ME 424

REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS

Rogelio O. Almira Jr., PME

DEFINITION AND
APPLICATIONS OF
REFRIGERATION
 WHAT IS REFRIGERATION?

Refrigeration – is the process of reducing and maintaining the

temperature of a space or material below the temperature of the
surroundings.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
1. Air Conditioning
The largest application of refrigeration, which is the process of cooling,
is air conditioning. Air conditioning is “the process of treating air to
control simultaneously its temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and
distribution to meet the comfort requirements of the occupants of the
condition space.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
2. Food Storage and Distribution
Refrigeration is used most often to keep foods or medicines from spoiling, since
bacterial growth is lowered at lower temperature. A common example is the home
refrigerator, in which foods can be stored for days at temperatures of around 40 oF
(4oC). Food kept frozen at temperature near 0oF (-18oC) can be stored for months
without decay or loss of flavor.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
Refrigeration is also used commercially to preserve food in cold-storage warehouses
until the food can be shipped to supermarkets and other stores. Temperatures are
usually maintained at slightly above 32oF (0oC) to prevent the foods from actually
freezing. In most cold-storage warehouses, an external refrigeration system cools a
mixture of water and salt ( brines ) or water and antifreeze. ( Such a mixture has a
lower freezing point than does pure water. ) The mixture is then circulated through
pipes that run through the warehouse.
 
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
Early refrigerated trucks, ships, and railcars
that were used to transport foods and
other materials were cooled by large blocks
of ice. Today there are separate
refrigerators—often powered by small
diesel engines—for each storage
compartment.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
3. Food Processing
Refrigeration is essential in the production of dairy products such as milk, ice
cream, and cheese. To pasteurize milk the temperature is elevated to
approximately 73oC and held about 20 sec. From that process the milk is cooled
and ultimately refrigerated to 3oC to 4oC for storage.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
In manufacturing ice cream the ingredients are first pasturized and
thoroughly mixed. Then, refrigeration equipment cools the mix to about 6 oC,
whereupon it enters a freezer. The freezer drops the temperature to -5 oC, at
which temperature the mix stiffens but remains fluid enough to flow into a
container. From this point on the ice cream is stored below freezing
temperatures.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
Refrigeration is essential in the production of beverages such as concentrated
fruits juice, beer, and wine.
 APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
4. Chemical and Process Industries
The chemical and process industries include the manufacturers of chemical,
petroleum refiners, petrochemical plants, paper and pulp industries, etc. Some
important functions served by refrigeration in the chemical and process industries
are (1) seperation of gases such as the manufacture of liquid oxygen or liquid
nitrogen, require temperatures below -240oF (-151oC). This is the area of cryogenics
which deals with matter at very low temperatures. (2) condensation of gases and (3)
maintenance of a low temperature of stored liquid so that the pressure will not be
excessive. Natural gas may be cooled to about -265oF (-165oC) the temperature at
which the gas becomes liquid for transport in specially designed ships. It is stored in
refrigerated and insulated tanks.
SPECIAL APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
1. Drinking fountains
Small refrigeration units chill
drinking water for storage and
use as needed

2.) Dehumidifiers
An appliance to dehumidify air in homes
and buildings uses a refrigeration unit by
first passing the air to be dehumidified
through the cold evaporator coil of the
system, where air is both cooled and
dehumidified. Then this cool air flows over
the condenser and is discharged to the
room.
 SPECIAL APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
3. Ice Makers
The production of ice may take place in
domestic refrigerators, ice makers ( ice
plants ) serving restaurants and motels, and
large industrial ice makers serving food-
processing and chemical plants.
 

4. Ice-skating rinks
Skaters, hockey players, and curlers
cannot rely upon weather to provide the
cold temperatures necessary to freeze the
water in their ice rinks. Pipes carrying
cold refrigerant or brine are therefore
embedded in a fill of sand or sawdust over
which water is poured and frozen.
SPECIAL APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
5. Construction
Refrigeration is sometimes used to freeze soil to facilitate excavations. Another
use of refrigeration is in cooling huge masses of concrete ( the chemical reaction
which occurs during hardening gives off heat, which must be removed so that it
cannot cause expansion and stress the concrete ). Concrete may be cooled by
chilling the sand, gravel, water, and cement before mixing. Example is the
precooling of materials for concrete in a dam.
SPECIAL APPLICATIONS OF REFRIGERATION
6. Desalting of sea water
One of the methods available for desalination of sea water is to freeze
relatively salt-free ice from the sea water, separate the ice, and remelt it to
redeem fresh water.