A PROPOSAL TO REVIEW THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF

HEAT RECOVERY FROM R744 BASED REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

BY

GROUP 1

MATRIC NUMBER
ENG0801569
ENG0902126
ENG0902137
ENG1002105
ENG1002128
ENG1002129
ENG1002131
ENG1002143
ENG1002153
ENG1002168
ENG1106003
ENG1002170
ENG1002178

SUMMARY

This document proposes a review on the experimental investigation of heat recovery from
R744 based refrigeration system. The proposed review will highlight the hazardous impacts of
heat waste upon the environment, the use of expelled heat energy, advantage of heat recovery
process from the R744 based refrigeration system over conventional systems, energy usage
comparison of R744 based refrigeration system and traditional system and the complication
encountered with heat recovery from the R744 based refrigeration system. Included in this
proposal are our methods for gathering information.

INTRODUCTION

Industrial and commercial companies of all sizes and in all sectors use refrigeration plant
to reduce the temperature of buildings. The food industry also uses refrigeration in the
production and storage of food and drink. Refrigeration is a process where work is done to move
heat from one place to another. For most household and industrial applications. The process
involves the use of a compressor which circulates the refrigerant around the system and increases
the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant so that heat can be rejected in the condenser. The
condenser condenses the refrigerant into a high pressure liquid and heat is rejected (usually to
ambient air). At the expansion valve, the liquid refrigerant is expanded - reduced in pressure into
a gas, the expanded refrigerant gas passes through the evaporator collecting heat from its
surroundings before flowing back to the compressor as a gas.
A refrigerant is a substance or mixture, usually a fluid, used in a heat pump and
refrigeration cycle. In most cycles it undergoes phase transitions from a liquid to a gas and back
again. Many working fluids have been used for such purposes. Fluorocarbons, especially
chlorofluorocarbons, became commonplace in the 20th century, but they are being phased out
because of their ozone depletion effects. Other common refrigerants used in various applications
are ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and non-halogenated hydrocarbons such as propane.
R744, or carbon dioxide, is making its re-entry into the industrial refrigeration scene.
Once thought to be a wasteful chemical requiring too much high pressure to be feasible as a
coolant, environmentalists now hail R744 as an answer to growing concerns. Concerns regarding
traditional and widely used chemical refrigerants include global warming contributing factors, as
well as ozone layer destruction factors.
Energy recovery has become incredibly important in all aspects of the commercial
refrigeration industry in recent years. The refrigeration process includes a heat rejection stage to
cool the refrigerant for re-use in the cycle. The heat is given up at the condenser and lost to the
environment. The process of refrigeration has traditionally involved a substantial use of electric
energy, Energy recovery is accomplished when traditionally discarded heat is rerouted for other
uses. The recovered heat is primarily used for space and water heating.

The opportunity to recover heat from refrigeration systems is an excellent efficiency

measure. The R744 based refrigeration system has enormous potential for recovering heat, far
greater than contemporary systems using HFCs (Hydrofluorocarbons). Heat reclaim has been
used with previous refrigerants. However, under comparable conditions a CO2 system can
deliver 55C whereas a more conventional HFC system with R404A will only deliver 35C
(Sawalha, 2012).
Due to its low critical temperature (31.1 oC) and high critical pressure(73.8 bar), CO2
refrigeration cycle works as a transcritical cycle, which means part of the cycle is located in
supercritical region, where the temperature is independent of the pressure. Depending on the heat
sink fluid temperature profile the temperature glide of CO2 in the supercritical region makes it
possible for the CO2 refrigeration cycle to have less irreversibility in a heat recovery process than
traditional refrigeration cycles.

LITERATURE REVIEW

CO2 is an old refrigerant and it is one of those which were used in the early application
right after the start of refrigeration industry. J&E Hall a British company, made the first two
stage CO2 machine in 1889. CO2 was used in diverse applications and the most important
application area at that time was marine refrigeration where other refrigerants (like ammonia)
could not be used due to flammability and toxicity problems. Commonly stated problems at that
time were, High pressure containment with the available technology at that time. Low COP
(coefficient of performance) and capacity loss at high heat rejection pressures.
Old working fluids were replaced by CFCs which were introduced in 1930s and 1940s,
they were considered more safe than ammonia and SO2. Factors like low working pressure,
better efficiency, low cost assembly and aggressive marketing of CFCs replaced CO2 as well.
As the problems associated with the CFCs (Ozone Depletion) become clear, again there
was search for reliable refrigerants. In 1989 Professor Gustav Lorentzen devised a system
utilizing transcritical CO2 cycle, one promising application for that system was found in
automobile air conditioning (a dominant sector in refrigerant emission) which needs a non-toxic
and nonflammable refrigerant. Professor Lorentzen compared the performance of CO2 with R-12
and although CO2 was less efficient but several practical considerations made the actual
efficiencies of the two systems to be comparable. The results found by Professor Lorentzen and
others again raised interest in CO2 as refrigerant, now a number of research projects (both from
industry and research sectors) are in process.
Campbell, et al (2006) discuss the noteworthy characteristics of CO2 as a refrigerant. CO2
is a good refrigerant because it has a high volumetric capacity and a high heat transfer
coefficient. In addition it is non-toxic, non-flammable and environmentally benign. Its
disadvantages are that it has a low triple point, low critical point and a very high operating
pressure. One of the key differences of CO2 to other refrigerants is its low critical point and high
operating pressure.

Once the transcritical CO2 systems were proven to show comparable or improved
efficiencies against HFC systems, in terms of cost and environment impact, the next stage of
development was to recover the free, and relatively high quality, heat made available due to the
high discharge pressures (Funder-Kristensen, et al, 2013). The recovered heat can be used for
space and water heating in the store. The combination of efficient refrigeration and heat reclaim
makes CO2, with its high temperature properties, an attractive option for supermarkets which,
have high space and water heating demands in addition to high refrigeration demands (FunderKristensen, et al, 2012).

METHODOLOGY

In our review, we will discuss heat recovery from refrigeration systems, with particular
interest on why heat recovery is necessary. This presents our plan for obtaining the expected
outcome discussed in the next section. There are several reports and research work investigating
the heat recovery from r744 based refrigeration system, and also several websites discussing the
benefits of r744 based refrigeration system.
These reports, research works and websites on this topic should provide sufficient
information for us to complete our review. The following paragraph will discuss how we will use
this sources in our report.
The first objective is to discuss the hazardous impacts of heat waste upon the
environment. Here, we will expound on how this waste affects the environment using other
refrigerant based systems other than the r744 system. Also included in our objective is how this
heat waste can be recovered and used.
Other objectives cover heat recovery from the r744 based refrigeration system, including
the advantage of other conventional systems, energy usage and complications.
In doing this, we will rely on recent sources; Experimental investigation of heat recovery
from R744 based refrigeration system by Zahid Anwar (Master of Science Thesis, KTH School
of Industrial Engineering and Management, Division of Applied Thermodynamic and
Refrigeration, 2011), SUPERMARKETS FOR THE FUTURE: Natural Refrigeration and Heat
Recovery (Katie Wallace, 2013).

EXPECTED OUTCOME

This review is aimed at expounding on heat recovery from r744 based refrigeration system.
We propose to review the available literature on the experimental investigation of heat
recovery from the r744 based refrigeration system. In our study, we have the following
objectives;
1. Hazardous impacts of heat waste upon the environment
2. Use of expelled heat energy
3. Advantage of heat recovery process from the r744 based refrigeration system over
conventional systems
4. Energy usage comparison of r744 based refrigeration system and traditional system
5. The complication encountered with heat recovery from the r744 based refrigeration
system

CONCLUSION

Energy recovery has become incredibly important in all aspects of the commercial
refrigeration industry in recent years, the process of refrigeration has traditionally involved a
substantial use of electric energy.
With increasing energy price and concern on environmental impacts, more attention has
been paid to refrigeration and heat pump systems. Several regulations have already been applied
on the choice of refrigerants and the search for more energy efficient system solutions has been
intensified. Due to these reasons, CO2 as an environmental benign natural refrigerant has
attracted great interest since 1990s.
Due to its low critical temperature (31.1 oC) and high critical pressure(73.8 bar), CO2
refrigeration cycle works as a transcritical cycle, which means part of the cycle is located in
supercritical region, where the temperature is independent of the pressure. Depending on the heat
sink fluid temperature profile the temperature glide of CO2 in the supercritical region makes it
possible for the CO2 refrigeration cycle to have less irreversibility in a heat recovery process
than traditional refrigeration cycles.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.carnotrefrigeration.com/en/refrigeration/r744-carbon-dioxyde
2. http://www.r744.com
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerant
4. Experimental investigation of heat recovery from R744 based refrigeration system by
Zahid Anwar (Master of Science Thesis, KTH School of Industrial Engineering and
Management, Division of Applied Thermodynamic and Refrigeration, 2011)
5. SUPERMARKETS FOR THE FUTURE: Natural Refrigeration and Heat Recovery
(Katie Wallace, 2013)
6. www.linde-gas.com/refrigerants