Chiller

A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression, adsorption
refrigeration, or absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger
to cool equipment, or another process stream (such as air or process water). As a necessary by-product,
refrigeration creates waste heat that must be exhausted to ambience, or for greater efficiency, recovered for
heating purposes.[1] Vapor compression chillers may use any of a number of different types of compressors.
Most common today are the hermetic scroll, semi-hermetic screw, or centrifugal compressors. The
condensing side of the chiller can be either air or water cooled. Even when liquid cooled, the chiller is often
cooled by an induced or forced draft cooling tower. Absorption and adsorption chillers require a heat source
to function.[2][3]

Chilled water is used to cool and dehumidify air in mid- to large-size commercial, industrial, and
institutional facilities. Water or liquid chillers can be liquid-cooled, air-cooled, or evaporatively cooled.
Water or liquid-cooled systems can provide efficiency and environmental impact advantages over air-cooled
York International liquid-cooled chiller
systems.[4]

Contents
Use in air conditioning
Use in industry
Vapor-compression chiller technology
How absorption technology works
Industrial chiller technology
Industrial chiller selection
Refrigerants
See also
References
External links

Use in air conditioning

In air conditioning systems, chilled coolant, usually chilled water mixed with ethylene glycol, from a chiller in an air
conditioning or cooling plant is typically distributed to heat exchangers, or coils, in air handlers or other types of
terminal devices which cool the air in their respective space(s). The water is then recirculated to the chiller to be
recooled. These cooling coils transfer sensible heat and latent heat from the air to the chilled water, thus cooling and
usually dehumidifying the air stream. A typical chiller for air conditioning applications is rated between 50  kW
(170 thousand BTU/h) and 7 MW (24 million BTU/h), and at least two manufacturers (York international and LG) can
produce chillers capable of up to 21 MW (72 million BTU/h) cooling.[5][6] Chilled water temperatures (leaving from the
chiller) usually range from 1 to 7 °C (34 to 45 °F),[7] depending upon application requirements.[8] Commonly, chillers
receive water at 12°C (entering temperature), and cool it to 7°C (leaving temperature).[9][10] A liquid (glycol based) chiller with an
air cooled condenser on the rooftop
When the chillers for air conditioning systems are not operable or they are in need of repair or replacement, emergency of a medium size commercial
chillers may be used to supply chilled water. Rental chillers are mounted on a trailer so that they can be quickly building
deployed to the site. Large chilled water hoses are used to connect between rental chillers and air conditioning
systems.[11]

Use in industry
In industrial application, chilled water or other coolant liquid from the chiller is pumped through process or laboratory equipment. Industrial chillers are
used for controlled cooling of products, mechanisms and factory machinery in a wide range of industries. They are often used in the plastic industries,
injection and blow molding, metal working cutting oils, welding equipment, die-casting and machine tooling, chemical processing, pharmaceutical
formulation, food and beverage processing, paper and cement processing, vacuum systems, X-ray diffraction, power supplies and gas turbine power
generation stations (see Turbine inlet air cooling#Vapour compression chiller), analytical equipment, semiconductors, compressed air and gas cooling. They
are also used to cool high-heat specialized items such as MRI machines and lasers, and in hospitals, hotels and campuses.

Chillers for industrial applications can be centralized, where a single chiller serves multiple cooling needs, or decentralized where each application or
machine has its own chiller. Each approach has its advantages. It is also possible to have a combination of both centralized and decentralized chillers,
especially if the cooling requirements are the same for some applications or points of use, but not all.

Chilled water is used to cool and dehumidify air in mid- to large-size commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) facilities. Liquid chillers can be liquid-
cooled, air-cooled, or evaporatively cooled. Water or liquid-cooled chillers incorporate the use of cooling towers which improve the chillers' thermodynamic
effectiveness as compared to air-cooled chillers. This is due to heat rejection at or near the air's wet-bulb temperature rather than the higher, sometimes
much higher, dry-bulb temperature. Evaporatively cooled chillers offer higher efficiencies than air-cooled chillers but lower than liquid-cooled chillers.

Liquid-cooled chillers are typically intended for indoor installation and operation, and are cooled by a separate condenser water loop and connected to
outdoor cooling towers to expel heat to the atmosphere.

Air-cooled and evaporative cooled chillers are intended for outdoor installation and operation. Air-cooled machines are directly cooled by ambient air being
mechanically circulated directly through the machine's condenser coil to expel heat to the atmosphere. Evaporative cooled machines are similar, except they
implement a mist of water over the condenser coil to aid in condenser cooling, making the machine more efficient than a traditional air-cooled machine. No
remote cooling tower is typically required with either of these types of packaged air-cooled or evaporatively cooled chillers.
Where available, cold water readily available in nearby water bodies might be used directly for cooling, replace or supplement cooling towers. The deep
water source cooling system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an example. It uses cold lake water to cool the chillers, which in turn are used to cool city
buildings via a district cooling system. The return water is used to warm the city's drinking water supply, which is desirable in this cold climate. Whenever a
chiller's heat rejection can be used for a productive purpose, in addition to the cooling function, very high thermal effectiveness is possible.

Vapor-compression chiller technology

A vapor compression chiller typically uses one of four types of compressor: Reciprocating compression, scroll compression, screw-driven compression, and
centrifugal compression are all mechanical machines that can be powered by electric motors, steam, or gas turbines. Using electric motors in a semi-
hermetic or hermetic configuration is the most common method of driving the compressors since electric motors can be effectively and easily cooled by the
refrigerant, without requiring fuel supply or exhaust ventilation and no shaft seals are required as the motor can operate in the refrigerant, reducing
maintenance, leaks, operating costs and downtime, although open compressors are sometimes used. They produce their cooling effect via the reverse-
Rankine cycle, also known as vapor-compression. With evaporative cooling heat rejection, their coefficients of performance (COPs) are very high; typically
4.0 or more.

COP

Current vapor-compression chiller technology is based on the "reverse-Rankine" cycle known as vapor-compression.
See the attached diagram which
outlines the key components of the chiller system.

Key components of the chiller:

Refrigeration compressors are essentially a pump for refrigerant gas. The capacity of the compressor,
and hence the
chiller cooling capacity, is measured in kilowatts input (kW), Horse power input (HP), or
volumetric flow (m3/h, ft3/h).
The mechanism for compressing refrigerant gas differs between
compressors, and each has its own application.
Common refrigeration compressors include
reciprocating, scroll, screw, or centrifugal. These can be powered by electric
motors, steam turbines, or
gas turbines. Compressors can have an integrated motor from a specific manufacturer, or be
open drive--allowing the connection to another type of mechanical connection. Compressors can also be either
Hermetic (welded closed) or semihermetic (bolted together).

In recent years, application of variable-speed drive (VSD) technology has increased efficiencies of vapor
compression
chillers. The first VSD was applied to centrifugal compressor chillers in the late 1970s and
has become the norm as the Diagram showing the components
cost of energy has increased. Now, VSDs are being applied to rotary screw
and scroll-technology compressors. of a liquid-cooled chiller

Condensers can be air-cooled, liquid-cooled, or evaporative. The condenser is a heat exchanger which
allows heat to
migrate from the refrigerant gas to either water or air. Air cooled condenser are
manufactured from copper tubes (for the refrigerant flow) and aluminium
fins (for the air flow). Each
condenser has a different material cost and they vary in terms of efficiency. With evaporative cooling
condensers, their
coefficients-of-performance (COPs) are very high; typically 4.0 or more. Air cooled condensers are installed and operated outdoors and are cooled with
outside air, that is often forced through the condenser using electric fans. Water or liquid cooled condensers are cooled with water that is often in turn
cooled by a cooling tower.
The expansion device or refrigerant metering device (RMD) restricts the flow of the liquid refrigerant
causing a pressure
drop that vaporizes some of the refrigerant; this vaporization absorbs heat from nearby liquid refrigerant.
The RMD is
located immediately prior to the evaporator so that the cold gas in the evaporator can absorb
heat from the water in the
evaporator. There is a sensor for the RMD on the evaporator outlet side which
allows the RMD to regulate the
refrigerant flow based on the chiller design requirement.

Evaporators can be plate type or shell and tube type. The evaporator is a heat exchanger which allows
the heat energy to
migrate from the water stream into the refrigerant gas. During the state change of the remaining
liquid to gas, the
refrigerant can absorb large amounts of heat without changing temperature.

How absorption technology works

The thermodynamic cycle of an absorption chiller is driven by a heat source; this heat is usually delivered to the chiller
via steam, hot water, or combustion. Compared to electrically powered chillers, an absorption chiller has very low
electrical power requirements – very rarely above 15  kW combined consumption for both the solution pump and the
refrigerant pump. However, its heat input requirements are large, and its COP is often 0.5 (single-effect) to 1.0 (double-
The shell-and-tube heat exchanger
effect). For the same cooling capacity, an absorption chiller requires a much larger cooling tower than a vapor-
which transfers heat from refrigerant
compression chiller. However, absorption chillers, from an energy-efficiency point of view, excel where cheap, low-
to water which is circulated through
grade heat or waste heat is readily available.[12] In extremely sunny climates, solar energy has been used to operate
cooling tower, and rejects heat.
absorption chillers.

The single-effect absorption cycle uses water as the refrigerant and lithium bromide as the absorbent. It is the strong
affinity that these two substances have for one another that makes the cycle work. The entire process occurs in almost a complete vacuum.

1. Solution Pump : A dilute lithium bromide solution (60% concentration) is collected in the bottom of the absorber shell. From here, a hermetic solution
pump moves the solution through a shell and tube heat exchanger for preheating.
2. Generator : After exiting the heat exchanger, the dilute solution moves into the upper shell. The solution surrounds a bundle of tubes which carries
either steam or hot water. The steam or hot water transfers heat into the pool of dilute lithium bromide solution. The solution boils, sending refrigerant
vapor upward into the condenser and leaving behind concentrated lithium bromide. The concentrated lithium bromide solution moves down to the heat
exchanger, where it is cooled by the weak solution being pumped up to the generator.
3. Condenser : The refrigerant vapor migrates through mist eliminators to the condenser tube bundle. The refrigerant vapor condenses on the tubes. The
heat is removed by the cooling water which moves through the inside of the tubes. As the refrigerant condenses, it collects in a trough at the bottom of
the condenser.
4. Evaporator : The refrigerant liquid moves from the condenser in the upper shell down to the evaporator in the lower shell and is sprayed over the
evaporator tube bundle. Due to the extreme vacuum of the lower shell [6 mm Hg (0.8 kPa) absolute pressure], the refrigerant liquid boils at
approximately 39 °F (4 °C), creating the refrigerant effect. (This vacuum is created by hygroscopic action – the strong affinity lithium bromide has for
water – in the Absorber directly below.)
5. Absorber : As the refrigerant vapor migrates to the absorber from the evaporator, the strong lithium bromide solution from the generator is sprayed over
the top of the absorber tube bundle. The strong lithium bromide solution actually pulls the refrigerant vapor into solution, creating the extreme vacuum in
the evaporator. The absorption of the refrigerant vapor into the lithium bromide solution also generates heat which is removed by the cooling water. Now
 the dilute lithium bromide solution collects in the bottom of the lower shell, where it flows down to the solution pump. The chilling cycle is now completed
and the process begins once again.[13]

Industrial chiller technology

Industrial chillers typically come as complete, packaged, closed-loop systems, including the chiller unit, condenser, and pump station with recirculating
pump, expansion valve, no-flow shutdown, internal cold water control. The internal tank helps maintain cold water temperature and prevents temperature
spikes from occurring. Closed-loop industrial chillers recirculate a clean coolant or clean water with condition additives at a constant temperature and
pressure to increase the stability and reproducibility of water-cooled machines and instruments. The water flows from the chiller to the application's point
of use and back.

If the water temperature differentials between inlet and outlet are high, then a large external water tank would be used to store the cold water. In this case
the chilled water is not going directly from the chiller to the application, but goes to the external water tank which acts as a sort of "temperature buffer." The
cold water tank is much larger than the internal water goes from the external tank to the application and the return hot water from the application goes back
to the external tank, not to the chiller.

The less common open loop industrial chillers control the temperature of a liquid in an open tank or sump by constantly recirculating it. The liquid is drawn
from the tank, pumped through the chiller and back to the tank. In industrial water chillers is the use of water cooling instead of air cooling. In this case the
condenser does not cool the hot refrigerant with ambient air, but uses water that is cooled by a cooling tower. This development allows a reduction in energy
requirements by more than 15% and also allows a significant reduction in the size of the chiller, due to the small surface area of the water-based condenser
and the absence of fans. Additionally, the absence of fans allows for significantly reduced noise levels.

Most industrial chillers use refrigeration as the media for cooling, but some rely on simpler techniques such as air or water flowing over coils containing the
coolant to regulate temperature. Water is the most commonly used coolant within process chillers, although coolant mixtures (mostly water with a coolant
additive to enhance heat dissipation) are frequently employed.[14]

Industrial chiller selection

Important specifications to consider when searching for industrial chillers include the total life cycle cost, the power source, chiller IP rating, chiller cooling
capacity, evaporator capacity, evaporator material, evaporator type, condenser material, condenser capacity, ambient temperature, motor fan type, noise
level, internal piping materials, number of compressors, type of compressor, number of fridge circuits, coolant requirements, fluid discharge temperature,
and COP (the ratio between the cooling capacity in RT to the energy consumed by the whole chiller in kW). For medium to large chillers this should range
from 3.5 to 7.0, with higher values meaning higher efficiency. In the US, chiller efficiency is often specified in kilowatts per refrigeration ton (kW/RT).

Process pump specifications that are important to consider include the process flow, process pressure, pump material, elastomer and mechanical shaft seal
material, motor voltage, motor electrical class, motor IP rating and pump rating. If the cold water temperature is lower than −5 °C, then a special pump
needs to be used to be able to pump the high concentrations of ethylene glycol. Other important specifications include the internal water tank size and
materials and full load current.
Control panel features that should be considered when selecting between industrial chillers include the local control panel, remote control panel, fault
indicators, temperature indicators, and pressure indicators.

Additional features include emergency alarms, hot gas bypass, city water switchover, and casters.[13]

Demountable chillers are also an option for deployment in remote areas and where the conditions may be hot and dusty.[15]

If noise levels of the chiller are acoustically unacceptable, noise control engineers will implement sound attenuators to reduce chiller noise levels. Larger
chillers will typically require an array of sound attenuators sometimes known as a silencer bank.

Refrigerants
A vapor-compression chiller uses a refrigerant internally as its working fluid. Many refrigerants options are available; when selecting a chiller, the
application cooling temperature requirements and refrigerant's cooling characteristics need to be matched. Important parameters to consider are the
operating temperatures and pressures.

There are several environmental factors that concern refrigerants, and also affect the future availability for chiller applications. This is a key consideration in
intermittent applications where a large chiller may last for 25 years or more. Ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) of the
refrigerant need to be considered. ODP and GWP data for some of the more common vapor-compression refrigerants (noting that many of these
refrigerants are highly flammable and/or toxic):[16]
 Refrigerant ODP GWP
R12 1 2400
R123 0.012 76
R134a 0 1300
R22 0.05 1700
R290 (propane) 0 3
R401a 0.027 970
R404a 0 3260
R407a 0 2000
R407c 0 1525
R408a 0.016 3020
R409a 0.039 1290
R410a 0 1725
R500 0.7 ???
R502 0.18 5600
R507 0 3300
R600a 0 3

R744 (CO2)[17] 0 1

R717 (ammonia) 0 0

R718 (water)[18] 0 0

R12 is the ODP reference. CO2 is the GWP reference

The refrigerants used in the chillers sold in Europe are mainly R410a (70%), R407c (20%) and R134a (10%).[19]

See also
Tube tool Evaporative cooling
Architectural engineering Free cooling
BTU Heat Pump
Building services engineering HVAC
Chemical engineering Mechanical engineering
Cooling tower MOKON
 Pipefitter
References
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2. "Types of Chillers - A Thomas Buying Guide" (https://www.thomasnet.co
m/articles/machinery-tools-supplies/types-of-chillers).
www.thomasnet.com.
3. Evans, Paul (September 26, 2017). "Absorption Chiller, How it works" (ht
tps://theengineeringmindset.com/absorption-chiller-works/).
4. III, Herbert W. Stanford (2016-04-19). HVAC Water Chillers and Cooling
Towers: Fundamentals, Application, and Operation, Second Edition (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=xPDRBQAAQBAJ&q=water+chiller&pg=
PR17). CRC Press. p. xvii. ISBN 9781439862117.
5. https://www.york.com/commercial-equipment/chilled-water-
systems/water-cooled-chillers/yd_ch/yd-dual-centrifugal-chiller
6. https://www.lg.com/global/business/centrifugal-chiller
7. https://www.trane.com/content/dam/Trane/Commercial/global/products-
systems/equipment/chillers/water-cooled/CTV-PRC007R-
EN_03142020.PDF
8. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/2008051716291
7/http://ashrae.org/publications/page/158). Archived from the original (htt
p://www.ashrae.org/publications/page/158) on 2008-05-17. Retrieved
2008-05-21.
9. https://www.trane.com/content/dam/Trane/Commercial/EMEIA/sales-
offices/Turkey/Urunler%2520ve%2520Sistemler/Product/CGWH-
CATALOG.pdf
10. https://www.daikin.ch/content/dam/document-library/installation-
manuals/as/air-cooled-chiller/ewad-bjynn/EWAD550-
C21BJYNN_IM_EN_Installation%2520manuals_English.pdf
External links
Chiller Energy Consumption Calculator (requires Java) (http://www.flowmeterdirectory.com/energy_consumption_calculator.html)
Seasonal thermal energy storage
11. Request for Proposal #946 - Emergency Chillers Rentals (http://www.mo
ntclair.edu/news/media/originals/Ad_Bid_946.pdf) (PDF). Montclair State
University. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
12. "Converting Low-Grade Heat into Electrical Power" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20171021180310/http://www.eng.usf.edu/~hchen4/Cogeneration.
htm). Archived from the original (http://www.eng.usf.edu/~hchen4/Cogen
eration.htm) on 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
13. "matsu.com.au" (http://matsu.com.au/chiller-range/chiller-range-2).
matsu.com.au.
14. III, Herbert W. Stanford (2016-04-19). HVAC Water Chillers and Cooling
Towers: Fundamentals, Application, and Operation, Second Edition (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=xPDRBQAAQBAJ&q=%3D+additive&pg
=PR17). CRC Press. p. 113. ISBN 9781439862117.
15. "Summit Matsu Chillers - Chillers for Mining - Summit Matsu Chillers" (htt
p://www.matsu.com.au/mining). Summit Matsu Chillers.
16. "Refrigerants" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130314143622/http://www.
engineeringtoolbox.com/Refrigerants-Environment-Properties-d_1220.ht
ml). Archived from the original (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/Refri
gerants-Environment-Properties-d_1220.html) on 14 March 2013.
Retrieved 5 July 2013.
17. "R744 (Carbon dioxide)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130915075907/
http://www.linde-gas.com/en/products_and_supply/refrigerants/natural_r
efrigerants/r744_carbondioxide.html). Archived from the original (http://w
ww.linde-gas.com/en/products_and_supply/refrigerants/natural_refrigera
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2013.
18. Kilicarslon, Ali; Müller, Norbert (18 July 2005). "A comparative study of
water as a refrigerant with some current refrigerants" (http://www.egr.ms
u.edu/mueller/NMReferences/MuellerKilicarslan2005_IntJEnergyRes_Co
mparativeStudyR718.pdf) (PDF). Int. J. Energy Res. Wiley. 29 (11): 947–
959. doi:10.1002/er.1084 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fer.1084).
19. Eurovent Market Intelligence https://www.eurovent-marketintelligence.eu/
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