OpenLB
Open Library of Bioscience
Advanced Search
Environmental science and pollution research international
Mar, 2023;30 (11): 29790-29806.

Operation performance of an ultralow-temperature cascade refrigeration freezer with environmentally friendly refrigerants R290-R170.

Haihui Tan, Lingfei Xu, Linlin Yang, Minkai Bai, Zhan Liu
Author Information
  1. Haihui Tan: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhongshan Institute, Zhongshan, 528400, China.
  2. Lingfei Xu: Zhongshan Candor Electrical Appliances Company Limited, Zhongshan, 528427, China.
  3. Linlin Yang: Zhongshan Candor Electrical Appliances Company Limited, Zhongshan, 528427, China.
  4. Minkai Bai: Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China.
  5. Zhan Liu: Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China. liuzhanzkd@cumt.edu.cn. ORCID
PMID: 36422784 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-24310-z

Abstract

In the present study, the operation performance of an ultralow-temperature cascade refrigeration freezer is experimentally researched. The natural refrigerants R290-R170 are adopted as high-temperature and low-temperature fluids. The experimental test is conducted in a type laboratory with a dry bulb temperature of 32.0 °C and a wet bulb temperature of 26.5 °C. Different state monitors are set to display the system operation performance, and several temperature monitors are arranged to study the pull-down performance and temperature variations in the freezer. Based on the established experimental rig, three freezing temperatures, including - 40 °C, - 80 °C, and - 86 °C, are measured and compared. The results show that it takes about 240 min for the freezer to be pulled down to - 80 °C. During the pull-down period, different monitors all experience rapid temperature drop, and the power consumption reduces from 1461.4 W to 997.5 W. Once the target temperature is achieved, the freezer comes into periodic start-stop operation. With the set temperature ranging from - 40 °C to - 86 °C, the inlet temperature of two compressors gradually decreases, while the discharge temperature has an increase trend. The cooling effect of the pre-cooled condenser reduces with the freezing temperature, while the long connection pipe has opposite variation profile. Moreover, it is observed that for different freezing temperatures, most of the space in the freezer can be cooled down to the target temperature. It is confirmed that the present ultralow-temperature freezer can be used for the storage and transportation of COVID-19 vaccines. However, it is also found that the cascade refrigeration system is not suitable for high freezing temperature, due to high power consumption and extensive start-stop switch of refrigeration system.

Keywords

Cascade refrigeration system Experimental measure Natural refrigerants R290-R170 Ultralow-temperature

References

  1. Adebayo V, Abid M, Adedeji M (2021) Comparative thermodynamic performance analysis of a cascade refrigeration system with new refrigerants paired with CO2. Appl Therm Eng 184:116286 [DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116286]
  2. Aktemur C, Ozturk IT (2021) Energy and exergy analysis of a subcritical cascade refrigeration system with internal heat exchangers using environmentally friendly refrigerants. J Energy Res Technol 143(10):102103 [DOI: 10.1115/1.4049271]
  3. Aktemur C, Ozturk IT, Cimsit C (2021) Comparative energy and exergy analysis of a subcritical cascade refrigeration system using low global warming potential refrigerants. Appl Therm Eng 184:116254 [DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116254]
  4. Alkhulaifi YM, Mokheimer E (2022) Thermodynamic assessment of using water as a refrigerant in cascade refrigeration systems with other environmentally friendly refrigerants. J Energy Res Technol 144(2):022101 [DOI: 10.1115/1.4050959]
  5. Amaris C, Tsamos KM, Tassou SA (2019) Analysis of an R744 typical booster configuration, an R744 parallel-compressor booster configuration and an R717/R744 cascade refrigeration system for retail food applications. Part 1: thermodynamic analysis. Energy Procedia 161:259–267 [DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.090]
  6. ASHRAE (2014) ASHRAE handbook - refrigeration (SI edition). Atlanta, Georgia, US
  7. Bingming W, Huagen W, Jianfeng L (2009) Experimental investigation on the performance of NH3/CO2 cascade refrigeration system with twin-screw compressor. Int J Refrig 32(6):1358–1365 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2009.03.008]
  8. Cabello R, Sánchez D, Llopis R (2017) Energy evaluation of R152a as drop in replacement for R134a in cascade refrigeration plants. Appl Therm Eng 110:972–984 [DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.09.010]
  9. Dopazo JA, Fernández-Seara J (2011) Experimental evaluation of a cascade refrigeration system prototype with CO2 and NH3 for freezing process applications. Int J Refrig 34(1):257–267 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2010.07.010]
  10. Eini S, Shahhosseini H, Delgarm N (2016) Multi-objective optimization of a cascade refrigeration system: exergetic, economic, environmental, and inherent safety analysis. Appl Therm Eng 107:804–817 [DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.07.013]
  11. Getu HM, Bansal PK (2008) Thermodynamic analysis of an R744–R717 cascade refrigeration system[J]. Int J Refrig 31(1):45–54 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2007.06.014]
  12. Kilicarslan A, Hosoz M (2010) Energy and irreversibility analysis of a cascade refrigeration system for various refrigerant couples. Energy Convers Manage 51(12):2947–2954 [DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2010.06.037]
  13. Lee TS, Liu CH, Chen TW (2006) Thermodynamic analysis of optimal condensing temperature of cascade-condenser in CO2/NH3 cascade refrigeration systems. Int J Refrig 29(7):1100–1108 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2006.03.003]
  14. Liu Z, Tan H (2019) Thermal performance of ice-making machine with a multi-channel evaporator. Int J Green Energy 16(7):520–529 [DOI: 10.1080/15435075.2019.1597368]
  15. Liu Z, Yan J, Gao P, Tan H (2019) Experimental study on temperature distribution in an ice-making machine multichannel evaporator. Sci Technol Built Environ 25(1):69–82 [DOI: 10.1080/23744731.2018.1499382]
  16. Liu Z, Bai M, Tan H, Ling Y, Cao Z (2023) Experimental test on the performance of a -80°C cascade refrigeration unit using refrigerants R290-R170 for COVID-19 vaccines storage. J Build Eng 63:105537
  17. Llopis R, Sánchez D, Sanz-Kock C (2015) Energy and environmental comparison of two-stage solutions for commercial refrigeration at low temperature: fluids and systems. Appl Energy 138:133–142 [DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.10.069]
  18. Mateu-Royo C, Arpagaus C, Mota-Babiloni A (2021) Advanced high temperature heat pump configurations using low GWP refrigerants for industrial waste heat recovery: a comprehensive study. Energy Convers Manage 229:113752 [DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2020.113752]
  19. Mota-Babiloni A, Joybari MM, Navarro-Esbrí J (2020) Ultralow-temperature refrigeration systems: configurations and refrigerants to reduce the environmental impact. Int J Refrig 111:147–158 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2019.11.016]
  20. Mouneer TA, Elshaer AM, Aly MH (2021) Novel cascade refrigeration cycle for cold supply chain of COVID-19 vaccines at ultra-low temperature -80 °C using ethane (R170) based hydrocarbon pair. World J Eng Technol 9(2):309–336 [DOI: 10.4236/wjet.2021.92022]
  21. Pan M, Zhao H, Liang D (2020) A review of the cascade refrigeration system. Energies 13(9):2254 [DOI: 10.3390/en13092254]
  22. Rodriguez-Criado JC, Expósito-Carrillo JA, Pérez BP (2022) Experimental performance analysis of a packaged R290 refrigeration unit retrofitted with R170 for ultra-low temperature freezing. Int J Refrig 134:105–114 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2021.11.015]
  23. Roy R, Mandal BK (2019) Energetic and exergetic performance comparison of cascade refrigeration system using R170–R161 and R41–R404A as refrigerant pairs. Heat Mass Transf 55(3):723–731 [DOI: 10.1007/s00231-018-2455-7]
  24. Roy R, Mandal BK (2020) Thermo-economic analysis and multi-objective optimization of vapour cascade refrigeration system using different refrigerant combinations. J Therm Anal Calorim 139(5):3247–3261 [DOI: 10.1007/s10973-019-08710-x]
  25. Sarkar J, Bhattacharyya S, Lal A (2013) Performance comparison of natural refrigerants based cascade systems for ultra-low-temperature applications. Int J Sustain Energ 32(5):406–420 [DOI: 10.1080/14786451.2013.765426]
  26. Sun Z, Liang Y, Liu S (2016) Comparative analysis of thermodynamic performance of a cascade refrigeration system for refrigerant couples R41/R404A and R23/R404A. Appl Energy 184:19–25 [DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.10.014]
  27. Sun Z, Wang Q, Xie Z (2019) Energy and exergy analysis of low GWP refrigerants in cascade refrigeration system. Energy 170:1170–1180 [DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.12.055]
  28. Turgut MS, Turgut OE (2019) Comparative investigation and multi objective design optimization of R744/R717, R744/R134a and R744/R1234yf cascade refrigeration systems. Heat Mass Transf 55(2):445–465 [DOI: 10.1007/s00231-018-2435-y]
  29. Udroiu CM, Mota-Babiloni A, Navarro-Esbrí J (2022) Advanced two-stage cascade configurations for energy-efficient–80 °C refrigeration. Energy Convers Manage 267:115907 [DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2022.115907]
  30. Wang H, Song Y, Cao F (2020) Experimental investigation on the pull-down performance of a -80 °C ultra-low temperature freezer. Int J Refrig 119:1–10 [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2020.04.030]

Grants

  1. 2019A1515110007/Regional Joint Fund-Youth Joint Fund Project of Guangdong Provincial
  2. 2019B2067/Zhongshan Social Public Welfare Science and Technology

MeSH Term

Humans
COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19
Refrigeration
Freezing
Cold Temperature

Chemicals

COVID-19 Vaccines
Journal Article

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0temperaturefreezerrefrigerationperformancesystemfreezingoperationultralow-temperaturecascaderefrigerantsR290-R170monitorspresentstudyexperimentalbulbsetpull-downtemperaturesdifferentpowerconsumptionreducestargetstart-stopcanhighexperimentallyresearchednaturaladoptedhigh-temperaturelow-temperaturefluidstestconductedtypelaboratorydry320 °Ca wet265 °CDifferentstatedisplayseveralarrangedvariationsBasedestablishedrigthreeincluding - 40 °C - 80 °Cand - 86 °Cmeasuredcomparedresultsshowtakes240 minpulledto - 80 °Cperiodexperiencerapiddrop14614 W9975 Wachievedcomesperiodicranging- 40 °C- 86 °Cinlettwocompressorsgraduallydecreasesdischargeincreasetrendcoolingeffectpre-cooledcondenserlongconnectionpipeoppositevariationprofileMoreoverobservedspacecooledconfirmedusedstoragetransportationCOVID-19vaccinesHoweveralsofoundsuitabledueextensiveswitchOperationenvironmentallyfriendlyCascadeExperimentalmeasureNaturalUltralow-temperature

Similar Articles

Cited By