HCFC-22 REPLACEMENT WITH HFC DROP-IN REFRIGERANTS IN REFRIGERATION PLANTS

摘要

The Regulation CE-1005/2009 banned the use of virgin HCFC-22 in Europe from the 31st December 2009, being only allowed the refilling of the existing equipment with this refrigerant up to the 31st December 2014 if it is recycled. Now, refrigerant manufactures are offering different drop-in solutions to replace the R22 in the existing equipment by non-ozone depleting substances in order to exhaust the remaining life of the plants, or different long-term refrigerants which use implies modifications on the existing systems. This work aims to contribute the understanding of the implications of the R22 substitution process, either with drop-in or retrofitting processes, by presenting a theoretical and experimental analysis of the performance of R22, of two drop-in fluids (R422A, R417B) and of a long-term substitute (R404A), in a double-stage vapour compression plant in a wide range of evaporating temperatures for a constant condensing temperature of 40°C. In this communication the main energy parameters, such as cooling capacity and COP are analysed and discussed.