuel M. Sami,et al.  Performance analysis of new alternatives to HCFC-22 inside air/refrigerant-enhanced surface tubing , 2000 .

[51]  N. Hewitt,et al.  Replacing R22 with a hydrocarbon or hydrofluorocarbon? , 2001 .

[52]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  Experimental performance of R432A to replace R22 in residential air-conditioners and heat pumps , 2009 .

[53]  D. Jung,et al.  Performance of heat pumps charged with R170/R290 mixture , 2009 .

[54]  Samuel M. Sami,et al.  Energy efficiency analysis of a new ternary HFC alternative , 1997 .

[55]  W. Chen,et al.  A comparative study on the performance and environmental characteristics of R410A and R22 residential air conditioners , 2008 .

[56]  Ruzhu Wang,et al.  Perspectives for natural working fluids in China , 2006 .

[57]  D. R. Tree,et al.  A cost-based method for comparing alternative refrigerants applied to R-22 systems , 1999 .

[58]  K. Stephan.  Two-phase heat exchange for new refrigerants and their mixtures , 1995 .

[59]  J. Corberán,et al.  Review of standards for the use of hydrocarbon refrigerants in A/C, heat pump and refrigeration equipment ☆ , 2008 .

[60]  Mo Se Kim,et al.  Experiment and simulation on the performance of an autocascade refrigeration system using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant , 2002 .

[61]  Mehmet Ozkaymak,et al.  Thermo-economic optimization of superheating and sub-cooling heat exchangers in vapor-compressed refrigeration system , 2008 .

[62]  Jahar Sarkar,et al.  Assessment of blends of CO2 with butane and isobutane as working fluids for heat pump applications , 2009 .

[63]  I. Maclaine-cross.  Usage and risk of hydrocarbon refrigerants in motor cars for Australia and the United States , 2004 .

[64]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  Performance des mlanges de frigorignes utiliss pour remplacer le HCFC22 , 2000 .

[65]  T. W. Davies,et al.  A low carbon, low TEWI refrigeration system design , 2004 .

[66]  S. Sami,et al.  Study of liquid injection impact on the performance of new refrigerant mixtures , 2003 .

[67]  S. Jayaraj,et al.  Experimental investigation of R290/R600a mixture as an alternative to R134a in a domestic refrigerator , 2009 .

[68]  T. Kiatsiriroat,et al.  Performance analysis of solar water heater combined with heat pump using refrigerant mixture , 2009 .

[69]  D. Jung,et al.  Thermodynamic performance of R502 alternative refrigerant mixtures for low temperature and transport applications , 2007 .

[70]  C. Jwo,et al.  Efficiency analysis of home refrigerators by replacing hydrocarbon refrigerants , 2009 .

[72]  K. Senthil Kumar,et al.  Ozone friendly HFC134a/HC mixture compatible with mineral oil in refrigeration system improves energy efficiency of a walk in cooler , 2004 .

[73]  R. Powell.  CFC phase-out: have we met the challenge? , 2002 .

[74]  Mark W. Spatz,et al.  An evaluation of options for replacing HCFC-22 in medium temperature refrigeration systems , 2004 .

[75]  J. M. Calm,et al.  R-22 Replacement Status , 2004 .

[76]  J. Navarro-Esbrí,et al.  Considerations about evaporator thermal design in a vapour compression liquid chiller. Experimental analysis with HFC fluids (R134a and R407C) , 2004 .

[77]  Adolfo Palombo,et al.  R407C as an alternative to R22 in vapour compression plant : An experimental study , 1997 .

[78]  T. S. Ravikumar,et al.  On-road performance analysis of R134a/R600a/R290 refrigerant mixture in an automobile air-conditioning system with mineral oil as lubricant , 2009 .

[79]  Pradeep Bansal,et al.  An experimental study on HC290 and a commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) mix as suitable replacements for HCFC22 , 1998 .

[80]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  A ‘drop-in’ refrigerant R431A for replacing HCFC22 in residential air-conditioners and heat pumps , 2009 .

[81]  Adnan Sözen,et al.  Determination of thermodynamic properties of an alternative refrigerant (R407c) using artificial neural network , 2009, Expert Syst. Appl..

[82]  Dongsoo Jung,et al.  Evaluation of supplementary/retrofit refrigerants for automobile air-conditioners charged with CFC12 , 1999 .

[83]  S. Wongwises,et al.  Experimental study of hydrocarbon mixtures to replace HFC-134a in a domestic refrigerator , 2005 .

[84]  Chander P Arora,et al.  Refrigeration and Air Conditioning , 1983 .

[85]  Hanqing Wang,et al.  Performance comparison of air source heat pump with R407C and R22 under frosting and defrosting , 2008 .

[86]  David Didion,et al.  ROLE OF REFRIGERANT MIXTURES AS ALTERNATIVES TO CFCS. , 1990 .

[87]  Mo Se Kim,et al.  Performance and heat transfer characteristics of hydrocarbon refrigerants in a heat pump system , 2000 .

[88]  P. Aubouin,et al.  Performance prediction of a refrigerating machine using R‐407C: the effect of the circulating composition on system performance , 2002 .

[89]  Guangming Chen,et al.  Experimental study on HFC-161 mixture as an alternative refrigerant to R502 , 2005 .

[90]  Sushil K. Chaturvedi,et al.  Analysis of a direct expansion solar assisted heat pump using different refrigerants , 2005 .

[91]  Adnan Sözen,et al.  Derivation of empirical equations for thermodynamic properties of a ozone safe refrigerant (R404a) using artificial neural network , 2010, Expert Syst. Appl..

[92]  Syed A.M. Said,et al.  CFC containment, conversion and replacement cost analysis , 2000 .

[93]  Adnan Sözen,et al.  Calculation for the thermodynamic properties of an alternative refrigerant (R508b) using artificial neural network , 2007 .

[94]  Gadhiraju Venkatarathnam,et al.  Experimental Studies on a Heat Pump Operating With R22, R407C and R407A: Comparison From an Exergy Point of View , 2003 .

[95]  S. C. Kaushik,et al.  Theoretical analysis of a vapour compression refrigeration system with R502, R404A and R507A , 2008 .

[96]  James M. Calm,et al.  The next generation of refrigerants – Historical review, considerations, and outlook , 2008 .

[97]  S. Jayaraj,et al.  Exergy Assessment of a Direct Expansion Solar-Assisted Heat Pump Working with R22 and R407C/LPG Mixture , 2010 .

[98]  Min-Soo Kim,et al.  Experimental study on the performance of a heat pump system with refrigerant mixtures’ composition change , 2004 .

[99]  Guoliang Ding,et al.  Experimental research on geothermal heat pump system with non-azeotropic working fluids , 2002 .

[100]  E. Granryd.  Hydrocarbons as refrigerants — an overview , 2001 .

[101]  M. Fatouh,et al.  Experimental evaluation of a domestic refrigerator working with LPG , 2006 .

[102]  Fabio Polonara,et al.  Blends of carbon dioxide and HFCs as working fluids for the low-temperature circuit in cascade refrigerating systems , 2005 .

[103]  Ahmet Kabul,et al.  Exergetic performance assessment of a variable-speed R404a refrigeration system , 2010 .

[104]  V. Selladurai,et al.  Experimental analysis of a new refrigerant mixture as drop-in replacement for CFC12 and HFC134a , 2008 .

[105]  Leelananda Rajapaksha,et al.  Influence of special attributes of zeotropic refrigerant mixtures on design and operation of vapour compression refrigeration and heat pump systems , 2007 .