Butane, isobutane and their mixtures as an alterantives to R-134a in domestic refrigerator

• Main Authors: Sattar, M.A., Saidur, Rahman, Masjuki, Haji Hassan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering 2007
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General); TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/6871/1/Butane%2C_isobutane_and_their_mixtures_as_an_alterantives_to_R-134a_in_domestic_refrigerator.pdf; http://eprints.um.edu.my/6871/; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-39549091921&partnerID=40&md5=6c6368dada15905c508a2dec2db972da

The present paper describes the experimental results on the performance of butane isobutene and their mixture as refrigerant in domestic refrigerator. Pure butane, isobutene and mixture of propane, butane and isobutene were used as refrigerants. The performance of the refrigerator using hydrocarbons as refrigerants was investigated and compared with the performance of refrigerator when R-134a was used as refrigerant. The effect of condenser temperature and evaporator temperature on COP, refrigerating effect, condenser duty, work of compression and heat rejection ratio were investigated. The energy consumption of the refrigerator during experiment with hydrocarbons and R-134a was measured. The results show that the compressor consumed 3 and 2 less energy than that of HFC-134a at 28°C ambient temperature when iso-butane and butane was used as refrigerants respectively. The energy consumption and COP of hydrocarbons and their blends shows that hydrocarbon can be used as refrigerant in the domestic refrigerator. The COP and other result obtained in this experiment show a positive indication of using HC as refrigerants in domestic refrigerator.