Workshop: Refrigerants and regulations, driving or ... · Pega Hrnjak1/20 SOME EXTREME AND...
Transcript of Workshop: Refrigerants and regulations, driving or ... · Pega Hrnjak1/20 SOME EXTREME AND...
Pega Hrnjak 1/20
SOME EXTREME AND SPECIALIZED APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
Pega [email protected]
Director ACRC, Res. Professor,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
President, CTS
Creative Thermal Solutions
Workshop:
Refrigerants and regulations, driving or stifling innovation?
Pega Hrnjak 2/20
Rhetorical question in the workshop title :Refrigerants and regulations, driving or stifling innovation?
• By definition: regulations regulate, thus reduce the freedom or field of operation, so we can say reduce innovation
• Good regulation: defines desired outcomes but leaves the paths to get there open - technology neutral
• In that way regulation helps innovation in the area that may not be only cost driven, but also have other desirable effects in social or environmental sense
Pega Hrnjak 3/20
Extreme and specialized applications?
•Wide title is a guarantee for missing something.
• So, I will be focused on SOME applications where I see opportunity for introduction of natural refrigerants (the theme of this conference).
• Also, refrigerants are related to mostly vapor compression cycles (including non Rankine and absorption) so I will not talk about magnetocaloric, thermoelectric or similar methods w/o refrigerant in .
Pega Hrnjak 4/20
When and why would regulatory body be interested in extreme and specialized applications?
• The interest is in reducing (here environmental) effects of refrigerants, typically seen as:
• Direct emission:
• Quantity of refrigerant leak
• Number of units
• Leak rate (usage profile, type of equipment)
• Refrigerant GWP (or other measure of interest)
• Indirect emission:
• Function of system efficiency (if CO2 is generated in the process)
• Emissions related to production (cradle to grave)
Pega Hrnjak 5/20
So it is logical to be focused on most important and common systems:• MAC:• Numerous, low charge but high leak rate (open shaft Cp,
vibrations…) – the greatest effect of reduction
• Supermarkets:• High charge, medium leak rate, high number, long operating
hours … - second target
• Small appliances (refrigerator/freezers)• Extremely numerous, low charge, low leak, high operating hours
– third target
• Small commercial applications• Numerous, low charge, medium leak, high operating hours –
easy target
Pega Hrnjak 6/20
Hesitation to push:
• RAC
• Numerous, med/low charge, medium leak, high operating hours – no easy replacement, strong opposition
• And definitively:
Extreme and specialized applications
Pega Hrnjak 7/20
Because extreme and specialized applications are:
•More difficult to engineer
• Industry has less experts to do the conversion
• Less effects for significant effort
•Why bother?
we see a bit slower pace.
Pega Hrnjak 8/20
Applications to discuss:
• Industrial (including cascade systems):
• Quick freezing - cascades with CO2 or air cycle
• Lyophilization (freeze drying) – R744 instead of R404a, …
• Sport complexes - ammonia (with CO2 )
•Medical and Pharmaceutical – CO2, HCs
• Test facilities (civilian and military) – ammonia, CO2,
Pega Hrnjak 9/20
Industrial
• The most significant changes:
• In order to maintain ammonia as refrigerant, industry is converting to self contained, prefabricated, low charges systems to:
• Reduce charge and potential consequences
• Reduce max possible leak
• Introduce savings by “mass” manufacturing
Pega Hrnjak 10/20
Instead of • Complexity
• Compressors
• Accompanying vessels
Pega Hrnjak 11/20
And this:
Pega Hrnjak 12/20
Many see prefabricated units, rooftops, …as a way to go
700 kW ammonia refrigeration package Courtesy of Nxtcold, Inc.
Courtesy of Evapco
Courtesy of Industrial Refrigeration Service, Inc
Air cooling
Factory built and checked
Pega Hrnjak 13/20
New type of cold storage: Long Beach port
Pega Hrnjak 14/20
Some are not afraid of MC options
• Air cooled unit on the roof
Courtesy of Zudek, Inc.
Pega Hrnjak 15/20
20 years of continuous development of ultra low charged ammonia chillers at CTS shows it is possible:
Microchannel
700 mm
270 mm
700 mm
270 mm
700 mm
270 mm
1996
Worlds first MC Cd for NH3
Charge 18 g/kW, 2.3 oz/Ton
2006-2012
Workhorse in tests of NH3
evaporators
2008-2009
Helping Mycom building first
chiller with hermetic NH3 Cp
2015-2016
Newly designed chiller with
MC condensers
Pega Hrnjak 16/20
For sport complexes or similar applicationsPrefabricated, low NH3 charge
• CO2 as a coolant - Can be applied beyond cold storage for:
• Process industry
• Central cooling
• Sport complexes
NewTonCourtesy of Mycom
Pega Hrnjak 17/20
Medical/Bio/Pharmaceutical:
• Large systems in production
• (treated as industrial refrigeration)
• Small systems for various applications:
• Various refrigerators -10 oC to -20 oC – R134a – to R600a (or CO2)
• ULT -70 oC to -100 oC – cascade R134a/R508b (R23, R503,..)
• HC combinations: R290 (or CO2)/R170 (Ethane)
• -150 oC to -160 oC – autocascade (various refrigerant mixtures)
• Probably will stay
Pega Hrnjak 18/20
Test facilities
• Ammonia/ CO2cooling
• Coolant ?
Pega Hrnjak 19/20
In conclusion
• Special applications will follow the “crowd”
• The best practices will be used
• Some users will drive the change, not regulators:
• Industrial refrigeration
• Pharmaceutical
• Medical
• …
Pega Hrnjak 20/20
Your thoughts, questions?