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Carbon dioxide, the renaissance of an old refrigerant.

Author(s) : QUACK H.

Summary

About 100 years ago there was a vigorous discussion, whether ammonia or carbon dioxide would become the preferred refrigerant in industrial refrigeration plants. Ammonia became the refrigerant of choice, but carbon dioxide was applied widely in shipboard refrigeration, where ammonia was considered to be too hazardous. Later both refrigerants were more and more replaced by the HFCs. In the aftermath of the Montreal Protocol, Gustav Lorentzen reminded the refrigeration public to reconsider carbon dioxide for many applications. Soon many researchers and some branches of industry became interested. The most discussed applications are: mobile air conditioning, boiling CO2 as secondary refrigerant, industrial and commercial low temperature cascade systems with CO2 in the lower stage and warm water heat pumps. Suitable compressors were developed and microchannel heat exchangers were invented. There is still a lot to do, before CO2 will become a widely accepted economic and safe refrigerant, but the outlook to be able to use a cheap and environmentally neutral refrigerant is motivation enough for further R&D.

Details

  • Original title: Carbon dioxide, the renaissance of an old refrigerant.
  • Record ID : 2006-1612
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Cryogenics and refrigeration. Proceedings of ICCR 2003.
  • Publication date: 2003/04/22

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