Ammonia Refrigeration
What is Ammonia Refrigeration?
Ammonia refrigeration systems are, as the name implies, a system of refrigeration that uses ammonia. The ammonia is the chemical that is used to absorb the heat from one area and bring it to another area to dissipate.
Why is Ammonia used for refrigeration?
Ammonia is a 3-10% more efficient refrigerant than CFCs, so an ammonia-based system requires less electricity, resulting in lower operating costs. Ammonia is safe for the environment, with an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) rating of 0 and a Global Warming Potential (GWP) rating of 0.
When did they stop using ammonia as a refrigerant?
Consider the fact that from 1834 up until the late 1920s, the majority of all refrigeration applications used ammonia. Naturally, since ammonia was available, refrigeration was put into hospitals, sanitariums, hotels, and was used for air conditioning.
Where is ammonia refrigeration used?
Ammonia refrigeration is most commonly used in facilities that have large-scale refrigeration systems such as food and beverage manufacturing facilities, cold storage warehouses, combined cycle power plants, and petrochemical facilities.
Can we use ammonia as refrigerant?
Ammonia is an efficient refrigerant used in food processing and preservation, as well as many other refrigeration and air-conditioning processes. Ammonia has desirable characteristics as a refrigerant, which have been well known for over a century. It is corrosive and hazardous when released in large quantities.
How cold can ammonia refrigeration get?
The majority of ammonia systems are found in the food refrigeration industries at holding temperatures above 30oF (-1oC), frozen storage and blast freezing to -50oF (-46oC). Ammonia refrigeration also is found in gas processing, refineries and chemical plants.
Is Freon better than ammonia?
Freon is a man-made refrigerant that was developed as an alternative to both sulfur dioxide and ammonia. While Freon is less efficient than ammonia on a BTU per pound basis, Freon refrigerants are not nearly as inefficient as assumed.
What is the most efficient refrigerant?
R-32 is the most balanced refrigerant in terms of Environmental Impact/Energy Efficiency/Safety/Cost-Effectiveness for Stationary Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps.
Why Ammonia?
Why do we use anhydrous ammonia instead of halocarbons in industrial applications? Ammonia is cheap and extremely efficient. Ammonia is the most commonly used refrigerant worldwide for large commercial applications. The main use of ammonia is agricultural (fertilizer). More than 80 percent of the ammonia produced is utilized in this fashion due to its high nitrogen content. Since ammonia is plentiful, the cost is low. The cost for refrigerant-grade anhydrous ammonia typically is less than 50 cents a pound, compared to about $7 a pound for R4O4A and $15 a pound for R-502.
Understanding Ammonia Refrigeration Systems