A Study Initiated because of the Global Warming from R-134a

Vapour compression cycles are commonly used in household refrigerators and also in many commercial and industrial refrigeration systems. R-134a is a working fluid widespread in this kind of systems. A chlorine free refrigerant such as R-134a has a disadvantage in the sense of its relatively high Global Warming Potential (GWP), although the specific Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) is null. International concern over the relatively high global warming potential of R-134a, and other refrigerants belonging to the same family, will lead in the near future to the stop of their production and use. For this reason, the interest in finding of an environmental more benign substitute for this refrigerant is growing. In the meantime, the alternatives for R-134a should be as thermodynamically attractive as this chemical. In this study it is theoretically assessed the opportunity of using R-600a (isobutane) in the future environment friendly vapour compression refrigeration systems. Choosing of isobutane is explained by the fact that it is a naturally occurring refrigerant. During the thermodynamic analysis, R-134a and R-600a are evaluated for a range of evaporating temperatures starting with 25°C and finishing with 0°C. There are considered three levels of the condensing temperature: 30°C, 40°C, 50°C. For these two refrigerants are compared results regarding saturated vapour pressure, Coefficient of Performance, volumetric cooling capacity, compressor discharge temperature, refrigerant mass flow rate. Also, in the scope of future improvement of systems adopting R-600a as a refrigerant, it is performed an exergy analysis, which is able to reveal the hierarchy of inefficiencies in the system. The results obtained indicate that adopting of R-600a instead of R-134a in vapour compression refrigeration systems is a decision motivated not only by environment reasons, but also by thermodynamic arguments. Values for the Coefficient of Performance when using R-600a are slightly lower than when in use is R-134a, but isobutane offers better environmental requirements like zero Ozone Depletion Potential and very low Global Warming Potential. Exergy analysis developed for R-600a as a working fluid revealed that the most inefficient is the compressor. Better exergy efficiency can be obtained for higher values of the evaporating temperature.