CONEM2024 - 1048

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SYNTHETIC REFRIGERANTS R-22

AND THE NATURAL FLUID R-290 IN A TEST BENCH WITH CHILLER
RESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

Eraldo Cruz dos Santos, [email protected]

Carlisson Arnaud de Azevedo, [email protected]
Caio Luiz de Carvalho Macedo, [email protected]
Mauro Rafael Rodrigues Paixão, [email protected]
Luiz Felipe Pinheiro Oliveira, [email protected]
Fernando Lucas Alves da Silva, [email protected]
Said Valente Coelho, [email protected]
1Federal Unversity of Pará – UFPA.
2Leading Group.

Abstract. Currently, in the world, there is a real race, involving several manufacturers, in the search for more efficient
and less polluting refrigerant fluids, with the need to obtain new refrigerant fluids, to replace the fluids that are being
used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems, aiming to maintain or improve the performance of such systems,
reducing their electrical energy consumption and at low cost. Therefore, this work intends to be another contribution to
this scenario and aims to comparatively evaluate the operating characteristics of a residential Chiller system, in which
the natural fluid Propane (R-290) was used, operating at 60 Hz (normal frequency), and at 70 Hz (with inverter
controller). R-290 was compared with synthetic HCFC fluid R-22 in the same indirect expansion refrigeration system.
For comparison purposes, the main operating parameters of a refrigeration system operating to air-condition an
environment were observed, such as pressures, temperatures, mass flow rates and electrical energy consumption.
Analysis of the system's Coefficient of Performance (COP) and Exergy showed that the high frequency (70 Hz) caused
total energy waste to increase by 30% compared to R-22 refrigerant. When working with both fluids at 60 Hz, the only
negative point for the natural fluid was the higher suction pressure, indicating that the chilled water temperatures were
lower with R-22. Under normal conditions, the natural fluid showed satisfactory behavior, with values higher than those
obtained for the synthetic fluid, providing another alternative for replacing R-22.

Keywords: Refrigeration, HVAC-R, natural refrigeration fluid, climatization, air conditioning system.

1. INTRODUÇÃO

This work was developed at the Climatization and Thermal Comfort Laboratories – ClimatConT and Refrigeration at
the Federal University of Pará – UFPA, and aims to analyze types of refrigerant fluids used in air conditioning and
refrigeration systems to replace the current fluids used commercially, aiming to maintain the safety conditions of the
systems, with the lowest environmental impact and evaluating their performance and thermal efficiency indexes.
In a refrigeration or air conditioning system, a set of refrigerant fluids are used with specific characteristics and
properties for each type of system, even so, many of them are already discontinued or their production has ended, as is
the case of hydrochlorofluorocarbons – HCFCs, however There is still a large quantity of these fluids in stock and they
continue to be used by the systems. This work proposes to provide support for decision-making on system modernization,
taking as a reference the energy and exergy analyzes of the system components.
According to the International Energy Agency – IEA, with the pollution generated, as societies grow technologically,
in recent years, there has been an increase in global emissions of carbon dioxide – CO2 related to energy are around 33
Gigatons, and the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is greater than 420 parts per million – ppm (Global Energy Review,
2021).
According to Santos E. C., et. al., (2020), in Brazil, in the areas of air conditioning and refrigeration, it is common to
obtain, from the responsible technicians, information on the modernization of systems or on the replacement of refrigerant
fluids used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, but the technicians are unable to inform the criteria or
parameters used in this process.
Santos, Eraldo C., Azevedo, Carlisson A., Macedo, Caio, L. C., Paixão, Mauro, R. R., Oliveira, Luiz. F. P., Silva, Fernando, L. A., Coelho, S. V.
Comparative Study of the Synthetic Refrigerants R-22 and the Natural Fluid R-290 in a Test Bench with Chiller Residential System

This lack of criteria compromises the efficiency of air conditioning and refrigeration systems and, in some cases,
causes serious damage to system components, such as what occurs with compressors.
Companies in the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors, which produce refrigerant fluids, are looking for fluids to
replace hydrochlorofluorocarbons – HCFCs, such as R-22 and Hydrofluorocarbons – HFC, such as R-410A, considering
that production and the commercialization of HCFCs has already been interrupted in Brazil, and HFCs are being
discontinued from 2024 onwards, even so, there are still large stocks of fluids produced and stored for use. In this sense,
it is necessary to identify or prepare new fluids, in order to use parameters to maintain the energy and exergetic efficiency
of the systems.
These are CO2 emissions where it is generated directly as a product of a reaction, however, other chemical compounds
used in industry and commerce are also as polluting as CO 2 and, with pollution factors hundreds to thousands of times
more intense than carbon dioxide. This factor was called Global Warming Potential – GWP, to account for its pollution
potential (global warming) in relation to CO2, which has GWP equal to 1.
Among these chemical compounds are the refrigerant fluids used in heating, refrigeration and air conditioning
systems, such as Trichlorofluoromethane, known as refrigerant R-11 and Dichlorofluoromethane, or R-12, these fluids
were mass produced interrupted in Brazil in the 1990s.
However, there are already several reports of serious accidents involving technicians who believed they were working
with a type of fluid, such as HFC R-134A, whose ASHRAE flammability and toxicity classification is A1, that is, a non-
flammable and non-toxic refrigerant. , in a refrigeration system, when in fact some other technician had already replaced
the system fluid with R-290, whose flammability and toxicity classification is A3, that is, this is a flammable and non-
toxic refrigerant fluid.
These refrigerants have, respectively, GWP values equal to 4,750 and 10,910, which means that releasing 1.0 kg of
R-11 into the atmosphere represents pollution caused by the release of approximately 5,000 kg of CO 2. For R-12, this
value represents almost 11,000 kg of CO2 released into the atmosphere for each kg of this refrigerant (National
Refrigerants, 2020).
Precisely because of these two factors mentioned above, the refrigerant fluid research and development industry has
been seeking to improve systems that use refrigerant fluids, whether for heating, refrigeration and air conditioning, with
a focus on reducing electricity consumption, combined with the use of fluids that are less aggressive to the environment.
Some of these fluids are Hydrocarbons – HC, among them the most used are Propane (R-290) and Isobutane (R-600a),
with the main advantage being the low GWP value which is equal to 3.0 for both fluids (ASHRAE, 2018).
However, there are already several reports of serious accidents involving technicians who believed they were working
with a type of fluid, such as HCFC R-22, whose ASHRAE flammability and toxicity classification is A1, that is, a non-
flammable and non-toxic refrigerant, in a refrigeration system, when in fact some other technician had already replaced
the system fluid with R-290, whose flammability and toxicity classification is A3, that is, this is a flammable and non-
toxic refrigerant fluid.
This fact is one of the examples that leads us to think about the need to change refrigeration system maintenance
procedures, as is the case with compressor maintenance. This is because, after releasing the fluid into the atmosphere,
many technicians still use torches to remove the compressor from the system's pipes, which operates with R-22 fluid, as
HFC has a high GWP and low ODP. This procedure must not be performed with systems that operate with R-290
refrigerant. In this case, for the technician's safety, the compressor pipes must be cut, without generating sparks, as this
fluid has low GWP and ODP, causing no risk to the ozone layer.
It is necessary to know which quantities, by mass, of the R-22 refrigerant fluid are greater than those of the R-290
fluid, because although the two fluids are compatible, when it comes to the compressor lubricating oil, the working
pressures and temperatures of the system, are different parameters, which implies a loss of system efficiency.
Thus, starting from the contextualization of the use of refrigerant fluids in refrigeration systems, where new substitutes
for the fluids currently used were sought, this work was designed and carried out with the aim of observing the behavior
and, if it would be possible to use natural fluids, with a low degree of contribution to global warming, in a water and air
cooling system, simulating a commercial air conditioning system, which was set up on a Chiller test bench in the
laboratory, where comparative results were obtained between two types of refrigerant fluids, in order to serve as input in
the selection of refrigerants for air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
In this work, what is expected is to present a set of comparative characteristic curves of the parameters used in the
energy and exergy analyzes of the synthetic fluids R-22 and the natural fluid R-290, operating in a refrigeration system
at frequencies of 60 and 70 Hz.

2. CONTEXTUALIZING REFRIGERANT FLUIDS

According to Santos E. C., et al., (2020), the way to evaluate the damage caused by a refrigerant fluid is through the
GWP indicator, which is a measure of how a certain amount of greenhouse gas contributes to global warming.
Another indicator that evaluates the use of a refrigerant is the potential for destruction of the ozone layer (Ozone
Depletion Potential – ODP). This index varies from 0 to 1. The closer it is to zero, the smaller the impact caused by the
fluid on the ozone layer. To calculate the ODP, the gas used as a reference base is the CFC-11 fluid, also known as R-11
and, despite not being the most harmful gas, its ODP index is equal to 1, the highest in the world. Scale (ASHRAE, 2018).
It is noteworthy that the refrigerant fluid R-11, as well as R-12 and R-115, which are part of the first generation of
flowering fluids, called chlorofluorocarbons – CFCs, have had their use in refrigeration systems prohibited since 1990,
according to result of the 1987 Montreal Protocol (SANTOS, E. C., et. al., 2020).
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According to Stoecker and Jones (1985), at the beginning of refrigeration, natural fluids were used, such as: ammonia
– NH3; water – H2O, carbon dioxide – CO2, propane – C3H8 and butane – C4H10, which do not have characteristics that
affect the ozone layer, as they have zero ODP and GWP values very similar to CO 2.
The development of synthetic fluids began in the 1920s, when, until then, the most used fluids were ammonia – R-
717, hydrocarbons and chloromethane – R-40, among others, which were natural, but had a considerable degree of
toxicity. and/or flammability, with these fluids being classified as “first generation refrigerants” (ASHRAE, 2018).
Furthermore, according to ASHRAE (2018), in 1928 the first synthetic refrigerant developed, tested and
commercialized was dichlorodifluoromethane – R-12, composed of chlorine, fluorine and carbon – CFC, beginning the
“second generation of refrigerants”, with the removal of a chlorine molecule, which existed in the first generation, and
replacement with a hydrogen molecule, creating hydrochlorofluorocarbons – HCFCs.
In 1974, the first studies on the theory of ozone layer degradation appeared, by Frank Rowland and Mario Molina,
due to the chemical reactions of CFCs, which reached the stratosphere and broke down ozone molecules, one of the
planet's natural elements, which are barriers against solar radiation. Between 1980 and 1985, after several observations
and measurements of solar incidence, it was found that there was a reduction in the thickness of the ozone layer over
Antarctica, where scientists correlated this fact with an increase in the concentration of chlorine monoxide.
In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed, which restricted the use and production of CFCs and HCFCs. In the United
States, CFCs were completely discontinued in 1996, a period in which the “third generation of refrigerants” was already
under stricter control in relation to pollution and environmental degradation (ASHRAE, 2018).
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, signed on September 16, 1987 and implemented
on January 1, 1989, is considered by the United Nations (UN) as the most promising global agreement on the environment
in the history of the world. organization.
In Montreal, the agreement at the first meeting defined that the production and use of the fluids listed in Table 1 should
be reduced proportionally until, in 1999, they represented only 15% of the value calculated in 1986.

Table 1. Refrigerants under control from 1989 onwards.

Substance (Trade Name) Ozone Depletion Potential
CFC – 11 (R-11) 1,0
CFC – 12 (R-12) 1,0
CFC – 113 (R-113) 0,8
CFC – 114 (R-114) 1,0
CFC – 115 (R-115) 0,6
Halon - 1211 3,0
Halon - 1301 10,0
Halon - 2402 6,0
Source: Handbook Montreal, 2018.

Other meetings took place to define adjustments to the Montreal Protocol, where it was defined that CFCs should be
completely eliminated by January 1, 1996, halogen fluids should be completely eliminated by January 1, 1994, in addition
to specific fluids, such as tetrachloride carbon, which had ODP equal to 1.1 and Trichloroethane 0.1 should be eliminated
by January 1, 1996.
At the 1990 meeting, for the first time HCFCs were mentioned as fluids that would be under production and use
control, with elimination scheduled for January 1, 2000, however, at the following meeting, in 1992, it was agreed that
HCFCs would have production extended until January 1, 2020 and consumption extended until January 1, 2030, some
HCFCs are listed in Table 2, which shows the HCFC-based substances:

Table 2. HCFC-based substances listed as controlled.

Substance (Trade Name) Ozone Depletion Potential
HCFC – 22 (R-22) 0,055
HCFC – 123 (R-123) 0,06
HCFC – 124 (R-124) 0,04
HCFC – 141b (R-141b) 0,11
HCFC – 224 (R-224) 0,09
HCFC – 235 (R-235) 0,52
Source: Handbook Montreal, 2018.

In Brazil, in 2009, Law 12,187 was signed, which defines actions on the country's environmental control, including
the fight against deforestation, direct and indirect emissions from processes, as well as fluids harmful to the environment,
which during COP 25 was transformed into the NDC of country towards the Paris Agreement (MMA, 2016 apud Santos,
E. C., et. al., 2020).
Another meeting took place in 2016 and was called the “Kigali Meeting” (capital of Rwanda), which resulted in the
Kigali Amendment, which included HFCs in the list of controlled fluids with the aim of helping to reduce synthetic fluids
that they replace those harmful to the ozone layer, which today are agents that cause the greenhouse effect (GWP), which
Santos, Eraldo C., Azevedo, Carlisson A., Macedo, Caio, L. C., Paixão, Mauro, R. R., Oliveira, Luiz. F. P., Silva, Fernando, L. A., Coelho, S. V.
Comparative Study of the Synthetic Refrigerants R-22 and the Natural Fluid R-290 in a Test Bench with Chiller Residential System

form a barrier and only allow solar radiation to pass through, but prevent it from leaving, causing an increase in global
temperatures. At this meeting it was proposed that there should be a reduction in relation to the mass used in 2012 to 15%
in 2047, some fluids are listed in Table 3 below:
Joining forces, in 2006 the European Union began a program to regulate gases that had fluorine in their composition,
such as HFCs, F-gases, which are gases that were created to replace those that were harmful to the ozone layer, however,
it was discovered that some of these fluids could have a greenhouse effect factor (GWP) that is equivalent to releasing
1.0 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere up to 23,000 times, which means that for every 1.0 kg of fluid released into the
atmosphere environment, is equivalent to an emission of 23 tons of CO2 (EU POLICIES F-GAS, 2014 apud Macedo, C.
L. C., et. al., 2023).

Table 3. Controlled substances based on HFCs.

Substance (Trade Name) GWP
HFC – 134a (R-134a) 1.430
HFC – 32 (R-32) 675
HFC – 124 (R-124) 3.500
HFC – 236fa (R-236fa) 9.810
HFC – 152 (R-152) 53
HFC – 23 (R-23) 14.800
HFC – 410a (R-410a) 2.960
Source: Handbook Montreal, 2018.

In 2015, the legislation on fluorinated gases was updated, making it more stringent with regard to the total quantity
sold, which in 2030 should be only 20% of the quantity sold in 2014, which would pave the way for the development and
use of others, more environmentally friendly technologies. It was also proposed to ban new equipment that works with
fluids that contain fluorine in their composition, for which there are already more environmentally friendly alternatives,
such as refrigerators, air conditioning units, aerosols, among others. In addition to forcing the prevention of emissions
with periodic checks on equipment already in operation until the end of its useful life.
To further strengthen programs for reducing and eliminating gases harmful to the environment, the United Nations,
in the Convention on Climate Change, proposed the “Paris Agreement”, which attempts to bring together all nations to
discuss and execute common actions against climate change. climate change, seeking to strengthen ties between countries
so that it is possible to keep the increase in global temperature below 2 °C in relation to the planet's temperature before
the industrial revolution. To this end, the term Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) was created, which allows
countries to plan and make available a list of actions that assist in the general plan to combat the emission of greenhouse
gases responsible for increasing the planet's temperature (Paris Agreement, 2016 apud Santos, E. C., et. al., 2020).
In 2018, NASA confirmed that the ozone layer is recovering, after more than 99% of harmful substances were removed
from production and use, with the main result of protecting humanity from the possibilities of skin cancer and cataracts.
with the global economy estimated at 2 billion dollars. until 2050 (Macedo, C. L. C., et. al., 2023).
Recently, the last meeting that brought the issue to the surface was the result of the twentieth United Nations Climate
Conference, known as COP 26, held in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021.
The conference was seen as a great opportunity to define actions that would lead the world to contain the impact of
climate change to an increase of no more than 1.5 °C in the Earth's average temperature compared to the pre-industrial
period. In this event, the main goal was to ensure that the world eliminates carbon emissions by mid-century and maintains
the goal of not exceeding the increase in global temperature by 1.5 °C.

3. WORKING METHODOLOGY

For the development of the experiment, a test bench was built with a Chiller system for air conditioning environments
on the premises of the UFPA Refrigeration Laboratory to carry out applied research, consisting of a condenser unit and
an evaporator unit, with a set of temperature sensors and pressure, for measuring all local psychrometric parameters and
during tests.

3.1. Test Bench

For the experiment, an Elgin condensing unit with 1.5 hp of power, with a capacity of 1.6 kW of refrigeration for the
R-22 fluid, was used to cool an insulated container with a volume of water equal to 40 liters, as shown in Figure 1 (b), a
water pump with a flow rate of approximately 6.0 l/min and a forced air heat exchanger for circulating water at low
temperatures to simulate thermal load.
The condensing unit used was from the Elgin brand, as shown in Figure 1(a), model TUM-2053 E, for medium
evaporation temperatures, voltage of 220 V, single-phase, with a maximum capacity of 2,325 W of refrigeration and
electrical consumption of 1,400 W at 0 °C evaporation.
 XII Congresso Nacional de Engenharia Mecânica
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(a) (b)

Figure 1. Chiller test bench: (a) Condenser unit and (b) Evaporator unit.

The water cooler evaporator has the equivalent length of 15 meters of 5/8” internal diameter copper piping, without
fins, as shown in Figure 2(a).
The circulation system shown in Figure 2(b) for the secondary evaporator consists of a 1/3 cv water pump with a fixed
flow rate of 6.0 l/min.
To exchange the heat of the secondary fluid with the ambient air, a split-type evaporator unit was used, initially sized
for refrigerant fluid and with a nominal capacity of 1.6 kW, with an air flow of 350 m³/h.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. Water-cooled evaporate: (a) Cooling system and (b) Water circulation system.

3.2. Refrigeration Cycle

In the water-cooling system, it is carried out by the mechanical vapor compression refrigeration system, shown in
Figure 3, the evaporator coil is submerged in the water reservoir, in which fluid circulates at low pressure and temperature
in a mixed state, absorbing the heat from the liquid while the liquid is circulated by a centrifugal pump to a heat exchanger
between air and water to obtain an air-conditioned environment with lower temperature and humidity. The first part of
the experiment was testing the R-22 fluid in the simulator; no adaptation to the condensing unit was necessary as the
equipment was designed to work with this fluid.
All fluid that was initially in the condensing unit was collected and treated, after which the main and secondary fluid
evaporator was installed, pressurizing the entire system with dry nitrogen for 24 hours at the end of the procedure to
ensure that there were no leaks.
The test bench set up for the experiment can be represented by the refrigeration cycle diagram shown in Figure 3, for
the ambient temperature and pressure, of the place to be air-conditioned, that is, T0 and p0:
With the verification completed, the system evacuation process began to remove moisture and other non-condensable
gases that could cause damage to the system and consequent loss of performance.
For the cooling test, the R-22 load used was 1.2 kg, which was the load necessary until the system's liquid sight glass
showed that only fluid in the liquid phase existed at the inlet of the expansion device.
After collecting the synthetic fluid, the system was completely cleaned and 0.680 kg of R-290 was loaded. The
procedure for operating the system with R-290 fluid was the same as R-22.
Santos, Eraldo C., Azevedo, Carlisson A., Macedo, Caio, L. C., Paixão, Mauro, R. R., Oliveira, Luiz. F. P., Silva, Fernando, L. A., Coelho, S. V.
Comparative Study of the Synthetic Refrigerants R-22 and the Natural Fluid R-290 in a Test Bench with Chiller Residential System

Figure 3. Schematic of the water-cooling system.

3.3. Data Collect

Data collection on the constructed test bench was carried out at intervals of 10 minutes, for a total period equivalent
to 150 minutes, where the following information was collected:
• Suction, discharge, expansion device inlet and outlet pressures and evaporator coil inlet and outlet pressures,
• Heat exchanger air inlet and outlet temperatures,
• Temperatures of suction, discharge, compressor body, inlet and outlet air passing through the condenser,
• Temperatures of the chilled water reservoir and exchanger return,
• Electric current and voltage during operation.

From these data, the following were calculated: the mass flow; the real power consumed by the system; overheating;
subcooling; the cooling capacity of the system; the cooling effect; the COP; the work of the compressor; the capacity of
the evaporator; the capacity of the condenser; exergies and exergy efficiency.

3.4. Thermodynamic Analysis of the Basic Refrigeration Cycle

Applying steady-state conditions to the energy equations for each stage of the cycle, shown in Figure 3, the following
parameters were obtained (Wijeysundera, 2016 apud Macedo C. L. C. et. al., 2023):

𝑊̇𝐶𝑃 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (ℎ1 − ℎ2 ) (kW) (1)

Where Equation (1) represents the work performed by the compressor, in kW, in an isentropic process, during its
operation, with 𝑚̇𝑓 being the mass flow of refrigerant fluid, in (kg/s) and h1 is the value of the enthalpy at the inlet of the
compressor, in (kJ/kg) and h2 is the enthalpy at the compressor outlet, in (kJ/kg).
Equation (2) represents the rate of amount of heat rejected in the condenser – 𝑄̇𝐶𝐷 , in kW, where h2 is the value of the
enthalpy at the condenser inlet, in (kJ/kg) and h3 is the enthalpy at the condenser outlet, in (kJ/kg), the unit of the amount
of heat (Wijeysundera, 2016 apud Macedo C. L. C., et. al., 2023).

𝑄̇𝐶𝐷 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (ℎ2 − ℎ3 ) (kW) (2)

For Santos E. C., et. al., (2020) the mass flow rate – 𝑚̇𝑓 of refrigerant fluid, in kg/s, can be calculated by Eq. (3):

𝑄̇0
𝑚̇𝑓 = (kg/s) (3)
(ℎ1 − ℎ4 )

Where: 𝑄̇0 = 𝑄̇𝐸𝑉 represents the refrigeration capacity of the cycle, in (kW), and this value can be calculated by Eq.
(4):

𝑄̇41 = 𝑄̇0 = 𝑄̇𝐸𝑉 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (ℎ1 − ℎ4 ) = 𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ (ℎ6 − ℎ5 ) (kW) (4)

 XII Congresso Nacional de Engenharia Mecânica
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Equation (4) represents the rate of quantity of heat absorbed in the evaporator, h4 is the enthalpy value at the evaporator
inlet, h1 is the enthalpy value at the evaporator outlet, 𝑚̇𝐿 mass flow of water from the cooler, in kg/s, h5 is the heat
exchanger inlet enthalpy and h6 is the heat exchanger outlet enthalpy.
The energy of the expansion device is obtained by an isenthalpic process, that is, h3 = h4.
Equation (5) represents the efficiency of the ideal cycle, that is, efficiency of the First Law of Thermodynamics.

𝑄̇0 𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ (ℎ5 − ℎ6 )

𝐶𝑂𝑃1° 𝐿𝑒𝑖 = = (- -) (5)
𝑊̇𝐶𝑃 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (ℎ2 − ℎ1 )

However, the real system is different from the ideal, so the theoretical system was idealized, starting from an
adaptation of the Carnot cycle to real conditions, namely:
• Modification of the compressor entry point, which changed from admitting the fluid still in the mixing phase to a
more advanced point where the fluid is already completely saturated vapor, due to the constructive characteristic
of the compressors used since the liquid phase is practically incompressible;
• During compression, even if it occurs isentropically, there is an increase in the temperature of the fluid, thus the
efficiency of the cycle is also lower than that observed in the Carnot cycle, and
• The isentropic expansion process is ideal, but is not used in reality, due to the high cost of components. These are
just some modifications that make the theoretical cycle different from the Carnot cycle and justify its lower
efficiency.

3.5. Exergetic Analysis of the Basic Refrigeration Cycle

For Rosen et al., (2015) energy analysis evaluates how energy is used in the system, based on the first law of
thermodynamics, however, there is no accounting for spontaneous processes and irreversibility’s that may occur during
the operation of the system, such as the balance of energy does not consider the way in which energy is degraded. At this
point, exergy analysis is considered, which complements the system's energy information by using the second law of
thermodynamics as a basis, that is, it takes into account the entropy in each process, allowing the calculation of the real
efficiency of the equipment, informing the amount of work that can be performed by the system.
Still according to Rosen et. al., (2015), exergy efficiency in one of its many definitions is the following: “is the ability
to produce the desired effect without loss or with minimal waste of the resource used”. Being calculated by Eq. (6):

𝐸𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑎 𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑎
ψ= (- -) (6)
𝐸𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑎

Where ψ is the exergy generated and the value in the analyzed component and the exergy supplied is the total value
of exergy that the system obtained for operation.
The exergy analysis carried out by Fajar et. al., (2020) applied to a refrigeration system is calculated for each
component separately. The specific exergy – 𝑒𝑥 , in kJ/kg, of the system components was obtained using Eq. (7):

𝑒𝑥 = (ℎ𝑥 − ℎ0 ) − 𝑇0 ∙ (𝑠𝑥 − 𝑠0 ) (kJ/kg) (7)

Where: hX and sX are, respectively, the enthalpy and entropy at the observed point, h0 and s0 are, respectively, the
enthalpy and entropy in relation to the ambient temperature and T 0 is the temperature of the refrigerated environment.
According to Santos E. C., et. al., (2020) for the evaporator, exergy relates the entry and exit of fluids in it, that is,
𝑚̇𝐿 = 𝑚̇5 = 𝑚̇6 and 𝑚̇𝑓 = 𝑚̇1 = 𝑚̇4 , following the numerical sequence in Figure 3, we arrive at Eqs. (8) and (9):

𝑇0
𝐸𝐸𝑉,𝐸𝑛𝑡 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (𝑒1 − 𝑒4 ) − 𝑄̇0 ∙ (1 − ) (kW) (8)
𝑇𝐸𝑉
or
𝑇0
𝐸𝐸𝑉,𝑄 = 𝑄̇0 ∙ (1 − ) − 𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ (𝑒5 − 𝑒6 ) (kW) (9)
𝑇𝐸𝑉

Where, 𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ (𝑒5 − 𝑒6 ) represents the water vapor exergy, T0 is the ambient temperature and TEV is the evaporation
temperature, both in (K).
The irreversibility of the evaporator – IEV, in kW, can be calculated by Eq. (10):

𝐼𝐸𝑉 = 𝑇0 ∙ [(𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ 𝑠5 − 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ 𝑠1 ) − (𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ 𝑠4 − 𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ 𝑠6 )] (kW) (10)

Next, the component evaluated was the compressor, with the total exergy of the compressor being defined – ECP, in
kW, is obtained by Eq. (11):

𝐸𝐶𝑃 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (𝑒2 − 𝑒1 ) − 𝑊̇𝐶𝑃 (kW) (11)

Santos, Eraldo C., Azevedo, Carlisson A., Macedo, Caio, L. C., Paixão, Mauro, R. R., Oliveira, Luiz. F. P., Silva, Fernando, L. A., Coelho, S. V.
Comparative Study of the Synthetic Refrigerants R-22 and the Natural Fluid R-290 in a Test Bench with Chiller Residential System

Where, 𝑒2 − 𝑒1 is the difference between the specific input and output exergies of the compressor, 𝑊̇𝐶𝑃 is the electrical
power consumed by the compressor, in kW.
For the refrigeration cycle condenser, the exergy equation – ECD is obtained by Eq. (12):

𝑇0
𝐸𝐶𝐷 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (𝑒2 − 𝑒3 ) + 𝑄̇𝐶𝐷 ∙ (1 − ) (kW) (12)
𝑇𝐶𝐷

Where: 𝑄̇𝐶𝐷 is the thermal power rejected in the condenser, in (kW) and T CD is the condensation temperature, in (K).
And for the expansion device, since there is no heat generation or power consumption, we have Eq. (13) for total
exergy of the expansion device – EDE:

𝐸𝐷𝐸 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (𝑒4 − 𝑒3 ) (kW) (13)

Therefore, using Equation (14) the exergy efficiency can be calculated – Ex applied to a refrigeration system can be
calculated as:

𝑇0 𝑚̇𝐿 ∙ (𝑒5 − 𝑒6 )
𝜂𝐸𝑥 = 𝜂2° 𝐿𝑒𝑖 = 𝐶𝑂𝑃1° 𝐿𝑒𝑖 ∙ (1 − )= (- -) (14)
𝑇𝐶𝐷 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ (𝑒2 − 𝑒1 )

In this way, by applying the data obtained during the tests to these equations, information related mainly to the
effective performance of the equipment can be obtained.

3.6. Results

Two tests were carried out on the refrigeration system with the R-22 fluid, the first at a frequency of 60 Hz, two tests
with the R-290 fluid at a frequency of 60 Hz and two tests with the R-290 fluid at a frequency of 70 Hz, all lasting 150
minutes in order to observe how the system behaves according to ambient conditions, the operation before and after the
chilled water circulation pump was compared.
Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show the variations in suction and discharge pressures, respectively, for the two refrigerant fluids
and for the evaluated frequencies.

(a) (b)
Figure 4. Refrigerant fluid pressures over time: (a) Suction and (b) Discharge.

For both the 60 Hz and 70 Hz frequencies, in Figure 4(a), there was a variation between pressures of 57 to 61 psig,
and for R-22, the variation with temperature stabilization was between pressures of 58.5 to 59. 5.
The main cause of this event is linked to the fact that the thermostatic expansion valve works with a fluid in the bulb
calibrated to the R-22 response, and because R-290 absorbs more energy per mass, the device was unable to maintain a
continuous flow, which ended up harming the temperature reduction, since the evaporation temperature suffered directly
from this fluctuation in values.
It can be seen in Figure 4(b) that for the frequency of 60 Hz the lowest pressure of R-290, the average pressure value
was 237 psig, which shows an advantage over R-22 which had an average pressure of 255 psig, indicating a reduction of
the compression ratio, since the suction pressure values were similar, with the reduction in discharge pressure, the
mechanical efforts on the compressor are reduced in addition to the reduction in electrical energy consumption.
For the frequency of 70 Hz, the value of the average discharge pressure of the refrigerant R-209 was 265 psig,
exceeding that of R-22, this fact is associated with the compressor operating outside the working speed, which is fixed at
60 Hz, which caused an increase in temperature in general and thus an increase in condensation pressure.
The graph in Figure 5(a) and 5(b) shows how the mixture saturation temperature varied during the tests.
 XII Congresso Nacional de Engenharia Mecânica
29/07 a 02/08 de 2024, Natal-RN, Brasil

(a) (b)
Figure 5. Fluid saturation temperatures over time: (a) in the evaporator and (b) in the condenser.

As seen in the graph in Figure 5(a), the Chiller system running with R-22 fluid, with the compressor for R-22 and the
expansion device calibrated for R-22, the lowest evaporation temperatures were reached, with values varying minimally
around 0.5 °C, while the system, after changing the R-22 fluid to R-290, was unable to reduce the evaporation temperature
below 2 °C, even with the increase in volumetric displacement caused by the operating frequency of 70 Hz.
It can be seen in Figure 5(b) that for the frequency of 60 Hz, in the same way that the saturation temperature in
evaporation was high compared to R-22, the fact is repeated for the natural fluid now in condensation, with temperatures
of saturated fluid varying at values close to 50 °C, for R-22, the temperature was close to 48 °C even though the pressure
at this point was above the values collected for R-290.
Figure 6(a) and 6(b) lists the compressor powers and the mass flow rate, for the two types of refrigerant fluids and at
different frequencies.

(a) (b)
Figure 6. Electrical energy consumption and mass flow: (a) Compressor powers and (b) Mass flow rate.

The highest saturation temperature depends only on the chemical composition of the fluid. For the 70 Hz frequency,
the temperature values are close to 55 °C, once again indicating non-standard compressor operation, confirmed by the
increase in electrical energy consumption. However, the higher condensation temperature indicated the greater
temperature difference between the R-290 fluid and the external air in the heat exchange in the condenser, facilitating the
conversion of the fluid from a superheated vapor state to liquid at high pressure at the condenser exit.
The consumption recorded for R-22 served as a reference for the evaluation of R-290, which for the 60 Hz frequency
was lower, however, as explained in Figures 6(a) and 6(b), the saturation temperature during evaporation was higher than
that of R-22, so consumption was lower due to a lower capacity to absorb energy while the system was running on natural
fluid.
For the frequency of 70 Hz, the consumption is well above the reference value for the R-22 fluid, which agrees with
the fact that the single-phase electric motor, when forced to work outside the nominal frequency, causes excessive energy
losses in the form of heat, observed in the increase in electricity consumption of the refrigeration system.
It can be seen in Figure 5(b) that the values calculated for the R-22 fluid match the absorbed thermal load, compared
to R-290, the average specific mass of the synthetic refrigerant was 21.61 kg/m³, while the specific mass of the average
natural fluid was 11.02 kg/m³ for the 60 Hz frequency and 11.17 kg/m³ for the 70 Hz frequency, which explains the values
Santos, Eraldo C., Azevedo, Carlisson A., Macedo, Caio, L. C., Paixão, Mauro, R. R., Oliveira, Luiz. F. P., Silva, Fernando, L. A., Coelho, S. V.
Comparative Study of the Synthetic Refrigerants R-22 and the Natural Fluid R-290 in a Test Bench with Chiller Residential System

close to 0.0115 kg/s for R-22 circulating in the system and 0.0057 kg/s for the natural fluid. These values present a
significant difference in terms of the amount of refrigerant fluid to be used within the refrigeration system.
In air conditioning and refrigeration systems, subcooling and superheating processes help maintain equipment
operating conditions. Figures 7(a) and 7(b) show the results of the processes carried out during the tests.

(a) (b)
Figure 7. Subcooling and superheating processes: (a) Subcooling and (b) Superheating.

Agreed to the fact that the greater the temperature difference between the condensation saturation and the ambient air
temperature, the greater the amount of heat transferred from the hot fluid to the cold fluid. Therefore, the R-290 fluid,
both for frequencies of 60 Hz and 70 Hz, obtained the highest subcooling values due to its higher saturated condensation
temperature, since the ambient air temperature did not vary significantly between the tests.
Subcooling also ensures that the fluid that reaches the expansion device is in a liquid state, this way, only liquid at
high pressure is expanded in the thermostatic valve, which guarantees the efficiency of the process in the evaporator.
The main point of energy analysis is the calculation of the COP, which is the amount of power absorbed in the
evaporator over the electrical power consumed by the equipment during operation. For the evaluated system, the COPs
were calculated for the three tests and the data were plotted on the graphs in Figures 8 (a) and 8 (b).

(a) (b)
Figure 8. Electrical energy consumption and mass flow: (a) Compressor powers and (b) Mass flow rate.

In the steady state, the calculated COP for the R-22 was 3.491, for the R-290, with a frequency of 60 Hz it was 3.570,
an increase of 2.26% and 3.344 for the frequency of 70 Hz, a reduction of 4.21%, respectively, when compared to the
synthetic fluid. Again, indicating that the increase in frequency made the compressor less efficient, even with the increase
in volumetric displacement.
It is important to remember that even though R-290 at 60 Hz has a COP value greater than that of R-22, this difference
was due to the fact that the evaporation temperature of R-290 was higher, where the average of R-290 was 2.2°C and R-
22 averaged 0.8°C.
In addition to the energy analysis, the exergy factors and irreversibility’s for the system were calculated as a way of
complementing the explanations of the system's characteristics and mainly the negative points that occurred when
increasing the operating frequency from 60 Hz to 70 Hz.
 XII Congresso Nacional de Engenharia Mecânica
29/07 a 02/08 de 2024, Natal-RN, Brasil

It is known that some authors such as Ji et. al., (2018), Siang and Leda (2020), mention that the difference in viscosity,
being much smaller in R-290 compared to R-22, can cause a more efficient heat exchange in the evaporator, which causes
a reduction in the entropy of the system and reduces the final exergy value.
In steady state, the exergetic efficiency values, as shown in Figure 8 (b), were 34% for R-22 and 32% for R-290 at 60
Hz, while the efficiency for R-290 at 70 Hz was 27%.

4. CONCLUSIONS

Taking into account the psychrometric conditions of the UFPA Refrigeration Laboratory, it is possible to state that
the tests to obtain data and the development of energy and exergy analyzes were satisfactory, as they presented the
differences and similarities between the two types of refrigerant fluids analyzed, providing subsidies and conditions for
replacing R-22 fluid with R-290.
The statement made above meets the needs listed by the national and international market, as the refrigerant fluid R-
22 was already discontinued in 2015, even so, in Brazil, this is the fluid most used in air conditioning systems and, its As
a substitute, the R-410a fluid, as is known, will be discontinued in 2024, that is, it will be necessary to use a refrigerant
fluid to replace the fluids currently used.
Even so, after completing the experiments and obtaining the calculations and graphs of the refrigeration system
components, some characteristics can be highlighted:
• The use of flammable fluid, when operated by responsible and instructed technicians, did not generate the slightest
concern during operation.
• The use of natural refrigerant in a system originally designed for use with synthetic refrigerant resulted in a
reduction in evaporator power of 2%, however, it increased COP by 3%.
• R-290 at a frequency of 60 Hz obtained an exergy efficiency only 2% lower than R-22 operating at 60 Hz.

As it is a flammable fluid, there are risks associated with the uncontrolled use of R-290, which are minimized mainly
by qualifying refrigeration technicians to respect the rules necessary to carry out maintenance and monitoring of this type
of system.
In this way, this work adds to several others carried out, agreeing that the use of the natural fluid R-290 is a refrigerant
with excellent thermodynamic characteristics for application in mechanical vapor compression refrigeration systems
(mainly at low condensation saturation pressure). ), high enthalpy (which helps to reduce the amount of mass required in
the system), compatibility with mineral lubricating fluid (eliminating the use of highly hygroscopic synthetic lubricating
fluids) and, as made clear in this work, the reduction of electrical energy consumption.
According to the thermodynamic analysis developed for hydrocarbon fluids, it can be observed:
• That natural fluids reduce the pressure levels developed in the condenser and evaporator;
• The use of R-290 fluid and mixtures involving hydrocarbons provides a tripling of the latent heat of vaporization
in relation to R-134a. This factor leads to a reduction of around 50% in the need for mass refrigerant charge in the
refrigeration system for the same equipment capacity.
• Hydrocarbons have lower compressor discharge temperatures, providing longer useful life for these components.
• The coefficient of performance of the system with hydrocarbons and mixtures showed an increase of around 5%
in relation to R134a. Consequently, less compression work is required for hydrocarbons in relation to R134a due
to their thermophysical properties related to density in the liquid and vapor phases.

Analyzing the results of the exergy analysis carried out in the residential Chiller system, it is important to realize that
the R-290 fluid, operating at a frequency of 60 Hz, presents itself as being the best condition to be used as a replacement
fluid for R-22, in refrigeration and air conditioning systems, making it necessary to observe a reduction in the quantity of
fluid, in mass, to be placed in the systems, in addition to the temperature and pressure conditions of evaporation and
condensation, including the subcooling and superheating processes during installation of systems.
Thus, it is possible to use the existing compressor platform for synthetic refrigerant fluids with very few modifications
for operation with natural fluid, reducing the cost of research and development, in addition to reducing the use of oils
with a complex chemical composition that is quite aggressive to the environment and mainly the focus on reducing
electricity consumption, which brings together the objectives of always benefiting the Environment, Sustainability and
the rational use of electricity seeking to reduce pollutant emissions.

5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering – FEM, the Institute of Technology – ITEC
and the Postgraduate Program – PPGEM at the Federal University of Pará – UFPA.

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7. COPYRIGHT RESPONSIBILITY

The authors are solely responsible for the content of this work.