Thermodynamic Analysis of Eco-Friendly Refrigerant Mixtures as an Alternative to HFC-134a in Household Refrigerator

Abstract

Nowadays, research has been focused on refrigerants from Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are not harmful to the ozone layer. Because of replacing refrigerants from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). HFCs are used in many applications, including refrigerants, aerosols, solvents, and blowing agents for insulating foams. However, some HFCs have relatively high global warming potential (GWP) and are subject to further examination due to growing concerns about global climate change. The present work’s main objective is to select eco-friendly refrigerants from AC5, R430A and R440A, combining two or more refrigerants from HC, HFC and HFO groups as a direct substitute HFC-134a in a household refrigerator. The performance of the domestic refrigerator with liquid suction heat exchanger (LSHX) was compared in terms of compressor discharge temperature, coefficient of performance (COP), volumetric cooling capacity (VCC), and power consumption of a compressor. It was found that the average COP of R440A and R430A was higher by approximately 2.5% and 1.47% than HFC-134a. However, the COP of AC5 was 6.1% lower than that of HFC-134a. The VCC of R430A is almost equal to HFC-134a. The results also show that AC5, R440A and R430A consume less power than HFC-134a. The compressor outlet temperature with R440A, AC5 provide higher values than HFC-134a, which affects the compressor life. The best overall performance was achieved with the refrigerant R430A in the household refrigerator and suggested an alternative to HFC134a, which also has a very low GWP from the environmental safety perspective.