A comparison of the operating performance of alternative refrigerants

This paper provides a comparison of the operating performance of three alternative refrigerants for use in a vapour compression refrigeration cycle. The refrigeration capacity and COP of R401A, R290 and R134A were compared with those of R12 when used in a propriety vapour compression refrigeration unit initially designed to operate with R12. The results indicate that the performance of R134a is very similar to that of R12 justifying the claim that it is a drop in replacement for R12 but of the refrigerants tested it gave the poorest performance. When viewed in terms of green house impact however R290 showed the best performance.