CO2 (R-744)

Carbon dioxide was a commonly used refrigerant from the late nineteenth and well into the twentieth

century. Owing to its complete harmlessness it was the generally preferred choice for usage onboard

ships, while ammonia was more common in stationary applications. With the advent of the “Freons”

and R-12 in the first place, CO2 was rapidly abandoned, and it has nearly been forgotten in the

course of the last 40–50 years. The main reasons for this development were certainly the rapid

loss of capacity at high cooling water temperatures in the tropics, and, not the least, the failure of

the manufacturers to follow modern trends in compressor design toward more compact and priceeffective

high-speed types. Time is now ripe for a reassessment of this refrigerant for application

with present-day technology.

CO2 is naturally present everywhere in our environment. Air contains about 0.35 parts per

thousand of it, in total nearly 300 billion tons for the whole atmosphere, and several hundred

billion tons per year circulate in the living biosphere. No complicated and time-consuming research

is needed to ascertain its complete harmlessness.

One may possibly object that CO2 is also a greenhouse gas, and this is of course correct, although

its GWP is defined as 1, and the GWPs of other refrigerants are indexed to it. But in reality, gas will

94 Refrigeration Systems and Applications

be used, which is already available as a waste product in unlimited quantity from other activities.

What we do is just to postpone its release. This is in principle good for the environment, like

planting a tree to bind carbon for a period of time.

With regard to personal safety, CO2 is at least as good as the best of halocarbons. It is nontoxic

and incombustible, of course. On release from the liquid form about half will evaporate while the

remainder becomes solid in the form of snow and can be removed with broom and dustpan, or

just left to sublimate. Most people are already familiar with the handling of “dry ice.” In the case

of accidental loss of a large quantity, a good ventilation system is required to eliminate any risk of

suffocation, in particular, in spaces below ground level. In this respect, the situation is the same as

for any large halocarbon plant.

It is sometimes asserted that the high pressure of CO2 could constitute a special danger in the

case of accidental rupture. Actually this is not so since the volume is so small. The explosion
energy, similar to the product P × V, is approximately the same for all systems with the same

capacity, regardless of the refrigerant used.

CO2 also has a number of further advantages such as the following:

• nonflammable, nonexplosive, nontoxic,

• low cost and good availability,

• having zero ODP and 1 as GWP,

• thermal stability,

• pressure close to the economically optimal level,

• greatly reduced compression ratio compared to conventional refrigerants,

• complete compatibility to normal lubricants and common machine construction materials,

• easy availability everywhere, independent of any supply monopoly, and

• simple operation and service, no “recycling” required, very low price.

Its only technical disadvantage is the high triple-point temperature and the low critical temperature.

Therefore, CO2 as a pure substance cannot be an alternative refrigerant.

CO2 is a refrigerant with a great potential for development of energy- and cost-effective systems.

Examples have demonstrated this for some applications and appropriate technology for other fields

will certainly be found. This substance comes very close to the ideal refrigerant and a rapid revival

of this popularity for usage over a wide field can be expected. CO2 now appears to be a substitute

for the following:

• R-13, R-13B1, and R-503 in very low-temperature refrigeration (retrofit and new),

• R-13, R-13B1, and R-503 in industrial process refrigeration (retrofit and new), and

• R-11, R-12, R-113, R-114, and R-115 in nonmechanical systems (retrofit and new).

2.10 Selection of Refrigerants

In the selection of an appropriate refrigerant for