Exergy Analysis of an HCFC-22 and HC-290 Operated Air Conditioning System

The present work discusses exergy analysis of a split type air conditioning system. Typical domestic air conditioners use R22 which is a Hydrochloroflurocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant. Due to its destructive impact on ozone layer, search for alternative refrigerants is going on. Propane (R290), a pure Hydrocarbon (HC) is considered here along with R22 to make different blends of refrigerants. Two HCFC-22 and HC-290 mixtures (P1 and P2) were prepared with mass ratios of (R22: R290) 90: 10 and 85: 15 respectively. Using experimentally obtained data of pressure and temperature, other properties in the vapor compression system were found by REFPROP 7 software. Finally, exergy analysis was done for all the refrigerants (R22, P1 and P2). Exergy destruction in each component was also inspected. Total exergy loss of mixture P2 was found to be greater than the exergy loss of R22 and P1. Variations in exergy losses were observed with respect to evaporator temperature at two different ambient conditions. In all cases, exergy destruction in condenser was found to be the highest among the four main components of the cycle.