AMMONIA AND PROPANE AS NATURAL REFRIGERANTS FOR HEAT PUMP APPLICATIONS

Interest in the use of natural refrigerants in to minimize the environmental impact of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment is gaining strength. This article focuses on the performance of two candidate natural refrigerants: ammonia and propane for heat pump applications. Cycle configurations include: (1) basic vapor compression, (2) two configurations with different liquid-line/suction-line heat exchanger arrangements, and (3) a two-stage flash economizer cycle for evaluation of ammonia and propane in comparison to R-134a and R410A. The objective is to evaluate the relative performances of current and natural refrigerants and gauge which class is better suited to address the global energy and environmental challenges.