COMPARATIVE THERMODYNAMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF VAPOR COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION SYSTEM USING C-PENTANE AS REFRIGERANT

Abstract

The selection of refrigerant is one of the most important parameters when designing a cooling system. Hydrocarbon refrigerants have low primary energy requirements for effective cooling capacity and favourable thermodynamic properties that reduce both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, a comparative performance and environmental analysis of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle using C-Pentane as the refrigerant was performed. The cooling performance and environmental effect of C-Pentane has been compared with the cooling performance and environmental effect of R134A, R407C and R404A refrigerants in the cooling system. During the analysis, the cooling system was examined under different operating conditions. The highest coefficient of performance (COP) value in the analysis was 6.485 for the refrigeration cycle using C-Pentane, and this value was obtained at 0 oC evaporator temperature and 25 oC condenser temperature operating condition. According to the Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) analysis for refrigerants, the lowest total emission value belongs to C-Pentane. Direct Emission (DE) value and indirect emission (IE) value of C-Pentane are 57.5 kgCO2 and 24928.04 kgCO2, respectively.