Refrigeration

ChE 143

Rowena B. Carpio, PhD

 Refrigeration
• Air-conditioning
• Gas liquefaction
• Also referred to as “heat pump”
• Reversed of heat-engine cycle
• Process:
– Heat is transferred from a low temperature level to a
higher one;
– Addition of work to the system
• measure of effectiveness of a refrigerator
– coefficient of performance, ω
 Heat pump/
Heat engine
refrigeration
High T Low T
Reservoir Reservoir
TH TC
QH
QC

WNET
Heat WNET
Heat
Engine
pump

QC
QH

Low T High T
Reservoir Reservoir
TC TH
 Coefficient of performance (ω)

Refrigeration:

Heat pump:
 Carnot refrigerator
• Ideal refrigerator
• Operates on a Carnot cycle
• Standard of comparison
• Carnot cycle
– Isothermal absorption of heat (Qc) at the
temperature Tc isothermal heat rejection (Qh) at
the higher temperature Th
Carnot refrigerator
 Coefficient of Performance of a Carnot
Refrigerator, ωcarnot

• Maximum possible value of ω for any refrigerator

operating between given values of TH and Tc
• Refrigeration effect per unit of work decreases as the
Tc decreases and as TH increases
A Carnot refrigerator requires 1.3 kW per tonne of refrigeration
to maintain a region at low temperature of – 38°C. Determine :
(a) C.O.P. of Carnot refrigerator
(b) Higher temperature of the cycle
(c) Heat delivered and COP if this device is used as heat pump

Ans. 2.99, 313.6K, 311.3 KJ/min, 3.99

*Conversion factor:
1 ton refrigeration = 200 Btu/min = 3.517 kJ/s = 3.517 kW = 4.713 HP
 Types of Refrigeration Systems
• Vapor-compression refrigeration
– Work of compression is supplied by an electric motor
– Common application is the household refrigerators
• Vapor-absorption refrigeration
– Direct use of heat as the energy source for refrigeration
– Work for refrigeration comes ultimately from heat at a
high temperature level
– compressor is replaced by an absorber which dissolves the
refrigerant in a suitable liquid
– a suitable combination of refrigerant and absorbent is
used. The most common combinations are ammonia
(refrigerant) with water (absorbent), and water
(refrigerant) with lithium bromide (absorbent).
 Vapor-compression refrigeration cycle (1)
1 – 2: Liquid evaporating at constant QH
pressure provides a means for heat
absorption at a low temperature
2 – 3: Vapor produced is compressed to
a higher pressure
3 – 4: Vapor is then cooled and
condensed with rejection of heat at
a higher temperature level
QC
4 – 1: Liquid from the condenser
returns to its original pressure by an
expansion process (throttling valve)
Note:
2 – 3 , represents the actual compression process
2 – 3’, represents the isentropic process

Recall:
Throttling process – constant enthalpy process
Condenser – maybe water-cooled or air-cooled
Vapor-compression refrigeration cycle (2)
Schematic diagram of a simple
refrigeration

The cooling capacity of a refrigeration system—that is, the

rate of heat removal from the refrigerated space—is often
expressed in terms of tons of refrigeration.

1 ton refrigeration = 200 Btu/min = 3.517 kJ/s =

3.517 kW = 4.713 HP
Vapor-compression refrigeration cycle on a PH diagram
 THE IDEAL VAPOR-COMPRESSION
REFRIGERATION CYCLE
It consists of four processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression in a compressor
2-3 Constant-pressure heat rejection in a condenser
3-4 Throttling in an expansion device
4-1 Constant-pressure heat absorption in an evaporator
THE IDEAL VAPOR-COMPRESSION
REFRIGERATION CYCLE
The actual vapor compression
refrigeration cycle.
Video presentation

Refrigeration cycle introduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDjfunr2lK4

Freon-12 Refrigeration cycle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD04XetRVzk
 Example 1
The interior lighting of refrigerators is provided by incandescent
lamps whose switches are actuated by the opening of the
refrigerator door. Consider a refrigerator whose 40-W lightbulb
remains on continuously as a result of a malfunction of the
switch. If the refrigerator has a coefficient of performance of 1.3
and the cost of electricity is 8 cents per kWh, determine the
increase in the energy consumption of the refrigerator and its
cost per year (1 year = 365 days) if the switch is not fixed.

At normal operation (that is, the interior lighting not

malfunctioning), assume the refrigerator is opened 20 times a day
for an average of 30 s, the light would normally be on.
 Example 2
Find the least power of a perfect reversed heat
engine that makes 400 kg of ice per hour at –
8°C from feed water at 18°C. Assume specific
heat of ice as 2.09 kJ/kg K, water as 4.18 kJ/KgK
and latent heat 334 kJ/kg.
 Example 3 (HW)
A cold storage plant is required to store 20 tonnes of fish.
The temperature of the fish when supplied = 25°C ;
storage temperature of fish required = – 8°C ; specific
heat of fish above freezing point = 2.93 kJ/kg-°C ; specific
heat of fish below freezing point = 1.25 kJ/kg-°C ; freezing
point of fish = – 3°C. Latent heat of fish = 232 kJ/kg. If the
cooling is achieved within 8 hours ; find out :
(i) Capacity of the refrigerating plant.
(ii) Carnot cycle C.O.P. between this temperature range.
(iii) If the actual C.O.P. is 1/3 of the Carnot C.O.P. find out
the power required to run the plant.
Example 4 (HW)
Consider a two-stage cascade refrigeration system
operating between the pressure limits of 1.2 MPa
and 200 kPa with refrigerant-134a as the working
fluid. Heat rejection from the lower cycle to the
upper cycle takes place in an adiabatic counterflow
heat exchanger where the pressure in the upper and
lower cycles are 0.4 and 0.5 MPa, respectively. In
both cycles, the refrigerant is a saturated liquid at
the condenser exit and a saturated vapor at the
compressor inlet, and the isentropic efficiency of
the compressor is 80 percent. If the mass flow rate
of the refrigerant through the lower cycle is 0.15
kg/s, determine (a) the mass flow rate of the
refrigerant through the upper cycle, (b) the rate of
heat removal from the refrigerated space, and (c)
the COP of this refrigerator.
Answers: (a) 0.212 kg/s, (b) 25.7 kW, (c) 2.68
 Refrigerant
• The coefficient of performance of a Carnot refrigerator is
independent of the refrigerant
• The irreversibilities inherent in vapor-compression cycle
cause the ω of practical refrigerator to depend to some
extent on the refrigerant
• Choice of refrigerant
– Toxicity, flammability, cost, corrosion properties, and vapor
pressure in relation to temperature
– Vapor pressure of refrigerant at the evaporator temperature
should be greater than the atmospheric pressure to prevent air
leak into the refrigeration system
– Vapor pressure at the condenser temperature should not be
duly high because of the initial cost and the operating cost of
high pressure equipment.
• Limit placed on the operating pressures of the
evaporator and condenser of the refrigeration
system also limit the difference TH-TC over
which a simple vapor-compression cycle can
operate
• This can be overcome by operation of two or
more refrigeration cycles employing different
refrigerants in cascade (two-stage cascade).
Two-stage cascade refrigeration system

The two cascade operates so that:

– Heat absorbed in the interchanger
by the refrigerant of the higher-
temperature cycle serves to
condense the refrigerant in the
lower temperature cycle 1
– The two refrigerants are so chosen
that at the required temperature
levels each cycle operates at
reasonable pressure
Desirable characteristics of a refrigerant
• to have an evaporator pressure which is
above the atmospheric pressure, and a
condenser pressure which corresponds to a
saturation temperature above the
temperature of the cooling medium.
• nontoxic, noncorrosive, nonflammable,
chemically stable, having a high enthalpy of
vaporization (minimizes the mass flow rate)
• available at low cost.
 Selecting the right refrigerant
Evaporator
 To have heat transfer at a reasonable rate, a temperature
difference of 5 to 10°C should be maintained between the
refrigerant and the medium with which it is exchanging heat.
 Example: For an effective heat transfer with min. temp difference
of 10oC. If a refrigerated space is to be maintained at -10°C, the
temperature of the refrigerant should remain at about -20°C
while it absorbs heat in the evaporator.
 The lowest pressure in a refrigeration cycle occurs in the
evaporator, and this pressure should be above atmospheric
pressure to prevent any air leakage into the refrigeration system.
– Therefore, a refrigerant should have a saturation pressure of 1
atm or higher at -20°C in this particular case.
Selecting the right refrigerant
Condenser
 The temperature of the refrigerant in the condenser cannot fall
below the temperature of the cooling medium (about 20°C for a
household refrigerator), and the saturation pressure of the
refrigerant at this temperature should be well below its critical
pressure if the heat rejection process is to be approximately
isothermal.

If no single refrigerant can meet the temperature requirements, then two

or more refrigeration cycles with different refrigerants can be used in
series. Such a refrigeration system is called a cascade system
 Selecting the right refrigerant
Example 2

A refrigerant-134a refrigerator is to maintain the

refrigerated space at -10°C. Would you recommend an
evaporator pressure of 0.12 or 0.14 MPa for this
system? Why?
 Selecting the right refrigerant
Example 5

A refrigerator that operates on the ideal vapor compression

cycle with refrigerant-134a is to maintain the refrigerated
space at -10°C while rejecting heat to the environment at
25°C. Select reasonable pressures for the evaporator and the
condenser, and explain why you chose those values.
Thermodynamic Properties of
Refrigerants
 The Heat Pump
• The reversed of heat engine
• The term "heat pump" is more general and applies
to HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)
devices used for space heating or space cooling.
• A device for heating houses and commercial building during
winter and cooling then during summer
• A heat pump is a device that transfers heat energy from a
heat source to a heat sink against a temperature gradient.
• Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite
the direction of spontaneous heat flow.
• The minimum power requirement is given by a carnot heat
pump
Carnot Refrigeration
Example 1
Heat Pump
Example 2
GAS REFRIGERATION CYCLES
(Reversed Brayton Cycle)
 GAS REFRIGERATION CYCLES
Example 1 (HW)
A gas refrigeration cycle with a pressure ratio of 3 uses helium as the
working fluid. The temperature of the helium is -10°C at the compressor
inlet and 50°C at the turbine inlet. Assuming adiabatic efficiencies of 80
percent for both the turbine and the compressor, determine:
(a) the minimum temperature in the cycle,
(b) the coefficient of performance, and
(c) the mass flow rate of the helium for a refrigeration rate of 18 kW.

Answers: (a) 231.1 K (b) 0.356 (c) 0.109 kg/s

Assume Reversed Brayton cycle

Energy Efficiency Ratio, EER
more recent measure to evaluate the efficiency of an
air conditioner

the amount of heat removed from the cooled space

in Btu’s for 1 Wh (watt-hour) of electricity consumed.

high EER means more efficient motor with less

electricity consumption
Energy Efficiency Factor
a more recent measure to evaluate the
efficiency of a refrigerator

 it is the ratio of adjusted volume (in liter) to

the energy consumption (in kWh/24h) (Saidur
& Masjuki, 2005)

 high EEF means more efficient motor with

less electricity consumption
Energy Efficiency Factor
 Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
Vapor compression vs.
absorption refrigerator:
 Different in the means
employed for compression

Right of the dashed line:

 same as the vapor
compression refrigerator

Left of the dashed line:

 Accomplished compression
by what amounts to a heat
engine

 Work for refrigeration comes ultimately from heat at a high temperature level
 Most common absorption-refrigeration system operates with:
 water = refrigerant, absorbent =lithium bromide solution
 Air-conditioning systems based on absorption refrigeration are called absorption chillers.
Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
 Refrigerant as vapor from the evaporator is
absorbed in a relatively non-volatile liquid
solvent at the pressure of the evaporator
and at reptile lo temp, heat is driven off to
the surroundings at Ts
 The liquid solution from the absorber (which
contains a relatively high concentration of
refrigerant), passes to a pump, which raises
the pressure of the liquid to that of the
condenser
 Heat from the temperature source at TH is
transferred to compressed liquid solution,
raising its temperature and evaporating the
refrigerant from the solvent.
 Vapor passes from the regenerator to the
condenser and solvent (which now contain
relatively low concentration of refrigerant)
returned to the absorber by way of a heat
exchanger
Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
 Absorption vs. Vapor-compression
refrigeration systems
 A liquid is compressed instead of a vapor. The work input for absorption
refrigeration systems is very small (on the order of one percent of the heat
supplied to the generator) and often neglected in the cycle analysis.
 Absorption refrigeration systems are often classified as heat-driven systems.
 The absorption refrigeration systems are much more expensive than the
vapor-compression refrigeration systems.
 They are more complex and occupy more space, they are much less efficient
thus requiring much larger cooling towers to reject the waste heat they are
more difficult to service since they are less common.
 absorption refrigeration systems should be considered only when the unit cost
of thermal energy is low and is projected to remain low relative to electricity.
 Some examples of inexpensive thermal energy sources include geothermal
energy, solar energy, and waste heat from cogeneration or process steam
plants, and even natural gas when it is available at a relatively low price.
 Absorption refrigeration systems are primarily used in large commercial and
industrial installations.
Absorption Refrigeration
COP of absorption refrigeration systems
Maximum COP of an absorption refrigeration
system
• Assumes the entire cycle is totally
reversible

• refrigeration system would be

reversible if the heat from the
source (Qgen) were transferred to a
Carnot heat engine, and the work
output of this heat engine is
supplied to a Carnot refrigerator to
remove heat from the refrigerated
space.
• The work input to the pump is usually very small, and the COP of
absorption refrigeration systems is defined as

• The maximum COP an absorption refrigeration system can have

is determined by assuming totally reversible conditions, which
yields

where T0, TL, and Ts are the thermodynamic temperatures of the

environment, the refrigerated space, and the heat source,
respectively.
 Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
Example 1
A reversible absorption refrigerator consists of a reversible heat engine and a
reversible refrigerator. The system removes heat from a cooled space at -10°C at a
rate of 22 kW. The refrigerator operates in an environment at 25°C. If the heat is
supplied to the cycle by condensing saturated steam at 200°C, determine:

(a) the rate at which the steam condenses and

(b) the power input to the reversible refrigerator.

Answers: (a) 0.00408 kg/s, (b) 2.93 kW

 Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
Example 2

An absorption refrigeration system that receives heat from a source at 130°C

and maintains the refrigerated space at -5°C is claimed to have a COP of 2. If
the environment temperature is 27°C, can this claim be valid? Justify your
answer
 Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
Example 3

Heat is supplied to an absorption refrigeration system from a geothermal well

at 130°C at a rate of 5 x 105 kJ/h. The environment is at 25°C, and the
refrigerated space is maintained at-30°C. Determine the maximum rate at
which this system can remove heat from the refrigerated space.
 Liquefaction
• The process use to liquefy gases
• Results when a gas cooled to a temperature in
the two phase region
• Applications:
– Liquid propane in cyclinder
– Liquid oxygen carried in rockets
– Natural gas liquified for ocean transport
 Liquefaction Processes
May be accomplished in several ways:
1. By heat exchanger at constant pressure.
2. By a expansion process from which work is
obtained.
3. By throttling process
 Liquefaction Processes on a TS Diagram
1. By heat exchanger at
constant pressure.
2. By a expansion process
from which work is
obtained.
3. **By throttling process

A to B – compression of a gas
B to A’ – cooling at P=k
A’ to 3’ - throttling

**does not result to liquefaction unless the initial state is at low enough temperature
and high enough pressure for the constant enthalpy process to cut into the two-
phase region
TS Diagram of Air
Source: Perry’s, 7th ed. p.2-211
 Simple liquefaction process without recycle

Gas at low pressure, compress it to high pressure (which increases its temperature since
work has been done on it), cool this high-temperature gas at the constant high pressure,
and then expand it to low pressure and low temperature using the Joule-Thomson
expansion, which produces a mixture of liquid and vapor. In this way the cooling is done
at a higher temperature (and pressure), so that low temperature refrigeration is not needed.
The vapor and liquid are then separated in a flash (an insulated, constant-pressure
container)
 Linde Liquefaction Process

After compression, the gas is precooled to ambient temperature, and may further
cooled by refrigeration, the lower the temperature of the gas entering the throttling
valve, the greater the fraction of the gas that is liquefied
 Simple Liquefaction Process

It is desired to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG), which we consider to be pure methane gas at 1
bar and 280 K (conditions at point 1). Leaving the cooler, methane is at 100 bar and 210 K (point 3).
The flash drum is adiabatic and operates at 1 bar, and the compressor can be assumed to operate
reversibly and adiabatically. However, because of the large pressure change, a three-stage
compressor with intercooling is used. The first stage compresses the gas from 1 bar to 5 bar, the
second stage from 5 bar to 25 bar, and the third stage from 25 bar to 100 bar. Between stages the
gas is isobarically cooled to 280 K.

a. Calculate the amount of work required for each kilogram of methane that passes through the
compressor in the simple liquefaction process.
b. Calculate the fractions of vapor and liquid Ieaving the flash drum in the simple liquefaction
process and the amount of compressor work required for each kilogram of LNG produced.

c. Assuming that the recycled methane leaving the heat exchanger in the Linde process (Fig. 5.1-2) is
at 1 bar and 200 K. Calculate the amount of compressor work required for each kilogram of LNG
produced.
 Linde Liquefaction Process

It is desired to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG), which we consider to be pure methane gas at 1
bar and 280 K (conditions at point 1). Leaving the cooler, methane is at 100 bar and 210 K (point 3).
The flash drum is adiabatic and operates at 1 bar, and the compressor can be assumed to operate
reversibly and adiabatically. However, because of the large pressure change, a three-stage
compressor with intercooling is used. The first stage compresses the gas from 1 bar to 5 bar, the
second stage from 5 bar to 25 bar, and the third stage from 25 bar to 100 bar. Between stages the
gas is isobarically cooled to 280 K.

c. Assuming that the recycled methane leaving the heat exchanger in the Linde process (Fig. 5.1-2) is
at 1 bar and 200 K. Calculate the amount of compressor work required for each kilogram of LNG
produced.
 Claude Liquefaction Process

Gas at intermediate temperature is extracted from the heat exchanger system and
passed through the expander from which it is exhausts as saturated or slightly
superheated vapor. The remaining gas is further cooled and throttled to produce
liquefaction as in Linde process. The liquefied vapor mixes with the expander
exhaust and returns for recycle through heat exchanger system
 Claude Liquefaction Process (2)

With assumption that no heat

flows to the system from the
surroundings

Linde Process – limiting case of Claude Liquefaction process