Refrigeration

Refrigeration and Freezing

Refrigeration and cooling are two terms meaning
more or less the same thing.
Refrigeration is usually used to describe the
removal of heat from an enclosed space.
While cooling is used to describe the removal of
heat from a substance or object
 In both cases, there is a transfer of heat
from a body to a medium that will then
transfer the heat to another area or
substance.
The purpose of refrigeration is to lower the
temperature of material to reduce the rate of
chemical and enzymatic reactions, and cool
the surrounding areas.
Freezing
Freezing is a severe form of refrigeration that
will cause the product to cool to a point where
the water starts to freeze.
Freezing is used for long-term preservation
of biologically active materials. Products can
be stored for extended periods without
much deterioration.
 NATURAL REFRIGERATION
Natural refrigeration is obtained when ice or
ice and salt mixtures are used to absorb heat
from the surrounding air.

The heat of ice fusion is 334.9 kJ/kg at 0°C.

The specific heat of ice is 2.0934 kJ/kg
MECHANICAL REFRIGERATION
Cooling caused by the rapid expansion of
gases is the primary means of refrigeration
today.
The technique of evaporative cooling has
been known for centuries, but the
fundamental methods of mechanical
refrigeration were only discovered in the
middle of the 19th century.
William Cullen at the University of Glasgow
demonstrated the first known artificial
refrigeration system in 1748.
Cullen let ethyl ether boil into a partial vacuum,
but he did not use the result for any practical
purpose.
 Ammonia , the widely used gas, liquefies at a
very low temperature and is thus able to
absorb more heat.
In spite of the successful use of ammonia,
it has a severe disadvantage, if it leaks, it is
unpleasant and toxic .
 Chemists searched for compounds that could be
used instead of ammonia. and succeeded in the
1920s, when a number of synthetic refrigerants
were developed.
One of these compounds was patented under
the brand name of Freon™
It is a simple compound that is manufactured by
substituting two chlorine and two fluorine atoms
for the four hydrogen atoms in methane (CH4).
The resulting dichlorofluoromethane (CCl2F2) .
CCl2F 2 is odorless and is toxic only in extremely
large doses.
Compression Refrigeration
A compression refrigeration system (see Figure)
consists of a compressor, a condenser, an
expansion device, and an evaporator.
Evaporated gas is compressed by a suitable
mechanical device and then pushed through a
condenser.
 c
Compressor b Condenser
a d

e Expansion
Evaporation
Valve
 Inside the condenser, heat is transferred to a
fluid that absorbs the heat and moves it away.
The cooled high-pressure vapor can be passed
through an expansion valve to a region of
lower pressure, where it will expand.
The energy for expansion is removed from
the area surrounding the evaporation coil.
The refrigerant in the reservoir below the
condenser is under high pressure.
It is forced to the region of low pressure
through an expansion valve.
The expansion valve opens automatically
upon a temperature-sensed signal.
It allows the refrigerant to pass into
the evaporating coil that is at low
pressure caused by the action of the
compressor.
The refrigerant absorbs heat from the
surrounding area to enable it to
evaporate. The area surrounding the
evaporator tubes cools
The vapor then passes to a compressor. Here,
the pressure is raised so that the vapor will be
able to condense.
The energy needed for condensation is
transferred to the water or air that flows over
the condensing system.
Both compression and expansion of the vapor
occur under isothermal conditions.
While the evaporation and condensations occur
under isobaric conditions.
Many refinements are made on the basic
operation to increase the efficiency of the system.
The Evaporating Coil
The evaporating coil absorbs heat for the
purpose of cooling.
In large systems in which ammonia is used, the
coils are made of iron or steel.
In smaller units, the coils are frequently made
of copper (when ammonia is not used).
 In compact coil designs, air is blown through the
coils to promote air circulation and heat transfer.
The “coil” can sometimes be long straight pipes, a
circular coil, or a shell and tube construction.
COMPRESSORS
Refrigerator compressors can be classified as
positive displacement types or dynamic types.
The positive displacement types are reciprocating
and rotary compressors.
While the centrifugal compressor represents the
dynamic type.
 Reciprocating compressors (pistons) are normally
selected for operations up to 300 kW refrigeration
capacities.
Centrifugal compressors are selected for
operations greater than 500 kW.
Screw compressors are used between the ranges.
The smaller vane compressors are frequently used
for small-scale refrigeration, such as in domestic
systems.
THE CONDENSER
The condenser is a heat exchanger in which
the heat that was absorbed in the
evaporator is transferred to air or water.
The combination of cooling and high
pressure will cause condensation of the
refrigerant.
Large systems frequently use double-tube
condensers that are cooled by water sprays.
The back-pressure-regulating valve, which is in the
suction line between the accumulator and the
compressor, will maintain a certain pressure and a
certain temperature in the evaporating coil.
REFRIGERANTS
A refrigerant is ”any substance that acts as a
cooling agent by absorbing heat from a body that
needs to be cooled”.
Primary refrigerants are substances that are part
of the refrigeration system that will absorb and
release heat during the refrigeration cycle.
Secondary refrigerants are substances that are
cooled by the primary refrigerants and are then
distributed to cool bodies remote from the
refrigeration system. Thus, they are heat transfer
fluids.
Characteristics of Refrigerants
Good refrigerants must have the following
properties:
1. be safe, nontoxic, and nonflammable
Characteristics of Refrigerants
Good refrigerants must have the following
properties:
1. be safe, nontoxic, and nonflammable
2. Have a high latent heat
3. Have a low specific volume of vapor
4. Have low viscosity
5. Have a low compression ratio
6. Maintain fairly low pressures at operating
temperatures
 7. Have a low specific heat of liquid.
8. Remain stable under normal usage

Refrigerants are compared at standard conditions

of –15°C for the evaporation temperature and 30°C
for the condensing temperature.
Ammonia
Ammonia is a natural refrigerant still used
extensively in large-scale industrial refrigeration
plants, because of its excellent thermodynamic
and thermo-physical characteristics.
Although ammonia has been used as refrigerant in
large plants for more than 120 years, its use now
is limited for small applications.
Desirable Characteristics of Ammonia:
1. Excellent thermodynamic and thermo physical
properties
2. Higher energy efficiency at most temperature
ranges
3. Known as oil tolerance
4. Good tolerance to water contamination
5. Simple and immediate leak detection
6. Fairly low cost
7. Lower plant investment, because smaller pipe
dimensions can be used
Disadvantages of Ammonia :
1. Toxic at low concentrations in air
2. No tolerance to some materials like copper
3. Will not mix with most known oils
4. High discharge temperatures
At high concentrations, ammonia is both
flammable and toxic. It is flammable at
concentrations of 15 to 30% by volume.
It is toxic at concentrations of 500 mg/l.
Other Synthetic Refrigerants
Freon
It is a simple compound produced by substituting
two chlorine and two fluorine atoms for the four
hydrogen atoms in methane (CH4).
The resulting dichlorofluoromethane (CCl2F2) is
odorless and is toxic only in extremely large
doses.
It is widely used in most air conditioning units
The depletion of the ozone layer, and the medical
and environmental problems that are caused by
Freon, makes it one of the most environmentally
undesirable products.
In fact, all substances containing chlorine
and bromine seem to deplete the ozone
layer.
There are many new refrigerants that are used as
replacements for Freon.
The major problem is to get the replacements to
work with the same efficiencies in systems that
were specifically designed for Freon.
The following compounds are part of the list of
possible Freon (R-12) alternatives
 R-134a
R-134a or 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane is widely
accepted as the most appropriate alternative.
It is a good match for replacing Freon in air-
conditioning systems operating at high and
medium temperature ranges.
INSULATION
The term insulation in refrigeration refers
to materials that can be applied to walls,
ceilings, floors, pipes, and tanks to reduce
the transfer of heat.
Air is still one of the best heat insulation
materials.
For this reason, most of the good
insulating materials are lightweight and
contain many small air cells
(e.g., corkboard, foam, foam glass,
urethane, and similar materials).
Convective and conductive heat transfer
can only take place if molecules are
present.
A perfect vacuum will stop both forms of
heat transfer, leaving only radiation
The vacuum bottle, with its silvered
surface and its hollow body that is under
vacuum, is one of the best-insulated
vessels that we can manufacture
 Proper insulation of cold storage rooms is
of utmost importance, since the cost of
refrigeration as a method of preservation
requires continuous input of energy.
The room must be well-insulated to
maintain the required low temperature to
protect the product in the event of an
interruption of the power supply.
The thickness of the insulation is calculated
with the temperature difference between
the ambient temperature and the cold
room in mind. It also depends upon the
type and cost of insulation.
 Defrosting
During the regular operation of cold
rooms, coils become coated with a layer
of ice, which decreases the heat transfer.
Any moisture in the air inside the cold
room will condense on the coldest body
inside the cold room, which is the
evaporation coil.
Several methods are used to remove the ice from
the coils.
The simplest, but most inefficient way, is to shut
the refrigeration off and open the door, letting
warm air in.
This is a slow process that causes considerable
product deterioration
The ice can also be chipped away, which is a labor-
intensive process in bad working conditions.
The compressor system can be reversed to move
hot vapor through the coil, thereby thawing the
ice directly around the coil so that it can be
removed.
 Blower-type cooling units have a special
defrosting system, usually consisting of a
hot gas line from the compressor,
combined with a flow of water or glycerol
over the coils to remove the ice.