REFRIGERANTS AND ITS PURPOSE

Objectives:
Understand Function of refrigerants, Characteristics of common refrigerants, Primary and
Secondary refrigerants, refrigerant recovery, recycle and reclamation.

Introduction
To reduce and maintain the temperature of a space the temperature of the surroundings,
heat must beremoved from the space and transferred to another body, the temperature of
which is below that of the refrigerated space. Something that takes this place is called a
refrigerant.

REFRIGERANT CYLINDERS

Definitions of Refrigerant

A refrigerant is a heat carrier to move heat from a room to be cooled to the outside. With
regard to the vapor compression cycle, the refrigerant is the working fluid of the cycle which
alternately vaporizes and condenses as it absorbs and gives off heat respectively.

The medium used for heat transfer in a refrigerating system, which absorbs heat on
evaporating at a low temperature and a low pressure and rejects heat on condensing at a
higher temperature and higher pressure.

The refrigerant used in refrigeration systems absorbs heat in the evaporator, (changing state
from a liquid to a vapour by using the heat in the space), and rejects this absorbed heat in the
condenser as it changes from a superheated vapour back to a liquid.

A refrigerant is a compound that can readily absorb heat at one temperature, then compressed
by a heat pump to a higher temperature and pressure where it changes phase and discharges
the absorbed heat.

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PROPERTIES OF IDEAL REFRIGERANTS:
All refrigerants have different properties, and an "Ideal" refrigerant would have the all the
good characteristics and properties and none of the bad. Unfortunately no single refrigerant
can offer this, and so each refrigeration or air conditioning system will use a refrigerant that
best suits its requirements.

Desirable refrigerant characteristics can be summarized as follows:

(1) Inexpensive
(2) Nonpoisonous
(3) Nonexplosive
(4) Noncorrosive
(5) Nonflammable
(6) Stable (inert)
(7) High latent heat of vaporization
(8) Easy to vaporize and condense
(9) Easy to detect leaks
(10)No environmental pollution
(11)should have low boiling point and low freezing point

CLASSES OF REFRIGERANTS

Refrigerants can be classed as primary, secondary or expendable refrigerants.

Primary refrigerants: are substances that change state twice (once in the evaporator and
once in the condenser). Primary refrigerants transfer the bulk of the heat through a latent
heatprocess, and are used in refrigeration systems such as vapour compression and
absorption refrigeration systems.

Secondary refrigerants: absorb heat and change temperature in order to transfer heat from
the substance / product to be cooled. They usually do not change state in the cooling cycle
but change temperature by absorbing sensible heat. A typical example of a
secondaryrefrigerant is chilled water and glycol solutions.

Expendable refrigerants: change state once and are lost to the environment through
vaporisation, sublimation or melting. Common examples of expendable refrigerants are:

Product Boiling Temp Process

Liquid nitrogen –196°C (vaporisation)
Dryice [solidCO2] –79°C (sublimation)
Ice (water) 0°C (melting)

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TYPES PRIMARY REFRIGERANT TYPES
All primary refrigerants fall into one of the three basic types, as explained below:

Pure: Consists of one chemical compound.

Examples of pure refrigerants include: R134a (Tetrafluoroethane), R22
(Chlorodifluoromethane).

Azeotropic: Consists of a mixture of two or more chemical compounds which in the case of
refrigerants are volatile substances.
Azeotropic refrigerants are characterized by: remaining in the same proportions throughout
the refrigeration cycle boiling at a constant temperature as the mixture evaporates.
Examples include the R500 family, R500, R502, R503, R507, R508A, R508B, and R509A.

Zeotropic (or near–azeotropic): Consists of a mixture of two or more chemical compounds,

(known as Blends) that are volatile substances that change in composition as it evaporates.
ExamplesincludetheR400family,R401A,R404Aetc.

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants: Many hydrocarbon gases have successfully been used as

refrigerants in industrial, commercial and domestic applications.
Examples: R170, Ethane, C2H6
R290 , Propane C3H3
R600, Butane, C4H10
R600a, Isobutane, C4H10
Blends of the above Gases

Commonly used types, including CFC, HCFC, HFC, high pressureand natural refrigerants

Refrigerants are identified by a number preceded by an ‘R‘, and are sometimes referred to by
a trade name, e.g. Care 10 (R600a), Isceon 49 (R437A).

The common groups of refrigerants can be classified according to their chemical composition:
 CFC: Fully‐halogenated (no hydrogen remaining) halocarbon containing chlorine,
fluorine and carbon (obsolete)
 HCFC: Halocarbon containing hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine and carbon
 HFC: Halocarbon containing only hydrogen, fluorine and carbon
 PFC: Perfluorinated carbon containing only fluorine and carbon
 HC: Hydrocarbon containing only hydrogen and carbon R290 and R600a
 Natural: Carbon dioxide (CO2 or R744) and Ammonia (R717)

SAFE HANDLING OF REFRIGERANTS

Generally, all refrigerants are:

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  considered to be either asphyxiating or toxic to some degree and some refrigerants
are flammable, such as R717, R290 and R600 (some more than others).
 heavier than air and will settle at ground level.
 extremely volatile, boiling at very low temperatures, from +24°C to –50°C and lower.
 stored in cylinders that are classified as pressure vessels by AS 2030, except
refrigerants like R11 and R123.

Refrigerant burns
Spillage of liquid refrigerants, such as R22 and R134a, will cause frostbite (freeze / thermal
burn) to occur on any unprotected parts of our body, due to the low boiling point of these
refrigerants.
In the event of frostbite, do not remove clothing from affected area. Frostbite should be
treated by:
1. placing the affected limb in lukewarm water for 10 to 15 minutes depending on
depth of burn then
2. covering the affected limb with a burn cream and then transporting the patient to
hospital.

Inhalation of refrigerant vapour

Refrigerant vapours are denser than air and may reduce the available oxygen. The
symptoms likely to be experienced upon inhalation of refrigerant vapour include narcosis,
anaesthesia, respiratory depression, unconsciousness and possible asphyxiation. In addition,
inhalation may lead to cardiac arrhythmia in susceptible individuals due to cardiac
sensitisation, which can be suddenly fatal.

Refrigerant Refrigerant Name Type Chemical Formula Band

Number Colour
R717 Ammonia Natural NH3 Slate
R22 Chlorodifluoromethane HCFC CHClF2 Moss
Green
R404a R125 + 143a + R134a HFC Ternary Blend of Orange
44% 52% 4% HFC refrigerants
R134a Tetrafluoroethane HFC CF3CH2F Light Blue
R410A R125 + R32 HFC Binary Blend of HFC Rose
50% 50% refrigerants

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REFRIGERANT RECOVERY, RECYCLING, RECLAMATION

Recovery and Reclaim Procedures

All chemically manufactured or synthetic greenhouse gas (SGG) refrigerants must be
recovered at all times from a system. This can be done through either pump down or
recovery. Purging to remove air, moisture or other contaminates is unacceptable under the
Ozone Protection Act and Regulations.

 Recover: Remove Refrigerant & store in another container without any testing or
processing

 Recycle: Extract appliance refrigerant & clean it for reuse without meeting the
purity of the original refrigerant. Process: separation of oil, moisture, acidity and
particulate matter reduction & removal of non‐condensable.

 Reclaim: Reprocess of used refrigerant to a purity level equivalent to a new product

(gas) specifications eg. through distillation etc.

Refrigerant Recovery ‐ Reasons?

 CFCs & HCFCs

 because they destroy the ozone layer and threaten life on earth and also
cause global warming.

 HFCs

 because they cause global warming.

Refrigerant Recovery Setup

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