Low global warming potential refrigerants in liquid chillers
AssigneeTrane International Inc.
InventorsStephen A. Kujak, Kenneth J. Schultz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A refrigeration system is disclosed. The system includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator fluidly connected to form a refrigeration circuit. A refrigerant composition including an environmentally-suitable chiller refrigerant that has a 100 year direct global warming potential (GWP) of less than 150 is included. The refrigerant composition includes a mixture including R-1336mzz-(Z) and R-1130-(E), wherein an amount of R-1336mzz-(Z) in the mixture is in a range from at or about 69% by weight to at or about 81% by weight, and an amount of R-1130-(E) in the mixture is in a range from at or about 31% by weight to at or about 19% by weight.
Claims13
A method of retrofitting a chiller system, the chiller system including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator fluidly connected to form a refrigeration circuit, the method comprising:
- removing an existing refrigerant from the refrigeration circuit;
- adding a new refrigerant composition to the refrigeration circuit, the new refrigerant composition including a mixture of R-1336mzz-(Z) and R-1130-(E);
- and
- modifying one or more components of the chiller system to operate with the new refrigerant composition, wherein modifying one or more of the components of chiller system consists of at least one selected from the group of:
- modifying a purge for the refrigerant circuit,
- modifying a size of an economizer in the refrigerant circuit, and
- modifying orifice sizing in the refrigerant circuit to change a refrigerant flow rate between the evaporator and the condenser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.