A refrigeration system is a mechanical process or arrangement that is responsible for lowering the temperature between two points. For this process to take place, the thermodynamic properties of matter are involved, which are responsible for transferring thermal energy or heat between two points.
The main difference between a system and a refrigeration circuit is the complexity of the circuit, as systems are only a simple arrangement of the circuit, in which other variables such as mass balance, energy, heat transfer, etc. become more important.
There are two basic configurations of a refrigeration system depending on the method of refrigerant injection or its construction.
It is based on the operation of the mechanical energy of the circuit through the compression of a refrigerant fluid. When it condenses, this fluid gives off latent heat at a lower temperature than that which was absorbed when the refrigerant itself evaporated. The compression of the refrigerant fluid in the compressor is responsible for maintaining the cycle which, after passing through the evaporator, the expansion valve and the condenser, is subsequently repeated, passing through different pressures and therefore different temperature conditions.
Its operation is the same as in compression refrigeration, since it involves producing cold through the transfer of heat by means of changes in the state of certain refrigerant fluids. In this case, it is not the compressor that is the key aspect but the properties of the refrigerant fluid, which is able to absorb the properties of another substance in the vapour phase…
Examples of such substances are lithium bromide, ammonia or water in vapour phase, although this method is usually only used when there is a cheap or waste heat source, because it is an economical method, but not very efficient, since, depending on the fluid used, it cannot cool to temperatures below the freezing point of water, for example.
As mentioned above, refrigeration systems can be classified according to the method of refrigerant injection or construction.
Different types of refrigeration systems can be used in cold rooms due to the many factors that directly affect the refrigeration needs for the preservation and maintenance of the stored product. For example, the dimensions of the cold room, the number of door openings, the load of the cold room, the requirements of the stored product, the type of construction material of the cold room itself…
The main cooling systems are:
It is made up of:
This is a compression system in which compressors are responsible for activating the refrigerant by compressing it to a high pressure and temperature after having produced the refrigerant effect. In this way, the compressed refrigerant transfers its heat to the outside and is condensed, returning to its liquid form, thus achieving the refrigerant effect during evaporation, which is the most common and basic process in refrigeration.
It should be noted that ammonia or NH3 refrigeration is currently an economical alternative and is more efficient. Its thermodynamic properties make it highly efficient, and it reaches temperatures down to -70ºC in direct expansion systems.
Ammonia refrigeration has certain advantages for its use:
Disadvantages include:
The main difference between CO2 and other refrigerants is the operating pressure at which it works. However, this makes it a high-density gas, achieving a higher cooling effect with a low circulating mass. Advantages of using CO2 as a refrigerant:
CO2 also has a number of drawbacks and restrictions for its use in refrigeration:
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