A REVIEW ON HYDROCARBON (HCs) AS AN ALTERNATIVE REFRIGERANT: BASED ON THERMODYNAMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH

Abstract

This review paper present the possibilities of using hydrocarbons in the cooling and heating purposes in the vapor compression system are discussed elaborately. Different types of hydrocarbons (HC) as alternatives in terms of energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and heat transfer performance are analyzed. In developing countries, most of the vapor compression systems use halogenated refrigerants (HCFCs) due to their high thermal performance along with cost effectiveness. However, these refrigerants are harmful for the environmental belongings such as depletion of ozone layer and global warming. The search of alternative refrigerants is an ongoing process. This paper analyzes the different experimental and theoretical studies with HCs and their mixtures with HFCs and found that these are environmental friendly. It is concluded that some HCs, especially R600a and R290 are energy efficient and environmental friendly for the refrigeration and heat pumps. These also showed higher exergy efficiency compared to the other refrigerants like R134a, R12 and R22. REFPROP 7 software has been used to determine the thermophysical properties of the refrigerants.