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Performance comparison of a refrigeration compressed air dryer using refrigerant R-1234yf instead of R-134a.

Number: pap. n. TP-055

Author(s) : FAVERO C.

Summary

A compressed air dryer is a common application for a vapor compression circuit. Typical working conditions for this circuit are an evaporating temperature between 0°C and 5°C and a condensing temperature variable between 35°C and 65°C. Generally, an HFC refrigerant fluid is used in this kind of application, in particular R134a for low-cooling capacity systems (up to 3kW), and R407C and R404A for higher capacity systems. These refrigerant HFC fluids have a high GWP value and we are interested in alternative refrigerant fluids with a lower GWP value but with equal or comparable energy efficiency. In this study, results from tests on a dryer unit using R1234yf and R134a as refrigerant fluids are presented. A dryer unit has been charged with R134a, tested and recorded with all the refrigerant and air circuit parameters working at nominal conditions and at no air load conditions. The same unit was then re-charged with R1234yf without changing any components and the same parameters were recorded under the same test conditions. The results demonstrate that compressed air side performances are similar. The key parameters are the performance of the evaporator heat exchanger and the dew point temperature. Our conclusion is that for this application the efficiency of the two refrigerant fluids are comparable and they can be considered interchangeable. However, the use of R1234yf has limitations: the refrigerant is classified as ASHRAE A2L (low flammable) and the compatibility of R1234yf with oils, seals, and other refrigerant circuit components needs specific investigation.

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Pages: 6 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Performance comparison of a refrigeration compressed air dryer using refrigerant R-1234yf instead of R-134a.
  • Record ID : 30008279
  • Languages: English
  • Source: 4th IIR Conference on Thermophysical Properties and Transfer Processes of Refrigerants
  • Publication date: 2013/06/17

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