REFRIGERATION

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Refrigerators and heat pumps:
If the main purpose of the machine is to cool some object,
the machine is named as refrigerator.
 
If the main purpose of machine is to heat a medium
warmer than the surroundings, the machine is termed as
heat pump.

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 Definition of Refrigeration
• Mechanical refrigeration is a process of
lowering the temperature of a substance less
than that of its surroundings.
• Capacity of refrigeration is expressed in tone.
• A tone of refrigeration is expressed in
designed as the rate of heat removed from the
surroundings equivalent to the heat required
for melting one tone of ice in one day

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 Application of Refrigeration
1. Removal of heat in chemical reactions.
2. Preservation of thermolabile substances
(eg. Insulin, Hormones and vaccines)
3. Liquefy processing gas
4. Separation of vapours by distillation
5. Freeze drying (Lyophilization)

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 Principle of
refrigeration
• The refrigeration cycle is also known as
vapour compression cycle. The cycle operates
at two pressures high and low, to produces a
continuous cooling effect.

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 High pressure vapour Low pressure vapour

Compressor
e
Liquid
d Trap
Heat

f Cold
Condenser Evaporator
Evaporator
a c Room

b
Heat
Expansion valve

Basic construction of refrigeration cycle

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 Refrigeration Cycle
a. Receiver or Condenser
b. Expansion valve
c. Evaporation
d. Liquid trap
e. Compressor
f. Condenser

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 Refrigeration Cycle
a. Receiver or condenser: The liquid is kept in a
container namely condenser. The refrigerant is under
pressure.
b. Expansion: It is a device, which controls the rate of
flow of refrigerant into the evaporator. Now high
pressure refrigerant enters low pressure zone.
c. Evaporator: It consist of coils, here the refrigerant
evaporates by absorbing heat from the space. The
energy required for this process is taken from the
surrounding (space which is to be cooled). In this step,
liquid vapourises, but some liquid still remains.
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 Refrigeration Cycle
d. Liquid trap: This is used to remove the traces of
liquid refrigerant and then returned to receiver
(condenser).
e. Compressor: Saturated vapour is allowed to pass
through the compressor. The compression is adiabatic
and it produces supersaturated gas.
f. Condenser: The supersaturated gas (vapour) flows to
the condenser where the gas is liquefied. The condenser
can be air cooled (or) water cooled. Thus one cycle is
completed as shown above and process is continued.

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Terminologies of Refrigeration:
 Refrigerating Effect (N):
It is defined as the quantity of heat extracted from a cold
body or space to be cooled in a given time.
 
N= Heat extracted from the cold space Time taken
 
Specific Heat of water and ice :
It is the quantity of heat required to raise or lower the
temperature of one kg of water (or ice), through one kelvin
or (10 c) in one second.
 
Specific heat of water, Cpw  = 4.19 kJ/kg K
Specific heat of ice,  Cpice = 2.1 kJ/kg K.
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Capacity of a Refrigeration Unit :
·         
Capacity of a refrigerating machines are expressed by
their cooling capacity.
 

The standard unit used for expressing the capacity of

refrigerating machine is ton of refrigeration.
· One ton of refrigeration is defined as, “the quantity of
heat effect) to freeze one ton of water Heat extracted from
at oo c = latent heat of ice into one ton of ice in a duration
of 24 hours at 0o C”.
Latent heat of ice= 336 kJ/kg i.e., 336 kJ of heat should be
extracted one kg of water at
0o C to convert it into ice.

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One ton of refrigeration
= 336x1000 kJ/24 hrs. = 336x1000 kJ/min
=24x60
 
One ton of refrigeration
= 233.333 kJ/min
 = 3.8889 kJ/sec

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Co efficient of Performance
 
It is defined as the ratio of heat extracted in a given time
(refrigerating effect) to the work input.
 
Co efficient of performance = Heat extracted in evaporator
Work Input
 
Co efficient of performance =    Refrigerating Effect
Work Input
 
Co efficient of performance =    NW
 
The COP is always greater than 1 and known as theoretical
coefficient of performance.
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Applications of Refrigeration:
 In chemical industries, for separating and liquefying the
gases. In manufacturing and storing ice.
 
For the preservation of perishable food items in cold
storages. For cooling water.
 
For controlling humidity of air manufacture and heat
treatment of steels. For chilling the oil to remove wax in
oil refineries.
 
For the preservation of tablets and medicines in
pharmaceutical industries. For the preservation of blood
tissues etc.,
 
For comfort air conditioning the hospitals, theatres, etc., 15
Properties of Refrigeration:
 A good refrigerant should have high latent heat of
vapourisation. It should have low boiling and low freezing
point.
 
It should be non toxic and should non corrosiveness It
should be non flammable and non explosive.
 
It should have high thermal conductivity It should be easy
to handle
 
It should have low specific volume of vapour. It should
have high co efficient of performance

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Classification of refrigerants
Classification of refrigerants
1. Primary refrigerants: These are liquids that
change from a liquid to a gas after absorbing
heat. (eg. Trichlorofloromethane-Cl3F2C,
Dichlorodifluromethane-Cl2F2C, Ethylene,
Propylene, Ammonia etc.)

2. Secondary refrigerants: These are the

liquids which act only as heat carriers (eg.
Brine and water)
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 Primary Refrigerants
➢ These are the refrigerants which cools the substance or space
directly by absorbing latent heat.
➢ It absorbs heat during evaporation in the evaporator
and releases heat energy during condensation in condenser.
➢ It is also known as direct expansion system eg.
Ammonia, Freon, SO2, CO2 etc.
➢ These fluids provide refrigeration by undergoing a
phase change process in the evaporator.
 Classification Of Primary Refrigerant

➢ Halo-carbon Refrigerant

➢ Azeotrope Refrigerant

➢ Inorganic Refrigerant

➢ Hydro-carbon Refrigerant
 Halocarbon Refrigerants
➢ Halocarbon Refrigerant are all synthetically produced and were developed as the
Freon family of refrigerants.
➢ They are fluorocarbons of methane and ethane series.
➢ They contain 1 or more of these halogens (chlorine, bromine, fluorine)
➢ Non toxic, non-flammable, non-explosive, non- corrosive, non-irritant to human
body and eyes.
➢ Odourless, colourless
➢ Will not react with food product stored in the refrigerated space.
➢ Will not react with lubricating oil.
➢ Has excellent thermodynamic properties
➢Only disadvantage is ozone layer is damaged.
Examples :
CFC’s : R11, R12, R113, R114, R115
HCFC’s : R22, R123
HFC’s : R134a, R404a, R407C,
R410a
Azeotrope Refrigerants
➢ This group of refrigerants consist of mixture of different
refrigerants which can not separated under pressure and
temperature and have fixed thermodynamic properties.
➢ A stable mixture of two or several refrigerants whose vapour
and liquid phases retain identical compositions over a wide
range of temperatures.
➢ Azeotropic mixtures are designated by 500 series.
Examples :
R-500 : 73.8% R12 and 26.2% R152
R-502 : 8.8% R22 and 51.2% R115
R-503 : 40.1% R23 and 59.9% R13
 Zeotropic Refrigerants
➢zeotropic mixture is one whose composition in liquid
phase differs to that in vapour phase. Zeotropic
refrigerants therefore do not boil at constant
temperatures unlike azeotropic refrigerants.
➢zeotropic refrigerants (e.g. non-azeotropic mixtures)
are designated by 400 series.
Examples :
R404a : R125 /R143a /R134a (44%,52%,4%)
R407c : R32/R125/R134a (23%, 25%, 52%)
R410a : R32/R125 (50%, 50%)
R413a : R600a/ R218/R134a (3%, 9%, 88%)
 Hydrocarbons
➢ Most of the hydrocarbon refrigerant are successfully used in
industrial and installation . They possess
satisfactory
commercial properties but are
thermodynamic highly
flammable and explosive.
➢ Growing use in very small commercial systems like car
air conditioning system
Examples:
R170, Ethane,
C2H6 R290 ,
Propane C3H3
R600, Butane,
C4H10
R600a, Isobutane,
C4H10 Blends of
the above Gases

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 Secondary Refrigerants
➢ In refrigeration plant a secondary coolant is used as cooling medium which absorb
heat from refrigerated space and transfer to primary refrigerant in evaporator.
Substances that take away heat from the medium to be cooled and give it to the
boiling refrigerant are called secondary refrigerants
➢ They do not change their physical condition
➢ Secondary refrigerants are also known under the name brines or antifreezes.
➢ The refrigerants are brine which is used as intermediate fluid between evaporator
and the substance or space to be cooled. They cool the substance and the space by
absorbing their sensible heat. Also called indirect expansion system.
Eg. Brine solution made of calcium chloride or sodium chloride

➢ Water cannot be used as secondary refrigerant because at 0 C itself it will become

ice and circulation is not possible
➢ In brine solution CaCl2 is much preferred, it is very costly
 Designation of refrigerants
Since a large number of refrigerants have been developed

over the years for a wide variety of applications, a numbering

system has been adopted to designate various refrigerants.

From the number one can get some useful information about

the type of refrigerant, its chemical composition, molecular

weight etc. All the refrigerants are designated by R followed

by a unique number.
 Fully saturated, halogenated compounds
•These refrigerants are derivatives of alkanes (CnH2n+2) such as methane
(CH4), ethane (C2H6). These refrigerants are designated by R XYZ, where:
• X+1 indicates the number of Carbon (C) atoms
• Y-1 indicates number of Hydrogen (H) atoms,
• Z indicates number of Fluorine (F) atoms
• The balance indicates the number of Chlorine atoms.
• Only 2 digits indicates that the value of X is zero.
Ex: R 22
• X = 0 No. of Carbon atoms = 0+1 = 1 derivative of methane (CH4)
• Y = 2 ⇒ No. of Hydrogen atoms = 2-1 = 1
• Z = 2 ⇒ No. of Fluorine atoms = 2
•The balance = 4 – no. of (H+F) atoms = 4-1-2 = 1 ⇒ No. of
Chlorine atoms = 1
∴The chemical formula of R 22 = CHClF2
Similarly it can be shown that the chemical formula of:
• R12 = CCl2F2
• R134a = C2H2F4 (derivative of ethane)
 Inorganic refrigerants
These are designated by number 7 followed by
the molecular weight of the refrigerant
(rounded-off).
ex.:
1. Ammonia: Molecular weight is 17, the designation is R 717
2. Carbon dioxide: Molecular weight is 44, the designation is
R 744
3. Water: Molecular weight is 18, the designation is R 718
 Thermodynamic properties of refrigerant

➢Boiling and condensing temperature and pressures

➢Freezing temperature

➢Critical temperature

➢Discharge temperature

➢Latent heat of vaporisation

➢Specific heat

➢Density

➢Viscosity
 Boiling and condensing temperature and pressures
➢ The boiling temp of refrigerant at atmospheric pressure should be low. The
evaporator and condensing temperatures determine the pressures
➢ The maximum condensing temperature is largely affected by climatic condition
➢ It is desirable to select a refrigerant whose saturation pressure (at min. operating
temperature) is a few pounds above atmospheric pressure.
➢ If the boiling temperature of the refrigerant is high at atmospheric pressure
then compressor has to operate at high vacuums.
➢ Both evaporator and condenser pressure should be positive and it should be
near to atmospheric pressure.

Refrigerant R 11 R12 R21 R22 R30 R40 R113 R717

Boiling
Temperature at 21.77 -29 9 -41 39.8 -23.7 47.6 -10
atm pressure
➢ Freezing temperature
Should have low freezing temperature. Since the freezing temperature of most
of refrigerant is below -35  C
➢ Critical temperature
Should be well above the maximum condensing temperature
➢ Discharge temperature
High discharge temperatures from the compressor should be avoided It causes
some refrigerant breakdowns as well as poor lubrication effectiveness
➢ Latent heat of vaporization
Heat which converts the refrigerant from the liquid state to vapour
It should have a higher value
➢ Density
Low vapour density refrigerants are preferred
➢ Viscosity
Low viscosity of the liquid refrigerant is desired to reduce the pressure drop in
the lines
 Chemical properties of refrigerants
➢ Toxicity
Rated based on its effect on human beings over specified periods
Should be non toxic and non irritation
➢ Flammability and explosion Hazard
Should be non-flammable and non-explosive
➢ Refrigerant Odours
Can be both an asset and a hazard
Makes it easy to detect the leaks but at the same time
may contaminate foodstuffs in storage
Summary:
❖ Refrigerants should be non-flammable, non-explosive, not-toxic,
not react with lubricating oil, not react with moisture and should
not contaminate the food materials kept inside the refrigerating
system.
Environmental Effects of Refrigerants
Global warming :
➢ Refrigerants directly contributing to global warming when
released to the atmosphere
➢ Indirect contribution based on the energy consumption of
among others the compressors ( CO2 produced by power
stations)
Ozone depletion layer
Ozone layer gets depleted by the action of CFCs. The greatest
concentration of ozone are found from 12 km to 50 km above
the earth forming a layer in the stratosphere which is called
the ozone layer
 The health and environmental concerns caused by
the breakdown of the ozone layer include:
•Increase in skin cancers

•Suppression of the human immune response system

•Increase in cataracts

•Damage to crops

•Damage to aquatic organisms

•Increase in global warming

 Other important terms
a) Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): According to the Montreal
protocol, the ODP of refrigerants should be zero, i.e., they should
be non-ozone depleting substances. Refrigerants having non-zero
ODP have either already been phased-out (e.g. R 11, R 12) or will
be phased-out in near-future(e.g. R22). Since ODP depends
mainly on the presence of chlorine or bromine in the molecules,
refrigerants having either chlorine (i.e., CFCs and HCFCs) or
bromine cannot be used under the new regulations.
b) Global Warming Potential (GWP): Refrigerants should have
as low a GWP value as possible to minimize the problem of
global warming. Refrigerants with zero ODP but a high value of
GWP (e.g. R134a) are likely to be regulated in future.

c) Total Equivalent Warming Index (TEWI): The factor TEWI

considers both direct (due to release into atmosphere) and
indirect (through energy consumption) contributions of
refrigerants to global warming. Naturally, refrigerants with as a
low a value of TEWI are preferable from global warming point of
view.
VAPOUR COMPRESSION
REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

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Construction:
Compressor : Recipro cating compressors generally used.
For very big plants centrifugal compressor s directly
coupled with high speed rotating engi nes (gas turbine) are
used.
For  very  big  plantsC entrifugal  compressors  directly 
coupled  with  high  speed rotating engines (gas turbine)
are used
 
Condenser : It is a coil of tubes made of copper.
 
Receiver tank: It is the reservoir of liquid refrigerant.
 

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Expansion Valve: Thi s is a throttle valve. High pressure
refrigerant is made to flow at a controlled rate through this
valve.
 
Evaporator : It is the actual cooler and kept in the space
to be cooled. The evaporator is a coil of tubes made of
copper

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VAPOUR ABSORPTION  REFRIGERATION
SYSTEM

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Construction:
 
The vapour absorption system consists of a condenser, an
expansion valve and an evaporator.
 
They perform the same as t hey do in vapour compression
method.
 
In addition to these, this system has an absorber, a heat
exchanger, an analyser and a rectifier

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Construction:
 
The vapour absorption system consists of a condenser, an
expansion valve and an evaporator.
 
They perform the same as t hey do in vapour compression
method.
 
In addition to these, this system has an absorber, a heat
exchanger, an analyser and a rectifier

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 AIR CONDITIONING
• Air conditioning is the process of treating air so as
to control its temperature, humidity, cleanliness.

Applications
1. Promoting the human comfort.
2. In manufacturing areas such as for tablets, capsules
and sterile products.
3. Testing chambers
4. Maintenance of animals and equipment
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 Air Conditioning in
Manufacturing areas
a. Compression of tablets
b. Manufacturing of soft gelatin capsules
c. Manufacturing of sterile products
d. Testing chambers
e. Maintenance of animals and equipment

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 Air Conditioning in
Manufacturing areas
a. Compression of tablets: In granulation
section 45% RH and 220C are necessary. In
the tableting section less than 20% RH and
220C are necessary.

In the production of effervescent products,

dry syrups, controlling humidity is a vital
factor. The RH should not exceed 10 to 15 %
and temperature is at 220C
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 Air Conditioning in
Manufacturing areas
b. Manufacturing of soft gelatin capsules:
Temperature controlled is 200C to 220C. Humidity is
controlled to a maximum of 40% in operating areas and
between 20 and 30% in the drying areas.
c. Manufacturing of sterile products: In
parenteral and ophthalmic products. The environmental
conditions are much more stringent in filling and
sealing rooms. Therefore, standards of clean air quality
are of greater importance. The production of biological
products (Schedule C & C1) air conditioning is
essential.
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 Air Conditioning
3. Testing chambers: Stability and shelf life
testing chambers offer reproducible temperature and
humidity.

4. Maintenance of animals and equipment:

Animal house should be air conditioned.
Sophisticated electronic equipments are stored and
the work is carried out in air conditioned rooms.

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 Types of Equipments
1. Unitary air conditioners: These are window
mounted. These are two types, either air cooled or
water cooled. Most of them are air cooled. Room air
enters the casing of the front panel. It is mixed with
part of the outdoor air. This mixture is forced over
cooling coils by centrifugal fan. Cooled air is
circulated in the room.
2. Central air conditioners: These systems serve
one or several areas with conditioned air. The
conditioned air is supplied through duct network
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