6.7 Power Generation 295, 6.7 Power Generation t Most industrial power generation is based on the ability of a compressed gas, often steam, to produce work through expansion.in a turbine. Water from ambient con- ditions (a river or lake) is compressed and boiled to produce high-pressure steamn, : which expands in a turbine. The exhausted steam is recycled to the process to form | a continuous closed loop. The basic process diagram of the power plant is shown in Figure 6-10. Here, in addition to the pump, boiler and turbine, we also encounter a condenser, which cools and condenses the exhausted steam before it is pumped again into the boiler. To see why the condenser is necessary, we examine the operation of the plant on the TS graph in Figure 6-11 (the compressed liquid region is exagger- i ated on this graph; in reality, lines of constant pressure lie very close to the line of saturated liquid). We trace the path of the process by starting at the pump, which compresses the liquid (state 4) to higher pressure (state 1), For isentropic compres sion the path on the TS graph is a vertical line moving up; if the pump efficiency is Jess than 100%, the actual path veers to the right, as it results in positive entropy change. The pressurized liquid is heated in the boiler to produce superheated steam (state 2), which then passes through the turbine. The exhausted stream is super- heated vapor at lower pressure (condensation is to be avoided in the turbine). Since the efficiency of real turbines is less than 100%, the expansion follows a path to the Op q heat in boiler y heat out Qc Figure 6-10: Rankine power, plant. | | | es e296 Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems i a boiler ' © ty 1 1 @ t condenser : pamp ¢ entropy Figure 6-11: Rankine power plait on the TS graph. Dashed lines correspond to isentropic operation in the pump and turbine, right of the isentropic path, shown by a vertical dashed line, To return this stream, which is still hot, back to the pump, it must be cooled and condensed. Why not cool the exhausted steam by additional expansions? In fact, steam is usually expanded in multiple stages to maximize the amount of work, However, expansion cannot move the state to the left, toward state 4. In fact, reversible expansion can only move the state vertically down (isentropic expansion), while irreversibilities cause the state to move to the right (corresponding to positive AS). A condenser is indeed necessary and shows in practice that it is not possible to convert the entire amount of heat the boiler into work. ane process shown in Figures 6-10 and 6-11 is called a. Rankine plant and in its basic form, shown here, operates between two pressures, a high pressure at the inlet of the turbine, and a low pressure at the exit. Ignoring pressure drop through pipes, the boiler, and the condenser, streains 1 and 2 are at the high pressure, while streams 3 and 4 are at the low pressure. In terms of energy inputs and outputs, the cycle absorbs heat in the boiler to produce work in the turbine. Part of the input 6.7 Power Generation 207 heat is rejected in the condenser. A small amount of work is also consumed in the pump. The overall balance is® Q5+Qco+ Wr+ We =0, (6.60) where we understand Qg and Wp to be positive, and Qo and Wy to be negative. The net amount of work produced is ¥ = Wr + We. (6.61) Since the amount of pumping work is much smaller than the work received in the turbine (see Example 6.19), there is a net production of work. The efficiency of the plant is defined as the ratio of the net work produced to the amount of heat in the boiler: = = osr (6.62) This efficiency is limited by the second law: if the heat source that provides heat to the boiler is at Ty and the condenser rejects heat to a reservoir at Te, the steady-state entropy balance gives® n (6.63) Eliminating Qc between eqs. (6.60) and (6,63) and solving for the ratio - W/Qu, which is equal to the plant efficiency, we obtain Te — ToSgen se _ eleen 6.64 Ts Qe (664) Since both Syen and Qp are positive terms we must have, To <1-+2 5, Ve Tr (6.65) which states that the efficiency of the plant is limited by the maximum Carnot efficiency that corresponds to the temperatures of the two heat baths. Temperature Tp corresponds to the temperature of the heat sources (for example, the flame 5. The energy terms in this balance are exprossed per unit mass of the fluid. Alternatively, they can be expressed per unit time by muitiplying the above values by the mass flow rate. 6. Start with the steady-state entropy balance, eq. (6.28), set A(ga $) to zero because the fluid operates in a cycle, and note that the plant exchanges heat with two baths,298 Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems temperature of coal combustion, if this is a coal-fired plant) and must be at least equal to the temperature of stream 2, which is the hottest stream in the process. ‘Temperature To may be taken to be the same as T, (the coldest temperature in the plant), or equal to the temperature of the surroundings, since the cooling medium js usually ambient water or air.” Example 6.20: Rankine Plant ‘A. Ratikine. power plant using’ steam operates between préssuites 60 bat and 1.013 bar. ‘Phe turbine expands steam from 500 °C, 60 bar, to 1.013 bar. ‘The liquid at the exit of the condenser is satitrated, The efficiericy of the turbine and of the pump is 75%. Calculate the anergy balances, entropy generation, and, thermodynamic efficiency. What are the sources of irreversibility? S Solution. The key to performing calculations of this type is to determine the states of all streams; This means, mass flow rate, pressure, temperature, enthalpy, entropy, and phase; {f the ‘phase isa vapor-liquid. mixture, we must ‘also report the vapor ot liquid fraction. With simple flow sheets involving a common flow rate for all streams, the flow rate does.not have to be inéluded and. all energy ternis are reported per Kg of fluid. The solution canbe oiganized by forming a table with the properties of all streams and update its entries as now ciiantities are computed. We will uso. the numbering of the streams shown in Figure 6 10. Notice that. we know the pressure in all streams (Pj = Pz 60-bar, Ps = Pa bar). We know the temperature of stream 2 (500-°C); therefore, all properties of this stream are known; We also Iniow that stream 4 is saturated liquid at 1 bar; this: information fixes the properties of this stream. The nknowh streams are number 1 and 3. These. will be éalculated by enerzy balatice in the pump and in the turbine. Thereforé, the calculation of this plant: teduices to one calculation around the pump and one around the turbine, In both casos we kriow the inlet streams and the efficieticy of the. unit; therefore, the calculation will proceed similar to Examples 6.19:and 6.13. Calculation of turbine (Outline). The turbine exit for reversible operation is found at Pa ~ i bar, $5 = 5 ever rile we find Hy — 2497.32 kJ/kg from which we obtain the reversible work: WS 995.579 kl /kg. The actual enthalpy of stream 3 is © Hy = Hy + We" = 2798.72 kd /ke, ‘Phe temperature and entropy of stream’ 3 is obtained by interpolation at P= 1 bar, H== 2798.72 kil/kg. We find s Ty = 126.2 °C, $3 = 7.4942 kJ/kg K. [in cooling towers, often seen in large power plants, the cooling is provided by the atmosphere, = 6.8824 kJ/kg K. This state is fotind to be in the vapor liquid region. By_ 67 Power Generation 299 Calculation of yup (Outline). ‘The specific , specific volume of sats = 0.00104 1n8/kg. The work in the pump is facie Weer ob Le is Be Ve. Py Worn = 8.18133 kJ/kg. ‘The enthalpy of stream 1 is Hy = H+ Wpimy = 425.621 KI /keg. ‘The temporattire and entropy of stream 1 is obtai i jon i liquid tables at His = Hj = 255.601 bike. We osha by. interpolation in the saturated T,=101.5 °C, $= 1.3245 kI/ke K. Surimary of results, The results of these calculations are summatized,in the table below: 1 2 3 4 P Gan 60 60 1 1 Te 101.5 500: 126.2. ; F 99.61 A (kJ/kg) 425.621. 3422.9 2728.72. [> a7. a S (ki/kg K)) 1.8245 6.8824 7.4942 “30 phase, comp. lig. | ‘sttber’d vap.’ | superli'd vap. | °~ sat, lia ‘The energy balances are: Qe = Ha Hy = 2907.28 led kg Ge : Hit = 2311.28 ke /kig ‘iro = Hy Hy = 694.18 kd fhe Hum =H ~ Hi “> 8.18 kd /ke - : Wrisb +. Woump’ os 686.00 kJ/kg, plant efficiency | WH/@al = 22.9°% To see how the plant efficiericy compates to the theoreti i y tical maximum, we take Ty to be th temperature of streata 2 (Tp must be at least as hii ; (Te d toured Hse 3 C ‘least as high as Ta) and To to be Te (To. should (99.61 4273.15) K (500:4- 273.15) K The actual efficiency is less than half of the theoretical. If we take into aecount that’ the theoretical value is in fact a low estimate (T'y is actually higher than T and To is lower jan Ty); the actilal operation’ fares even worse in comparison to: the maximum possible. To assess. the sources of this i i i 1) sons th hs inoficieney; we perform. an entropy. analysis foreach unit of Tenax = 52%. Entropy Analysis “The entropy: generation in the boiler is botler Seen £52 BB = esta kag x.00 Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems similarly for the condenser: Spea| 4S Se GE = 0.0080 As Le rhe turbine operates adiabatically, therefore, the entropy gonotation is - See, = S— Se = 06118 KI /e K i L ond similarly for the puinp: - : Se ap = $,— Sy = 0.0219 kJ/kg Ky These results are summarized below, along with the corresponding valué for the lost: work. te (Tp = 300K): Seon (isd /li K) _ToSgen (et/Ies) Boiler 1.6812 5044 : Condenser 0.0089. 2.7. ae Turbine oells | 183.5 a Pump 0.0219 66 : Total. 2.3287 697-1 ‘Phe largest contribution to entropy genération conies,frony the boiler. ‘This is:due to the large temperaitire difference between the temperature Of tlie heat source and the stream that is being heated. ‘Tho second miost important. contribution: comes, from the turbine, ae whose efficiency is 75%, ‘The pump contributes very little because the workin the pump is pretty sinall, The condenser generates very litele entropy. because the temperature of ‘the fivid changes very little between inlet and outlet, and since Te has been assumed to be equal : ‘to tho exit temperatiire, the overall gradient between the heat sink-and the Stream being: : : ‘cooled is small: Ta reality, Tq is closer'to room temperature, as the condenser probably = operates ising ambient cooling water: In such case, the losses in the condenser would be : larget. The ideal work, calculated using Ty = 300 I, transtates the entropy generation inte : ‘a more tangible quantity, work. This is an estimate of the work that, would be produced if S {the corresponding entropy generation term were driven fo zer6. The total lost works is about the same as the. work, produced, which is another way of saying that the plant operates at about half of itd maxirou efficiency. If we should commit the resources to improve the process, most effort should focus on the boiler and the turbine, since these are the major contributors to lost work. Improving the turbine amounts to replacing th with a unit with 2S patter efficiency. With respect to the boiler, one, must, reconsider the: entire design of the’ = plant in order to achieve a more efficient operation. x Z 6.8 Refrigeration 301 6.8 Refrigeration To achieve temperatures below ambient we must use some type of refrigeration. In general, this requires work in order to maintain a temperature gradient between the desired low temperature and that of the surroundings. A common design is based on a familiar principle: if we are wet and sit by a breeze, it feels cool. This is because evaporation requires heat and this is drawn from our body, causing the temperature to drop. The breeze accelerates the evaporation rate by removing vapors from the immediate vicinity of the liquid, thus intensifying the cool feeling of coolness. However, it is the evaporation, not the breeze, that is responsible for the main effect, ‘This situation can be replicated experimentally by expanding @ liquid into the vapor-liquid region. As we saw in Example 6.17, if a compressed liquid is throttled (or expanded through a turbine) into the two-phase region, the temperature drops to the saturation temperature that corresponds to the pressure of the expanded liquid. Accordingly, the temperature is controlled by the pressure of the expanded liquid. ‘This phenomenon forms the principle of operation of ‘most refrigeration processes, from household refrigerators and to air-conditioning units to industrial cryogenic processes. The basic vapor compression cycle is shown in Figure 6-12. Compressed liquid (stream 1) is throttled to lower pressure such that Qc heat out, 4 valve evaporator chilled warm Figure 6-12: Vapor-compression refrigeration cycle,302 Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems the state at the exit of the valve is a vapor-liquid mixture (state 2), This cold stream passes through a heat exchanger in which the vapor-liquid mixture evaporates by drawing heat from the warm stream that is to be cooled. The refrigerant exits the evaporator as saturated vapor (stream 3). To return to throttling, the vapor must be compressed. The state at the exit of the compressor is superheated vapor (state 4). To regenerate the compressed liquid, the vapor is condensed in a heat exchanger (condenser), which completes the cycle. In terms of energy exchanges, the cycle absorbs heat in the evaporator, consumes work in the compressor, and rejects heat in the condenser. The net effect is to “pump” heat from the low temperature of the evaporator to the higher temperature in the condenser through the input of work. This cycle is essentially the reverse of the Rankine power plant. The throttling valve may be replaced by an expander; this would accomplish the expansion while also producing some work, which could be used towards the compression. Most units utilize a throttling valve instead because it is much simpler to operate and maintain, but also because the amount of work that can be extracted from the expansion of a liquid is rather small. Refrigeration cycles are often represented on the PH chart, which may also be used to perform a graphical solution of the energy balances. Figure 6-13 shows the path of the vapor compression, cycle on this chart. Ignoring pressure drops in pipes ‘and heat exchangers, the cycle operates between two pressures, a high pressure that is achieved by the compressor, and a lower pressure that is accomplished by throttling. On the PH chart throttling is represented by a vertical line at constant enthalpy. Heat transfer in the evaporator and in the condenser takes place at con- stant pressure. For a reversible compressor, the path would follow a line of constant entropy; for a real compressor with an efficiency less than 100%, the compressed yapor emerges hotter and to the right of the isentropic path. The temperature of the evaporator is controlled by the throttling pressure. The lower this pressure, the colder the temperature, It is generally desirable, however, to maintain the pressure in the evaporator near or above atmospheric in order to avoid the expense of vacuura equipment. Thermodynamic Analysis of Refrigeration The energy balance on the refrigeration cycle is, Qp+Qo+We= (6.66) where Qp is the amount of heat removed from the evaporator (Qz >0), Qc is the amount of heat rejected in the condenser (Qc <0), and We is the work for compression (Wo > 0). The entropy balance is obtained by noting that the refrig- erant operates as a cycle and thus does not contribute to the generation of entropy. 6.8 Refrigeration 303 enthalpy Figure 6-13: Refrigeration cycle on the PH graph ‘Treating the evaporator and the condenser as baths at temperatures Tp and Te respectively, the entropy generation is , Seon = FE — Fe" (6.67) The performance of refrigeration cycles is assessed via the coefficient of performance (cop), which is defined as the amount of heat extracted in the evaporator over the amount of work in the compressor: _ 1@z| _ a cop = Ft We (6.68) ‘This ratio represents the refrigeration capacity over the refrigeration “cost” in terms of work, Unlike the efficiency of the power plant, the coefficient of performance is not restricted to be less than one. Its maximum value is, however, limited by the second law. To determine the limiting value of the coefficient of performance, we304 Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems solve the entropy balance for Qo, substitute into the energy balance and solve the resulting equation for the ratio Qz/W; we Sind: Te To — Te + (Sgn To Pe)/ Qe ‘The quantity (Seen To Te)/ Qz in the denominator is positive, which implies that entropy generation decreases the coefficient of performance. The maximum value of the coefficient of performance is obtained under reversible operation. Setting Sgou = 0 we find cop = (6.69) Te mex” To ~ Ta’ (6.70) cop ‘This is the maximum coefficient of performance and corresponds to a Carnot refrig- erator that operates reversibly between temperatures Ts and To. Example 6:21: Household: Refrigerator . Estimate the maximum coefficient 'of performance of a household refrigerator. Solution The lowest temperature in a refrigerator is in the freezer, which is typically main= tained so that it does not exceed —-15.°C. We assume Ty = ~15 °C = 268K. The condeniset js air cooled and we will assume Tr ~ 300 K. The maximum coefficient of performance is 4 258 °Plnax’ 300 — 258 ‘That is, under reversible operation, each kJ consumed in the compressor pumps 6.14 ki of heat in the evaporator. Actual appliances have a coefficient. of performance closer to 4. = 614. Example 6.22: Ammonia Refrigerator : Design a vapor compression cycle using ammonia, as the refrigerant. that, will be used to maintain the temperature of a stream at 20°C. The condenser is. air cooled and the ‘ambient temperature may be assumed to be 25.°C. Assume ‘a compressor efficiency of 80% and allow for 2-°C of temperature difference between streams in the evaporator and condenser for practical heat transfer. Solution. We use the NIST WebBook for the’ properties of ammonia, We will set, the evaporator at —22 °C, 2 °C below the required temperature. The saturation pressure at this temperature is 1.7379 bar. The condenser ties air at 26 °C.as ‘the cooling medium. ‘Allowing for a2 °C temperature difference, the temperature at, the exit of condenser must be. at least 28 °C. This corresponds to satiiration pressure 10.993 bar afd sets the compression 6.8 Refrigeration 305 presstire’of the cycle. Thus we have determined the two pressures of the cycle. We set the state at the-exit of the condenser to be saturated liquid, and at thie exit of the evaporator to be saturated vapor. With reference to Figure 6-12; the states of streams 1 and 3 are fixed (saturated phases at known pressure) and their properties are shown below (also notice that the pressure of all streams are known): 1 2 3 4 T (°C) 2B. 9a 99 P (bar) 10.993 1.7379 1.7379 10.993 ‘HA (ki /ke) 475.25 1578.1 $ (kJ/kg K):, 1:9281 6.4067 Phase sat 1, sat V ‘The remaining unknown stréamis are calculated by performing standard energy balances around the compressor and the throttling valve. Compressor. It. will be convenient. to use the NIST WebBook io tabulate énthalpy: and entropy at 10.993 bar over small increments of temperatute. This will facilitate the inter- Polations needed in the calculation of the compressor. The following dite: wore obtained at 20°C incréiments: 10.993 bar TCC) HO [130 [150 “Htki/kg). | 1848.3 | 1897.6 | 1946.9 Bel /ke KY | 64061 | 6.5318 | 6.6509 For isentropic operation, the exit state’ is obtained by i i i y interpolation at Ps = 10. Sq = 53 = 6.4067 kJ /ke K. We firtd, : a sped Ty = 110.096 C,, Py =10.993 bar, : Hy =1848.54 kJ/kg, Sy = 6.4067 kJ/kg. K. ‘The reversible work is é W'S = 1848.54 — 1578.1 = 270,436 ki /ke, and the enthalpy of stream 4 is found to be : : Soy Hy = 1578.1+ T0486 916.1 kJ/kg. O8 ‘The remaining properties of streain 4 are obtained by intierpolati i Pe = 10: Hy = 1916.1 kJ/kg. We find y, interpolation ‘at F’4.="10:993 bar, Ty = 137.5 °C, «Sy = 6.5764 kJ /keg K. Theottling valve, Strain 2 is a vapor-liquid mixture with Hy ~ Hy = 475 fy = Hy = 475.25 kd /ke K enthalpy and entropy of the saturated phases is : mee Hy, = 242.67 “Hy = 1578.1 (kl /ke) «$i, = 1.0896 Sy. 6.4067 cd/kg K).306 Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems ‘The liquid fraction is obtained by the lever rule: ABT8.1 = 475.25 = = 0.826, 1578-1 = 242.67 m1. and the entropy of stream 2 is” Sy = (0.826)(1.0896) + (1 — 0.826)(6.4007) = 2.0148 kJ/kg K. ‘Summary of streams. The complete table.of streams is shown. below: 1 2 3 i UE TCO) 28 “QB BTS P (bar) 10.993 1.7379 1.7379. 10.993 FE (kdl) 475.25 475.03 1578.1 1916.1 8 (kl /kg K).. 1.9281 2.0148 6.4067 6.5764 Phase sat L ‘(ep = 0.826) sat V_ s/h V Having evaluated all streams, we proceed to calculate the energy and entropy balances: Energy balances. The energy balances in the evaporator, ‘condenser, and compressor are: Hy ~ Hy 1108.07 kJ/kg Hy- He = 1440.85. kJ/kg Hy — Hy 338. kd /ke Qn/ Wes = 326 = i fe ce is estimated using Ty = 20 C= 253.15 K, and Fee eae Sond K sonrmponding tothe temporatr ol tho bath hae exchange hat with tho evaporator and condenser; respectively, We find, 253.15 max. 299.18 Entropy balances. The entropy balances are: : 83 ~ So Qu/Te 0.034523, kJ/kg K 5.50 cop! Evaporator Spex Condenser Syn = Sr Si = QofTo =. 0.16818 ki /kg K Compressor Syn = . Si = Se 0.1697. kd /kg K Throttling Spon S32 Sy = 0.0867. ki/ke K ‘Total : 0.459108 ‘Phe main contributions come from the compressor and the condenser.. The throttling valve contributes relatively little, corresponding to lost, work of (0.0867 kJ/kg K)(800 K) = 96 kJ/kg, or about 7% of the work in the compzessor. The contribution from the evaporator js also small because of the small temperature differential between the.refrigerant, whose temperdtuiie ‘stays constant during evaporation, and:the chilled ‘stream, which has beet assumed to be at 20 °C. By contrast, the condenser operates under a larger temperature difference, air at 25 °C and superheated ammonia vapor at 137.5 °C, 6.8 Refrigeration 307 Refrigerants Refrigerants are classified by a code of the form RXYZ, where XYZ is a unique number assigned to the fluid. These codes are assigned by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Water, for example is given the refrigerant code R718. Some common refrigerants are given in Table 6-1.5 In principle any fluid can be used as refrigerant in a vapor compression cycle, however, some physical and practical limitations apply. For example, water freezes at 0 °C, therefore it cannot be used in subfreezing temperatures. Other imitations are imposed by practical operating constraints. Tt is generally desirable to operate at pressures above ambient. Lower pressures require vacuum equipment, which is more expensive. A second consideration is with respect to the operation of the condenser. 'The temperature at the compressor exit must be at least 20 °C or so to allow the use of ambient water or air as the coolant. This temperature determines the saturation pressure in the condenser and the minimum pressure that must be achieved by compression. The saturation pressures in the evaporator and condenser set the pressures of the cycle and the demand of the compressor. For this reason, the saturation pressure is the most important property of the fluid with respect to reftigeration. Figure 6-14 shows the saturation pressure of some common refrigerants. If we are designing a refrigeration cycle with an evaporator at ~20 °C, we could select ammonia, R12 or R134, which are very similar to each other. This would place the evaporator pressure at about 1 bar and the condenser at about 10 bar, requiring, a compression ratio of 10:1. Ethane, on the other hand, would not be appropriate because it would require operation between ~ 10 and 60 bar, a considerably higher pressure, If the evaporator requires much lower temperatures, say, —100 °C, ethane Table 6-1: Some commen refrigerants and their ASHRAE designation. ASHRAE # Name Formula RIO Carbon tetrachloride CCl RI2 Dichlorodifluoromethane COLE, Ri4 1,2-DiehlorotetrafMuoroethane CaF yCla Ri3da 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane CoHoF 4 R290 Propane C3Hy RTI7 Ammonia NH R718 Water H20 R744 Carbon dioxide CO, 8, For an explanation of the naming algorithm see www. epa.gov/ozone/geninto/nunbers html.Chapter 6 Balances in Open Systems 308 ! ! x 1000 100 = = > 4 3 € 8 : O1lg ‘ethylene E R12 Thane ne 001 3 8 : X\ a Ridda PPR , paren te so°C 0S 50°C 100°C 150°C “a an va 0,002 0.004 0.006 0,008 .t urge) Figure 6-14: Saturation pressure of some common refrigerants. (normal boiling point about ~89 °C) would be a good candidate. This cycle would require a pressure of about 0.5 bar in the evaporator but at Teast, 40 bar jn the condenser. If the condenser is operated at lower pressure, condensation will require refrigeration. This is often more desirable than operating a single stage up » a very high pressure. This cascade design then, uses two refrigerators, one to pro} ce the required low temperature, and another to condense the compressed vapor of the low-temperature refrigerant. NOTE Refrigerants and the Environment : Aan important consideration in choosing the refigerant is chemical toxcity Chlorftueroearbors, or CFCs, have the general chemical formula CoFmClonsa-m and are remarkably inert, These fluids were developed after World War lI and found widespread use as refrigerants (known 6.9 Liquefaction 309 under the trade name Freon), but also as fire retardants and as propellants in household spray cans. An unintended consequence of their inert nature is that they do not decompose easily and have long lifetimes in the atmosphere, where they participate in reactions that deplete the ozone in the stratosphere: Since the late 70s their use is being phased out, Their replacements are molecules that are not fully halogenated but contain some hydrogen, One such molecule is tetrafluoroethane, also known as HFC-134a, The ozone impact of gases is reported as its ozone depletion potential (ODP), which measures the chemical effect of the molecule relative to that of trichlorofluoromethane (R11), Another property is the global warm- ing potential (GWP), which characterizes the impact of the gas on global warming relative to that of carbon dioxide. For a jist of ODP and GWP factors of various refrigerants, see Www. epa.gov/ozone/science/ods/index. ti 6.9 iquefaction One application of refrigeration is in the liquefaction of air, nitrogen, and other gases that under ambient conditions are above their critical temperature. There are several industrial applications for liquefied gases. The separation of air into its components by distillation is the basis for the industrial production of inert gases such as nitrogen, argon, and helium. Liquid oxygen is used as a rocket fuel; natural gas (mostly methane) is liquefied for the purposes of increasing its density for transportation and storage purposes; liquid nitrogen provides a convenient heat bath for low temperature experiments. ‘To appreciate the magnitude of the refrigeration problem, consider the liquefaction of nitrogen, Figure 6-15 shows the qualitative P7T graph of nitrogen. At ambient conditions (state A) nitrogen is a gas above its critical temperature (—144 °C). To produce liquid nitrogen at 1 bar, the temperature must be lowered to —196 °C, its normal boiling point. ‘The system can be brought into the two-phase region by throttling from a high pressure (state D). ‘To produce such state, the nitrogen nmst be compressed (state B) and then cooled under constant pressure. Part of the required cooling can be done with water, but this will only cool the hot vapor to about 25 °C (state C). Further cooling to state D requires refrigeration. This may be provided by the cold vapor that is produced at the exit of the throttling valve. A process that accomplishes these steps is shown in Figure 6-16. Liquid nitrogen is produced by throttling the compressed stream 5 to 1 bar (stream 6). The liquid fraction (stream 7) is collected as the product, and the vapor (stream 8) is used to chill the compressed nitrogen vapor, after it has been cooled to room tempera- ture by a precooler using ambient water. This vapor is then mixed with the fresh nitrogen stream and is recycled through the process. ‘This is known as the Linde liquefaction process. There is no external refrigeration, instead, nitrogen acts as its