Use of HFC fluids as suitable replacements in low-temperature refrigeration plants

An experimental investigation of the performance of a low-temperature refrigerating unit working with R22 and a comparison of its performance when operating with replacement HFC fluids in accordance with the European Regulation CE-1005/2009 are presented in this paper. Plant working efficiency was tested with R22, as baseline, and then compared with four different HFC fluids: R413A, R417A, R422A and R422D. The refrigerating unit was a vapour-compression plant equipped with a reciprocating double-cylinder compressor able to keep the cold room at -20ºC. Lower values of the temperature at the end of compression and polytrophic exponent can be achieved with the HFC tested. Substituting the R22 …

Energy Saving with Absorption Equipment: a Case Study

The paper deals with the results of a feasibility study performed at DREAM which is related to the possibility of using reject heat from an Electric Utility (which has a Combined Cycle Unit with Gas and Steam turbines belonging with ENEL Pro. at Termini Imerese, Palermo). The Utility lies near an Industrial District where there has need for feeding a Cooling Plant for Foodstuff Stocking at two different temperature levels: 0 °C and -18°C. The feasibility study covers both technical feasibility of a suitable cooling plant which use two separate absorption equipment, working with the pair Ammonia-Water, and economic feasibility of the venture. The feasibility study pertains: to the optimal de…

Hierarchizing Energy Saving Strategies in Wine Industry by Advanced Modelling of Chilling Units Operation

Wineries are energy intensive industries and in order to make the production process more sustainable, solutions for an efficient use of energy should be implemented. Large surveys conducted in the wineries sector have highlighted the importance of performing accurate energy audits and have identified in the installation of efficient cooling/refrigeration systems the most promising solutions in a variety of cases. Unfortunately, the savings achieved by such energy efficient solutions is often calculated by highly simplified approaches, which do not take into consideration the actual operating conditions of the equipment (highly variable on a seasonal and daily basis). In this paper a system…

Preventing Legionella in HVAC Systems