Experimental Study of R134a, R406A and R600a Blends as Alternative To Freon 12

Akintunde, M.A. Akintunde, M.A.
2013 IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  
In the vent of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) phase-out, identify long term alternative to meet requirements in respect of system performance and service is an important area of research in the refrigeration and are conditioning industry. This work focuses on experimental study of the performance of eco-friendly refrigerant mixtures. Mixtures of three existing refrigerants namely: R600a (n-butane), R134a (1,1, 1,2,tetrafluoroethane) and R406A (55%R22/4%R600a/41%R142b)were considered for this
more » ... h. These refrigerants were mixed in various ratios, studied and compared with R-12 (dichlorodifluoromethane) which was used as the control for the experimentation. The rig used in the experimentation is a 2 hp (1.492 kW) domestic refrigerator, designed based on condensing and evaporating temperatures. The rig was tested with R-12, and blends of the three refrigerants. During the experimentation, both evaporator and condenser temperatures were measured. These were used to determine the heat absorbed in evaporator and the heat rejected incondenser . The results show that R134a/R600a mixture in the ratio 50:50 can be used as alternative to R-12 in domestic refrigerators, without the necessity of changing the compressor lubricating oil. At and , R-12 gives a COP of 2.08 while 50:50 blend of R134a/R600a gives a COP of 2.30 under the same operating conditions.
doi:10.9790/1684-0714046 fatcat:sinf5bzafrgwtij2mdn7aehr3q