Feasibility study of hydrocarbons as environmentally friendly refrigerants

Within the framework of this project aimed at continuously improving the performance of absorption-diffusion cycles and in the search for new refrigerants to replace commonly used fluids. We are presenting new hydrocarbon mixtures: the most volatile fluid propylene is chosen as the refrigerant and the least volatile as the absorbent. The study of the thermodynamic feasibility of the cycle consists in determining the operating limits of absorption refrigeration machines with the various alkane pairs considered. Modeling on ASPEN PLUS and ASPEN HYSYS flowsheeting software we found that the hydrocarbon mixture chosen is the one that gives the best COP compared with those given by the hydrocarbons tested. The calculation of the coefficient of performance will lead to the choice of the best performing blend. As a follow-up to this work we are proposing the search for other more efficient and more environmentally-friendly working couples.