• On 3 rd July we discussed use of natural refrigerants in Air

Ammonia Refrigerant advantages & drawbacks conditioning and Refrigeration applications

By • The Theme was, always use refrigerants which has basically

Ramesh Paranjpey two important properties to reduce CO 2 emissions
Fellow Life Member ASHRAE • 1. Low Global warming Potential
ASHRAE Distinguished fifty-year service award-2020 • 2. High Energy Efficiency
Chairman ISHRAE Technical group –Refrigeration
Chairman AAR standards committee • We also discussed briefly that Ammonia refrigerant is the
most efficient Refrigerant and has practically no Global
10th July 2020
warming impact
Session-2
• Today we shall discuss all the good and bad points related
to Ammonia refrigerant in more details

1 2

HISTORY OF AMMONIA REFRIGERANT

Refrigerants Time-line
1. Ammonia was first used as a refrigerant in the 1850s in
SO 2 France and was applied in the United States in the 1860s,
NH 3 for artificial ice production. The first patents for ammonia
CH 3Cl refrigeration machines were filed in the 1870s.
CFCs 2. 1876: Carl von Linde used ammonia absorbtion cycle for
HCFCs use in domestic Refrigerators.
HFCs
HCs
air
water
CO 2

1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000

© A P earso n 1 9 9 9

3 4

House Hold Refrigerator Using Ammonia Block Ice machine -Ammonia compressor
Absorption Technology-Year 1880 driven by steam engine-1879

5 6

1
 Refrigerant- What does it do?
Linde’s first ammonia reciprocating compressor was
built in 1876. The first compressor was installed in a
brewery in Triste and exhibited in Paris in 1878.

7 8

Refrigerant Flow Path REFRIGERANT EVALUATION PROCESS

1. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

2. PERFORMANCE-COP-(Output in kW /input in kW)

3. ENERGY EFFICIENCY-Energy consumed -kW/TR

4. TOXICITY/SAFETY

5. FLAMMABILITY

6. MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY

7. STABILITY

8. COST

9 10

THERMAL/PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AMMONIA-R717 , (NH 3)=1N+3H=14+3=17

7 series-natural refrigerant- 17-molecular weight
1. BOILING POINT-Should be lower than operating conditions

2. DISCHARGE TEMPERATURE-Should be lower than 1300C

3. DISCHARGE PRESSURE-Should be reasonably low

4. SPECIFIC VOLUME-Should be low

5. DENSITY-Should be high

6. Latent heat of vaporization-Should be high

7. Compressor displacement-Should be low

11 12

2
 Ammonia Refrigerant-Grade Requirements
AMMONIA – A NATURAL REFRIGERANT SCORES
ABOVE ALL OTHER REFRIGERANTS Ammonia content Min.99.95%-purity
Appearance Colourless
Odour Characteristic-Pungent
Ammonia is produced in a natural way by human beings and
animals; 17 grams/day produced by humans. ODP 0
GWP 0
Atmospheric life Nearly zero <0.019165
Water content 33PPM max.
Natural production 3000 million tons/year
Oil content 2PPM max.
Production in factories 120 million tons/year Non condensable 0.2ml/g
Salt content Nil
Used in refrigeration 6 million tons/year-less than
Pyridine, Hydrogen sulphide, Naphthalene Nil
0.2%
Molecular weight 17.031
Concentration in Human blood 0.8-1.7 PPM

13 14

Ammonia Refrigeration-Grade properties

Boiling point at one -33.33 Deg. C
atmosphere(101.33kPa)
Freezing point/Triple point at one -77.66 Deg. C
atmosphere
Critical Temperature 132.22 Deg. C
Relative Density of Vapour compared 0.5976-Lighter than air
to air
Lower Flammability limit-LFL 15-16%-108000mg/m3
Upper Flammability limit 25-28%-240,000mg/m3
Ignition temperature 651.1 Deg. C
Ratio of sp. heat at 150C and 1 1.32
atmosphere (Ƴ= Cp/Cv)
Solubility in water 0.571kg or 650 g in 1 ltr. of water

15 16

ADVANTAGES OF AMMONIA AS
REFRIGERANT

17 18

3
 Compared to 1 kg of CO2

AMMONIA ATMOSHERIC LIFE IS NEAR ZERO

19 20

Refrigerant ODP GWP Atmospheric Life-years What is TEWI?

R-22 (HCFC -22) 0.055 1790 11.9 TEWI is a measure of the global warming impact of equipment based
on the total related emissions of greenhouse gases during the
operation of the equipment and the disposal of the operating fluids at
R-134a 0 1370 13.4
the end-of-life.
R404A 0 3700 16
R407C 0 1700 5.6 TEWI takes into account both direct emissions, and indirect
R410A 0 2100 16 emissions produced through the energy consumed in operating the
R507C 1 3300 40.5 equipment. TEWI is measured in units of mass in kg of carbon
R32 0 675 4.9 dioxide equivalent (CO2-e).
R290-Propane 0 3.3 12.0 TEWI is calculated as the sum of two parts, they are:
R1234Ze 0 6.0 0 1. Refrigerant released during the lifetime of the equipment,
including unrecovered losses on final disposal,
R1234yf 0 4.0 0
2. The impact of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels used to generate
R744=CO2 0 1.0 29-36
energy to operate the equipment throughout its lifetime., means
Ammonia, R717 0 0 <0.02 related to power consumption

21 22

TEWI Effect--Total Equivalent Warming Impact Total Equivalent Warming –Impact-It is expressed in kg of CO )
2

REF: ASHRAE Journal Aug 2013

It is defined as sum of the direct emissions from leaks and indirect

emissions (energy use) resulting from power consumption.

TEWI can be calculated using the equation below (UNIDO 2009):

TEWI = direct emissions + indirect emissions =
(GWP×L×N)+(Ea×β×n), where
L – annual leakage rate in the system, kg (3% of refrigerant charge
annually),
N – life of the system, years (15 years),
n – system running time, years (based on weather data, 4910 hours),
Ea – energy consumption, kWh per year (modelled for each
refrigerant),
β – carbon dioxide emission factor,
CO2-eq. emissions per kWh (165 g CO2/kWh)

23 24

4
 TEWI- COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT REFRIGERANT
for an evaporation temperature t0=−20 °, a condensing
temperature tc=35 °C, and an operating time of 15 years.

Refrigerant
.
Table 3.8
Direct Effect

Operating
Fluid
Indirect Effect

Drive Energy
Recovery TEWI
Leak (kg Generation
Leak (kg (kgCO 2)
CO 2) (kg CO 2)
CO 2)

R22 1,033,500 68,900 1,805,400 2,907,800

R134a 911,625 60,775 1,884,150 2,856,550
R407C 999,352 66,623 2,104,650 3,170,625
R410A 1,049,555 69,970 1,962,900 3,082,425
R717 0 0 1,457,550 1,457,550

25 26

What is LCCP?

LCCP = Life Cycle Climate Performance

TEWI +1+2 IMPORTANCE OF

1. GWP (indirect; energy consumption from chemical LATENT HEAT OF EVAPORATION
Refrigerant production and transport, manufacturing components,
assembly and end-of-life)
2 GWP (direct; chemical refrigerant emissions including
atmospheric reaction products, manufacturing leakage and end-of-
life)

27 28

IT IS THE LATENT HEAT WHICH MAKES

REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS WORK-(PHASE CHANGE)
LATENT HEAT COMPARISON @ 4-50C
-SENSIBLE HEAT DOES HARDLY ANY COOLING
• Water R-718- 2489.04kJ/kg
When refrigerant boils in the Evaporator it absorbs lot of heat
from the medium to be cooled and gets converted in vapour , • Ammonia – R717- 1247.85kJ/kg
i.e. latent heat.
• R410A- 214.48kJ/kg
For Example- at -100C, the enthalpy of Ammonia liquid is • HCFC 22/R22- 201.79kJ/kg
1450.70kJ/kg whereas specific heat of liquid is only 4.564
kJ/kg.K, Latent heat is nearly 320 times more • HFC 134a/R134a- 195.52kJ/kg
• R404A- 162.03kJ/kg
Same thing happens in condenser when vapours get condensed
in liquid it rejects lot of heat. Ammonia latent heat is 6 to 9 times more

29 30

5
 ENERGY EFFICIENCY OR C.O.P.

C.O.P. is Dimensionless value

indicating output /input
or
what you get divided by what you
spend

31 32

COMPARISON@-+400C/+20C
Comparison of Various Refrigerants (for chilled water application)
ASHRAE Fundamentals 2013 Table 8-29.8
Refrigerant Capacity-kW Power consumption-kW C.O.P.
Ammonia-R717 1076.335 173.473 6.20
R410A 155.467 28.647 5.43
R134a 142.197 24.201 5.88
R404A 106.254 20.530 5.18
R22 156.419 26.376 5.93
Propane-R290 290.557 46.659 5.80
R507 111.904 20.452 5.47
Isobutate-R600a 263.125 43.728 6.02
Water –R718 2337.240 403.211 5.80
CO2-(+310C/-50C) 104.106 26.692 3.90

33 34

COMPARISON@-+400C/-50C COMPARISON@-+400C/-250C
(for cold storage application) (for frozen storage application)
Refrigerant Capacity-kW Power consumption-kW C.O.P. Refrigerant Capacity-kW Power consumption-kW C.O.P.
Ammonia-R717 1068.731 215.255 4.965 Ammonia-R717 1043.211 358.501 2.91
R410A 159.327 32.416 4.80 R410A 142.662 57.08 2.50
R134a 138.124 29.551 4.67 R134a 126.048 46.768 2.70
R404A 102.346 25.142 4.07 R404A 90.272 39.978 2.26
R22 153.832 32.416 4.74 R22 145.666 52.230 2.79
Propane-R290 263.01 56.917 4.62 Propane-R290 240.649 89.845 2.68
R507 109.137 25.096 4.35 R507 100.675 40.348 2.50
Isobutate-R600a 253.671 52.966 4.79 Isobutate-R600a 226.378 82.130 2.76
Water –R718 2324.327 525.501 4.42 Water –R718 2287.299 1024.183 2.23
CO2-(+31/-5) 107.718 35.701 3.02 CO2-(+31/-5) 111.222 66.772 1.67

35 36

6
 COMPARISON@-+400C/-400C Ammonia C.O.P. (Efficiency)Comparison with other
( for blast/plate/ spiral freezing) refrigerants for various applications
Refrigerant Capacity-kW Power consumption-kW C.O.P.
Ammonia-R717 1020.824 496.672 2.06 Refrigerant For positive For secondary For low Blast
R410A 80.654 53.063 1.52 Temperature
Refrigerant fluids For secondary
For positive temperature
For low freezers/IQF
R134a 116.693 61.965 1.88 cold rooms-Temperature
operation cold rooms-
cold fluids operation +400C/-400C
temperature cold
0 0 rooms-+40 0C/2
0
0C +40
0
0C/-5 0C
0 rooms-+40
0
0C/-
+40 C/+2 C +40 C/-5 C +40 C/-25
250C
C
R404A 80.854 53.063 1.52
Ammonia-R717 6.20 4.965 2.91
R22 138.945 70.159 1.98
R410A 5.43 4.80 2.50
Propane-R290 223.32 118.890 1.88 AmmoniaR134a
6.20 5.88 4.965 4.67 2.91 2.70 2.06
R507 93.932 54.234 1.73 -R717 R404A
R22
5.18
5.93
4.07
4.74
2.26
2.79
Isobutate-R600a 207.398 107.450 1.93
Water –R718 2259.468 1603.402 1.41
R410A 5.43 4.80 2.50 1.75
CO 2-(+31/-40) 109.446 96.160 1.14 R134a 5.88 4.67 2.70 1.88
R404A 5.18 4.07 2.26 1.52
R22 5.93 4.74 2.79 1.98

37 38

Energy efficiency – Reciprocating compressor Energy efficiency – Screw compressor

Performance : t-evap,. = -10 oC; t-cond. = 35 oC t-evaporating Temperature. = -30 o C; t-cond. = 35 o C

Refrigerant Refrigerating Shaft power COP 1/COP Refrigerant Refrigerating Shaft COP 1/COP
capacity capacity power
[-] [kW] [kW] [-] [%] [-] [kW] [kW] [-] [%]
R717 (NH3) 425.8 112.9 3.771 100.0 R717 (NH3) 435.9 228.0 1.912 100.0
R22 380.3 121.3 3.135 120.3 R22 443.2 228.4 1.940 98.6
R134a 218.8 74.7 2.929 128.7 R134a 221.5 139.4 1.589 120.3
R404A 352.4 132.6 2.658 141.9 R404A 394.7 257.5 1.533 124.7
R507 356.7 136.0 2.62 143.8 R507 408.4 262.7 1.555 123.0

39 40

DENSITY
REFRIGERANT molecular weight

Ammonia-R717 17.02-lighter than air

AIR-R729 28.96

DENSITY R290-Propane 44.097

R410A 72.60
R404A 72.60
R-22 86.468
R134a 102.03
1234yf/1234ze 114.0

From the above table one can see that Ammonia is the only
refrigerant lighter than air, and all other refrigerants are heavier
than air

41 42

7
 Leakage losses
AMMONIA IS LIGHTER THAN AIR & HAS LOWER DENSITY

All other refrigerants are heavier than air and have higher density 1. The molecular weight of ammonia is 17.03, whereas
If ammonia leaks- it rises in the air and disintegrated-other refrigerants HCFC 22 has 86.48, R134a is 102.03, R404A is
settle in the machine room and displace oxygen. 97.604 & R410A is 72.585.

If machine room is not ventilated there have been more accidents 2. This means if plant develops leak of equal size on
reported due to loss of oxygen leading to suffocation
both plants, loss of higher density refrigerants would
People are unable to detect leakages of these refrigerants as they have be greater than ammonia.
no smell and leakage is suspected only when cooling effect is reduced
or lost. 3. Similarly, during purging the loss of refrigerant is less
in ammonia plants compared to other refrigerants for
the same reason.

43 44

HEAT TRANSFER RATE AND CONDUTIVITY Heat transfer rates of Ammonia compared to R-22
or R134a or R404A refrigerant.
Ammonia R-22, R134a,
The disadvantage of heavier refrigerants is the heat
R404A
transfer rate is lower during evaporation and
Condensation outside 7500-11000 1700-2800
condensation partly as a result of a greater liquid film
tubes (W/m 2K)
thickness due to lower evaporation or condensation
Condensation inside tubes 4200-8500 1400-2000
enthalpy.
(W/m 2K)
Boiling outside Tubes 2300-4500 1400-2000
(W/m 2K)
Further disadvantage, is the very low thermal Boiling inside tubes 3100-5000 1500-2800
conductivity of HCFC and HFC refrigerants in the (recirculation of liquid)
liquid phase as compared with ammonia in the liquid (W/m 2K)
phase. higher heat transfer coefficients for Ammonia, helps in use of smaller evaporators &
condensers or retain same heat transfer areas & operate at higher evaporating
temperatures & lower condensing temperatures, thus improving the cycle
efficiency/C.O.P.

45 46

AMMONIA IS LIGHTER THAN OIL

Most of the thermal properties influencing heat transfer are
favorable to ammonia compared to HCF 22 refrigerant. The heat Safe oil pump operation without oil starvation-no oil
transfer properties of R134a and R404A are very similar to R-22 heater needed in most part of India

Specific heat of liquid is nearly 4 times - 4 to 1

Latent heat of vaporization is- 6 to 1
Liquid thermal conductivity is - 5.5 to 1
Viscosity is less- 0.8 to1
Liquid density is less as mentioned earlier- 0.5 to 1

All these properties help in improving heat transfer correlation

between ammonia relative to HCFC 22 and other commonly used
manmade refrigerants for condensing and evaporating heat transfer
processes.

47 48

8
 Critical temperature /critical pressure and critical density-
PIPING DESIGN-OIL MISCIBILITY Ammonia has highest critical temperature and thus most
suited for heat pump applications –to get highest hot water
HCFC 22 & other HFC refrigerant liquids and commonly used temperature and higher heat recovery
lubricating oils are mutually soluble in varying degrees depending Refrigerant Critical Critical Boiling Critical
upon type of oil, operating temperature and pressure, Temp.-0C pressure- point-0C Density-
MPa kg/m3
Ammonia & oil are virtually insoluble. Hence recovering oil from
R717- 132.25 11.333 -33.33 225.0
various parts of ammonia system is easier & requires different
approach to oil management. Oil recovery problems are nonexistent
R134a 100.06 4.0593 -26.07 511.0
with ammonia at partial loads unlike HCFC 22 systems.
R22 96.15 4.99 -40.81 523.8

Also piping design is simpler in ammonia since oil is immiscible R1234yf 94.7 3.3822 -29.49 475.6
and hence does not require double risers or complicated piping R32 78.11 5.782 -51.65 424.0
arrangement to ensure that oil is returning to the compressor by
R404A 72.05 3.729 -46.22 486.5
maintaining adequate velocities even at partial loads and ensuring
no oil traps anywhere in piping design. R410A 71.36 4.903 -51.55 459.5
R744 30.98 7.377 - 467.6

49 50

Volume and mass flow rate for 100kW capacity at 400C Pipe Size Comparison-ASHRAE –Refrigeration 2014
condensing and -150C evaporating temperature Capacity -200kW, evaporating temperature +50C
Refrigerant Cap.kW Power C.O.P. Pressure Mass Volume flow-
kW ratio flow- m3/hr. Refrigerant Suction line – Discharge Line- Liquid line –
kg/hr.
mm OD mm OD mm OD
Ammonia R- 100 26.686 3.75 6.583 340.704 173.0421
717
Ammonia – 50 40 20
R717
R-22 100 27.897 3.58 6.5186 2401.91 186.4804
R134a 100 28.583 3.50 6.193 2723.76 326.6467 HCFC-22 80 65 32
R404A 100 33.418 2.99 4.955 3732.48 204.5811
HFC134a 80 80 40
R404A 80 65 40
Ammonia refrigerant’s mass flow rate is 1/7 times that of HCFC 22, or 10.97 times less
compared to R404A -only 1/7 liquid needs to be pumped if R22 is used or 10 times lower R410A 65 50 32
pump-power compared to R404A. Thus, mechanical pumping power will be much less in
ammonia system. PIPING,FITTINGS COST AND INSULATION COST IS MORE FOR
OTHER REFRGERANTS

51 52

Refrigeration capcity for +40 0C condensing and + 5 0C

evaporating Temperature say for 50mm pipe size- Tolerance to water contamination
Ref: ASHRAE 2014 Refrigeration volume
1. Ammonia systems are more tolerant to water
contamination than HCFC/HFC systems.
Line Refrigerant Suction Discharge line - Liquid
size line-kW kW line-kW 2. A little leak of moisture in the system which does not
exceed concentration beyond 100 PPM stays in the
50mm R22 106.4 150.5 707.5
solution & does not freeze out.
R134a 70.10 106 546
R404A 96.18 137.33 758.2 3. Hence modest contamination with water does not
R410A 160.19 229.98 1320.9 usually interfere with ammonia system operation.
R717- 218.6 374.7 2840.5
4. It is suggested that a small amount of water added in
Ammonia
the ammonia system will help to reduce the risk of
stress corrosion cracking.

53 54

9
 COST OF REFRIGERANT & OIL AMMONIA SMELLS-EASY LEAK DETECTION

Ammonia has a pungent odor and even small leaks as low as

Refrigerant Cost per Kg as on Cost of oil per liter
5 PPM are detectable by smell so that maintenance staff can
08-04-2020
correct them. Almost all human beings can detect levels up to
25 PPM easily The smell is in fact an advantage since the
Ammonia-R717 Rs. 60 Rs.160 smallest leakages are discovered immediately and then
corrected.
R134a Rs. 450 Rs.1350
The odourless refrigerants like HCFC-22 or HFC-134a and
R404A Rs. 450 Rs. 1350 others, even if they leak from the system in large quantity, it
won’t be noticed till cooling performance drops. In case of leaks,
R410A Rs. 450 Rs.1350 since HFC/HCFC refrigerants are heavier than air & due to their
odourless character, they settle down in plant room & more
accidents have been reported due to suffocation.

55 56

AMMONIA CONVINCES WITH TOP ENERGY

EFFICIENCY
1. Zero ODP
2. Near Zero GWP-Zero Atmospheric Life
3. Best Thermodynamic Efficiency compared to any other Refrigerant
4. Favourable TEWI balance with high COP
5. Low cost
6. Lubricating oil inexpensive
7. Equipment manufactured in India- Compressors, condensers, DISADVANTAGES
evaporators
8. Available in all parts of country
9. Refrigerant Manufactured in India
10. Lighter than Air –Escapes to atmosphere and does not accumulate
in machine room
11.Leaks easily detectable
12. Does not mix with oil-can be drained easily

57 58

ASHRAE Standard 34.1-2013-Toxicity/Flammability

LIMITATIONS & DRAWBACKS Flammability in Air @ 60°C & 101.3 kPa ASHRAE Standard Safety Group

Higher Flammability
A3 B3
1. Toxicity LFL or ETFL 60 ≤ 100 g/m 3 OR HOC ≥ 19 MJ/kg

2. Flammability Lower Flammability

A2 B2
3. Material compatibility LFL or ETFL 60 > 100 g/m 3 & HOC < 19 MJ/kg

4. High Discharge temperature Lower Flammability

LFL or ETFL 60 > 100 g/m 3 & HOC < 19 MJ/kg A2L B2L
5. OIL Miscibility with a maximum burning velocity of ≤ 10 cm/s
No flame Propagation A1 B1

Higher Toxicity
Lower Toxicity
Flammability in Air @ 60°C & 101.3 kPa OEL
OEL ≥ 400PPM
< 400 PPM
LFL = Lower Flammability Limit
ETFL 60 = Elevated Temperature Flame Limit @ 60°C
HOC = Heat Of Combustion, OEL-Occupational Exposure Limit

59 60

10
 FLAMMABILITY

Flammability classifications
A1 – No flame propagation
A2 – Exhibits flame propagation, a LFL > 3.5% and
heat of combustion < 19,000 kJ/kg

A2L – burning velocity not greater than 10 cm/s*

A3 – Exhibits flame propagation, a LFL ≤ 3.5% and
heat of combustion ≥ 19,000 kJ/kg

61 62

1. ammonia is extremely hard (only above 6500C) to ignite and SAFETY CLASSIFICATION OF REFRIGERANTS -ASHRAE STANDARD-34

breaks down above 4500C. The leaks are detectable above

HIGHER A3 B3
5PPM by most. It is therefore extremely rare to encounter such
high temperatures in normal air conditioning and refrigeration FLAMMABILITY R-290 Propane
R-600a-Isonutane
applications.
LOWER A2 B2
FLAMMABILITY R152a
2. There is no reason for any concern that exposure to ammonia is A2L B2L
a fire hazard. R-32 R-717 Ammonia
R-1234yf
3. Flammable limit by volume in air at atmospheric pressure for R1234ze(E))
ammonia is as high as 16% to 25% concentration. NO FLAME A1 B1
PROPOGATION R22, R134a, R410A, R123
4. It is significant to know that no ammonia refigeration systems R404A, R407C, R744-
require use of flamproof controls by any International standard CO2

Low Toxicity HIGH TOXICITY

63 64

Toxicity classifications

Class A signifies refrigerants where toxicity has not been

identified at concentrations ≥ 400 ppm v based on TLV–
TOXICITY TWA data or consistent indices

Class B signifies refrigerants for where there is evidence

of toxicity at concentrations < 400 ppm, based on TLV-
TWA data or other consistent indices

TLV-Thresh hold limit value

TWA-Time weighted average

65 66

11
 Toxicity Levels of Ammonia refrigerant
5 PPM Onwards Detectable
Detected by most – no health hazard exposure
25 PPM
10 – 15 years

100 PPM No dangerous effects, minor irritation.

400 – 700
Irritation Eyes, Nose, Mucous . Lead to dryness
PPM

1700 PPM Cough, Cramp, Serious Irritation, Injuries

2000 PPM Can Lead to Death

7000 PPM Lethal within few minutes

Recommended maximum allowable concentration for Ammonia in air is 2mg / m3 for

30 minutes, 1mg / m3 for 24 hrs & 0.5 mg / m3 for one year.-PPMx0,7=mg/m3

67 68

IN CASE AMMONIA LIQUID LEAKS IN CASE AMMONIA VAPOURS LEAK

69 70

DISCHAGRE TEMPERATURE

71 72

12
 Discharge Temperature with Operating
conditions of+400C/-200C 1. The maximum allowable discharge gas temperature is 130-
1400C with use of mineral oils for compressor lubrication.
Refrigerant Cp/Cv at Approximate isentropic
boiling point Discharge Temperature 0C 2. Many compressor manufacturers recommend use of synthetic
oil for Ammonia systems designed for low temperature
or at
applications. The synthetic oil can withstand much higher
Atmospheric temperatures say 140 to 1500C
pressure
3. If the isentropic temperature is exceeding this limit it is always
R22 1.236 75 advisable to go for multi-staging.
R134a 1.154 55
R404A 1.166 58 4. As a thumb rule if allowable temperature difference
between saturated discharge and saturated suction
R410A 1.244 70 temperature is more than 50K for Ammonia and 70K
R717 1.348 145 for R22 & other refrigerants, it is advisable to go for two-
(Ammonia) staging for getting better performance.

73 74

MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY OIL MISCIBILITY

1. Ammonia and mineral oils are not miscible and oil travels with
ammonia refrigerant and is thus present in all parts of the system.
1. Ammonia is not compatible with copper and copper Oil therefore needs draining from various points-such as oil separator,
Receiver, L.P. vessel, Oil pot, air coolers, flooded chiller etc.
bearing alloys. It is fully compatible with iron, steel
2. The problem can be substantially reduced if one uses efficient oil
and aluminum and use of aluminum is on increase.
separators with demister s. s. pads , so that minimum oil goes into the
system , and major portion can be drained automatically to
2. Since chlorofluorocarbons are compatible with all compressor from oil separator.
materials, any material can be chosen and thus 3. Miscible POE/PAG oils for DX systems are also now available
provides greater flexibility. 4. Many engineers consider oil immiscibility as advantage since oil
once drained from oil separator, the inner surfaces of heat exchangers
a remain clean and heat transfer improves compared to HFC/HCFC
3. Also Ammonia installtions use normally open drive
refrigerants. It is important to remember that oil is mainly required for
motors since copper winding is not suitable for compressor lubrication only and presence of oil elsewhere in the
Ammonia system is unwanted as oil does not give refrigeration or cooling effect.

75 76

1. Cold Storages for Potatoes, fruits ,vegetables and other

commodities like chillies,seed storages,grains,termeric,dry
fruits etc.
2. Ice Plants-Conventional block ice, flake ice, tube ice plants,
slurry ice, plate ice plant
3. Fish freezing plants –Spiral freezers, plate freezers, IQF, Blast
& Trolley freezers
FIELDS OF APPLICATIONS FOR 4. Slaughter Houses & Meat processing plants
AMMONIA REFRIGERANT 5. Dairies using ice bank systems, ice reserve units ,chilled water
systems, cold rooms and other requirements
6. Icecream making Plants
7. Chocolate making plants
8. Process refrigeration plants using chilled water or low
temperature brine chilling systems for Chemical/Dyestuff
Industries
9. Air conditioning of processing halls for cold chain facilities
like grading, sorting, Ante room areas.
10. Breweries

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 11.Bottling plants for Coca-Cola/Pepsi & other soft drink bottlers
19.Air conditioning of large complexes like Air ports,
12. Concrete cooling applications for river dams, airport runways
and concrete expressways telegraph, and other commercial office premises – more
13. Fertilizer plants Maximum use is of ammonia is in agricultural details given subsequently, using chilled water systems.
industry as a fertilizer with 99.5% minimum content of ammonia of 20. Skating ice rings for amusement parks
commercial grade. 21. Space shuttles
14. Recently many Super markets are also using ammonia/carbon 22. Heat Pumps. Industrial heat pumps
dioxide(R717/R744) or ammonia/secondary fluids like propylene 23. Marine Refrigeration
glycol systems
15. Liquefaction of gases like Chlorine,carbon dioixide & other and many other not listed applications
gases
16. Pharmaceutical plants for process cooling
17. Mettalergical industry, ammonia is used as a source of inert gas,
or for nitriding of metal surfaces.
18. In environmental protection, ammonia plays an important role in
removing nitrogen oxides and sulpher dioxide from the smoke
emitted by power plants.

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Non-Azeotropic Liquid Gas Blends-Advantage THANK YOU

1. Ammonia with Propane(290) Questions?
2. Ammonia with Octafluoropropane(R218)
3. Ammonia with Octafluorocyclobutane(R318)
4. Ammonia with isobutane(R600a)
5. 60% Ammonia and 40% dimethyl ether(R723)
Ramesh Paranjpey
Experiments have shown that compared to pure Ammonia,
Fellow Life member ASHRAE
some blends tested have lower discharge temperatures, lower
compression ratios,5-10% better refrigeration capacity and [email protected]
better oil solubility(PAG or PAO oils),and reduces toxicity
Cell No. 9822398220
Ref: Monika Witt-Condenser magazine November 2008 Web: http://Ramesh-paranjpey.com

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