Refrigerant

Abstract

A refrigerant composition consisting essentially of a hydrofluorocarbon component consisting of: R227ea 3-9% R134a 25-70% R125 3-35% R32 10-35%
together with an optional hydrocarbon component,
wherein the amounts are by weight and are selected to total 100%,
can be used as a replacement for refrigerant R22 in existing equipment.

Claims

1. A refrigerant composition consisting essentially of a hydrofluorocarbon component consisting of: TABLE-US-00020 R227ea 3-9% R134a 25-70% R125 3-35% R32 10-35%; and an optional hydrocarbon component; wherein the amounts are by weight and are selected to total 100%.

2. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of R227ea is 3% to 8%.

3. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 2, wherein the amount of R227ea is 3% to 6%.

4. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of R134a is 42.5% to 70%.

5. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 4, wherein the amount of R134a is 42.5% to 65%.

6. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 5, wherein the amount of R134a is in the range from 53.5% to 63.5%.

7. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of R32 is 10% to 20%.

8. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the amount of R125 is 15% to 31%.

9. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrofluorocarbon component consists of: TABLE-US-00021 % R227ea 3-9 R134a 25-70 R125 12-35 R32 10-35.

10. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrofluorocarbon component consists of: TABLE-US-00022 % R227ea 3-8 R134a 42.5-65 R125 12-35 R32 10-30.

11. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrofluorocarbon component consists of: TABLE-US-00023 % R227ea 3-6 R134a 25-70 R125 5-30 R32 10-30.

12. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrofluorocarbon component consists of: TABLE-US-00024 % R227ea 3-6 R134a 42.5-65 R125 10-30 R32 10-30.

13. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrofluorocarbon component consists of: TABLE-US-00025 % R227ea 4-6 R134a 50-55 R125 17-22 R32 17-22.

14. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, consisting of: TABLE-US-00026 % R227ea 4-6 R134a 50-55 R125 17-22 R32 17-22 n-butane 0.6-2 2-methylbutane 0.6-2.

15. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon component is selected from the group consisting of propene, propane, 2-methylpropane, n-butane, but-1-ene, but-2-ene, 2-methylpropene, n-pentane, 2-methylbutane and mixtures thereof.

16. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 15, wherein the hydrocarbon component consists of a mixture of n-butane and 2-methylbutane each in an amount equal to or greater than 0.6%.

17. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 12, wherein the hydrocarbon component is selected from the group consisting of propene, propane, 2-methylpropane, n-butane, but-1-ene, but-2-ene, 2-methylpropene, n-pentane, 2-methylbutane and mixtures thereof.

18. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 17, wherein the hydrocarbon component consists of a mixture of butane and 2-methylbutane each in an amount equal to or greater than 0.6%.

19. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 13, wherein the hydrocarbon component is selected from the group consisting of propene, propane, 2-methylpropane, n-butane, but-1-ene, but-2-ene, 2-methylpropene, n-pentane, 2-methylbutane and mixtures thereof.

20. A refrigerant composition as claimed in claim 19, wherein the hydrocarbon component consists of a mixture of butane and 2-methylbutane each in an amount equal to or greater than 0.6%.

Description

(1) The invention is further described by means of example, but not in any limitative sense.

(2) Blends containing the following ingredients were prepared.

(3) TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 2 Blend 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 36 R134a 55 53.5 52 55 57 54 54 53.8 R32 20 20 20 20 18 20 20 20 R125 20 20 21 20 19 21 20 20 R227ea 5 5 6 4 6 3.6 5 5 n-butane 1.5 0.6 0.6 R600a 1 1 0.8 1 2- 0.6 methylbutane R290 GWP 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

(4) TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 3 Blend 31 32 25 24 33 34 35 R134a 58.5 60 53.5 55 42.5 47.5 47.5 52.5 37.5 42.5 R32 16 16 20 20 15 15 10 10 20 20 R125 19 19 20 20 35 35 35 35 35 35 R227ea 5 5 5 5 5 0 5 0 5 0 n-butane 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 2-methyl- 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 butane GWP 1771 1792 1761 1783 2095 2133 2057

EXAMPLE 1

(5) Table 4 provides comparative cycle data for commercially available refrigerants being used in a typical air conditioning system. Such a system comprises a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a room; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the room at desired level.

(6) The operating conditions for the a/c system are the following.

(7) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(8) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(9) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(10) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(11) Evaporator: average sat. temp. (C)=7.0 Suction gas superheat (K)=5.0

(12) Condenser: average sat. temp. (C)=45.0 Liquid subcooling (K)=5.0

(13) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the AR4 values of their component refrigerants.

(14) TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 4 Perfor- mance Property Units R22 R434A R424A R407C R427A R438A Discharge bar 17.29 19.45 16.14 18.63 17.96 17.84 pressure Discharge .sup.0C 78.8 59.7 61.2 72.3 69.2 65.1 temp Capacity kJ/m.sup.3 3637 3570 3100 3727 3557 3456 % of R22 98 85 102 98 95 COP 4.35 4.02 4.19 4.25 4.24 4.20 Compres- 2.78 2.79 2.94 2.95 2.94 2.93 sion ratio Glide K 0.0 1.4 3.0 4.6 4.2 3.7 (evapor- kg/s ator) Flow rate 10.sup.3 6.18 9.10 8.12 6.15 6.57 7.41 GWP 1810 3245 2440 1774 2138 2264

EXAMPLE 2

(15) Table 5 provides comparative cycle data for commercially available refrigerants being used in a typical refrigeration system. Such a system comprises a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a refrigerated space; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the refrigerator at desired level.

(16) The operating conditions for the refrigeration system are the following.

(17) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(18) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(19) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(20) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(21) Evaporator: average sat. temp. ( C.)=35.0 Superheat (K)=5.0

(22) Condenser: average sat. temp. ( C.)=35.0 Subcooling (K)=5.0

(23) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the TAR values of their component refrigerants.

(24) TABLE-US-00013 TABLE 5 Isceon Isceon Performance 29 79 RS-52 Property R22 R502 RS-45 R422D R422A R428A Discharge bara 13.55 14.76 15.31 14.14 16.22 17.24 pressure Discharge .sup.0C 116.9 74.7 65.9 66.9 61.7 68.2 temperature Capacity kJ/m{circumflex over ()}.sup.3 777 791 713 640 733 802 % of R22 102 92 82 94 103 % of R502 100 90 81 93 101 COP 1.73 1.64 1.55 1.56 1.5 1.5 Compression 10.26 9.3 10.34 11.12 10.13 9.57 ratio Glide K 0.0 0.1 1.5 2.9 1.5 0.2 (evaporator) Flow rate kg/s 6.37 10.01 9.89 9.73 11.21 11.02 10.sup.3 GWP 1810 4657 3245 2729 3143 3607 Isceon Klea Performance HP62 AZ-50 99 66 FX100 Property R404A R507 R438A R407C R427A R407A Discharge 16.12 16.55 13.87 14.46 13.96 15.33 pressure Discharge 68.2 66.7 78.8 96.3 88.9 90.7 temperature Capacity 785 804 653 713 677 750 % of R22 101 103 84 92 87 97 % of R502 99 102 83 90 86 95 COP 1.56 1.55 1.63 1.67 1.66 1.65 Compression 9.75 9.58 11.70 11.87 11.80 11.52 ratio Glide 0.5 0.0 3.6 4.4 4.10 4.2 (evaporator) Flow 9.33 9.67 7.93 6.43 6.92 7.02 rate GWP 3992 3985 2264 1774 2138 2107

EXAMPLE 3

(25) A typical refrigeration system was modelled using the refrigerant blends prepared in accordance with this specification under the same operating conditions as for the refrigerants in Example 3. The performance data obtained are shown in Table 6.

(26) TABLE-US-00014 TABLE 6 Performance Property Blend 1 Blend 13 Blend 9 Discharge pressure 16.15 12.79 14.92 Discharge temp 100.4 102.6 96.2 Capacity 816 632 744 % of R22 105 81 96 % of R502 103 80 94 COP 1.66 1.71 1.67 Compression ratio 11.30 12.45 11.59 Glide (evaporator) 4.6 4.4 4.5 Flow rate 6.27 5.76 6.3 GWP 1888 1284 1770

EXAMPLE 4

(27) Table 7 provides comparative cycle data for two commercially available refrigerants, R407C and R22, being used in a typical air conditioning system, plus the cycle data for blends 24 to 30 formulated in accordance with this specification. Such a system comprises a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a room; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the room at desired level.

(28) The operating conditions for the a/c system are the following.

(29) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(30) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(31) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(32) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(33) Evaporator: average sat. temp. (C)=7.0 Suction gas superheat (K)=5.0

(34) Condenser: average sat. temp. (C)=45.0 Liquid subcooling (K)=5.0

(35) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the AR4 values of their component refrigerants.

(36) TABLE-US-00015 TABLE 7 Performance Property 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 R22 R407C Discharge bara 17.53 17.66 17.81 17.62 17.02 17.8 17.71 17.29 18.63 pressure Discharge .sup.0C 70.9 70.5 70.5 70.8 70.2 71.1 70.7 78.8 72.3 Temperature Capacity kJ/m.sup.3 3516 3532 3554 3529 3416 3565 3539 3637 3727 COP 4.28 4.27 4.25 4.27 4.28 4.27 4.26 4.35 4.25 Compression 2.98 2.97 2.96 2.97 2.99 2.96 2.97 2.78 2.95 Ratio Glide K 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.8 0 4.6 (evaporator) Flow rate kg/s 6.28 6.27 6.35 6.25 6.36 6.17 6.29 6.18 6.17 10.sup.3 GWP

EXAMPLE 5

(37) Table 8 provides comparative cycle data for commercially available refrigerants being used in a typical refrigeration system, plus blends 24 to 30 formulated in accordance with this specification. Such a system comprises a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a refrigerated space; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the refrigerator at desired level.

(38) The operating conditions for the refrigeration system are the following.

(39) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(40) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(41) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(42) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(43) Evaporator: average sat. temp. ( C.)=35.0 Superheat (K)=5.0

(44) Condenser: average sat. temp. ( C.)=35.0 Subcooling (K)=5.0

(45) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the AR4 values of their component refrigerants.

(46) TABLE-US-00016 TABLE 8 Performance Property 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 R22 R404A R407C Discharge bara 13.6 13.71 13.83 13.74 13.19 13.81 13.74 13.55 16.12 14.46 pressure Discharge .sup.0C 93 91.1 91.8 92.7 91.1 93.6 92.3 116.9 68.2 96.3 temperature Capacity kJ/m{circumflex over ()}.sup.3 660 667 671 668 636 674 668 778 785 713 COP 1.68 1.68 1.67 1.67 1.68 1.68 1.67 1.73 1.56 1.67 Compression 12.1 12.0 12.0 12.0 12.3 12.0 12.0 10.3 9.8 11.9 ratio Glide K 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.4 4.2 4.3 4.5 0 0.5 4.4 (evaporator) Flow kg/s 6.61 6.6 6.68 6.59 6.72 6.45 6.62 6.37 9.33 6.42 rate 10.sup.3 GWP

EXAMPLE 6

(47) Table 9 provides comparative cycle data for two commercially available refrigerants, R407C and R22, being used in a typical air conditioning system, plus the cycle data for blends 31 to 35 formulated in accordance with this specification. Such a system comprises a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a room; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the room at desired level.

(48) The operating conditions for the a/c system are the following.

(49) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(50) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(51) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(52) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(53) Evaporator: average sat. temp. (C)=7.0 Suction gas superheat (K)=5.0

(54) Condenser: average sat. temp. (C)=45.0 Liquid subcooling (K)=5.0

(55) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the AR4 values of their component refrigerants.

(56) TABLE-US-00017 TABLE 9 Performance Property 31 32 33 34 35 R22 R407C Discharge bara 16.73 16.61 18.07 16.96 19.16 17.29 18.63 pressure Discharge .sup.0C 69.1 69.5 68.2 66.3 69.8 78.8 72.3 Temperature Capacity kJ/m.sup.3 3351 3334 3561 3339 3637 3727 3727 COP 4.28 4.29 4.23 4.24 4.35 4.35 4.25 Compression 2.99 3 2.94 2.96 2.92 2.78 2.95 ratio Glide K 4.4 4.5 4.3 4 4.4 0 4.6 (evaporator) Flow kg/s 6.4 6.41 6.42 6.96 6.18 6.18 6.17 rate 10.sup.3 GWP 1771 1792 2095 2133 2057 1774

EXAMPLE 7

(57) Table 10 provides comparative cycle data for commercially available refrigerants being used in a typical refrigeration system, plus blends 24 to 30 formulated in accordance with this specification. Such a system comprises a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a refrigerated space; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the refrigerator at desired level.

(58) The operating conditions for the refrigeration system are the following.

(59) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(60) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(61) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(62) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(63) Evaporator: average sat. temp. ( C.)=35.0 Superheat (K)=5.0

(64) Condenser: average sat. temp. ( C.)=35.0 Subcooling (K)=5.0

(65) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the AR4 values of their component refrigerants.

(66) TABLE-US-00018 TABLE 10 Performance Property 31 32 33 34 35 R22 R404A R407C Discharge bara 12.97 12.86 14.04 13.16 14.91 13.55 16.12 14.46 pressure Discharge .sup.0C 88.7 89.7 86 81.8 89.9 116.9 68.2 96.3 temp Capacity kJ/m{circumflex over ()}.sup.3 623 616 677 623 731 778 785 713 COP 1.68 1.68 1.66 1.66 1.66 1.73 1.56 1.67 Compression 12.2 12.4 11.8 12.1 11.53 10.3 9.8 11.9 ratio Glide K 4 3.9 4 3.7 4.2 0 0.5 4.4 (evaporator) Flow rate kg/s 6.79 6.79 7.12 7.43 6.85 6.37 9.33 6.42 10.sup.3 GWP 1771 1792 2095 2133 2057

EXAMPLE 8

(67) Refrigerant blend 36, having the mass composition R32 20%, R125 20%, R134a 53.8%, R227ea 5%, n-butane 0.6% and isopentane 0.6% is used in an air conditioning system comprising a gas compressor or pump, which sucks in lower pressure, lower temperature refrigerant vapour and compresses it to a higher pressure, higher temperature gas; a condenser which cools the hot gas by rejecting heat to external air thus allowing the refrigerant to condense to a liquid; an expansion device, which drops the pressure of the liquid refrigerant; an evaporator where the low temperature gas evaporates absorbing heat from a room; the resulting lower pressure, lower temperature then returns to the compressor to complete the cycle. The components are connected by appropriate pressure tubing and controlled by circuitry including a temperature sensor which enables the a/c system to maintain the room at desired level.

(68) The operating conditions for the a/c system are the following.

(69) System cooling capacity (kW)=1.00

(70) Compressor isentropic efficiency=0.800

(71) Compressor volumetric efficiency=0.900

(72) Electric motor efficiency=0.900

(73) Evaporator: average sat. temp. (C)=7.0 Suction gas superheat (K)=5.0

(74) Condenser: average sat. temp. (C)=45.0 Liquid subcooling (K)=5.0

(75) Also included are the global warming potentials (GWPs) derived from the AR4 values of their component refrigerants. The performance data obtained are shown in Table X.

(76) TABLE-US-00019 TABLE X Performance Property Units Blend 36 Discharge pressure bar 17.50 Discharge temp C. 70.7 Capacity kJ/m.sup.3 3505 % of R22 96 COP 4.27 Compression ratio 2.97 Glide (evaporator) K 4.8 Flow rate kg/s 10.sup.3 6.26 GWP