- Author
-
Didion, D. A.
- Title
- Impact of Ozone-Safe Refrigerants on Refrigeration Machinery Performance and Operation.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Transaction of naval Architects and Marine Engineering. November 1994,
10/1-15 p.,
1994
- Keywords
-
refrigerants
|
ozone
|
machinery
|
thermodynamic performance
|
mixtures
|
safety
|
toxicity
|
flammability
|
materials compatibility
|
alternatives
- Abstract
- The current ozone depletion crisis has impacted the refrigeration and air conditioning industry like no other event in history. The limitations placed on the development of machinery working fluids is causing major design changes in new equipment and modifications to existing equipment that will require owner/operators to face many decisions in what was previously a rather staid purchasing process. The elimination of chlorine from the refrigerants has forced the adoption of ester based lubricants in lieu of mineral oils. Molecular and thermodynamic constraints have brought about the expansion of the use of azeotropic refrigerant mixtures and the introduction of azeotropic refrigerant mixtures, with their variable composition problems. For the first time in many years, flammable refrigerants are being used, at least as minor components in mixtures. The transition period of the next several decades is likely to require the use of "drop-in" replacement fluids which can cause a capacity and/or efficiency change in the machine's performance. Furthermore, all the new alternative refrigerants (i.e., replacements) may themselves be unable to meet future environmental restrictions if the global warming crisis proves to be a political reality.