Natural refrigerants are readily available, have low global warming potential, and cover a wide range of thermodynamic properties, making them a promising candidate for various applications. Hydrocarbons, R-718 (water), and R-744 (CO2) are three potential natural refrigerants for industrial applications, each suitable for different temperature profiles. Hydrocarbons have a higher critical temperature, enabling high delivery temperatures in subcritical operation, and are expected to provide promising performance in applications with moderate-temperature glides like hot water production. R-718 is intended for applications with low temperature glides like evaporation processes or steam production. R-744 is suitable for applications with large temperature glides like spray drying processes.
The article presents three potential application cases for the three technologies, including a 2.4 MW hydrocarbon HTHP integrated into a brewery with an existing hot water system and an ammonia HP, an R-718 system for an evaporation process in a pharmaceutical plant, and an R-744 system for spray drying of milk powder. By using cost-effective equipment and combining technologies, such as in cascade systems, the strengths of each technology can be enhanced for applications with high-temperature lifts.
Martin Pihl Andersen, Jonas Lundsted Poulsen, Brian Elmegaard and Benjamin Zühlsdorf, Denmark
This text has been shortened by the HPC team
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