ICR07-D1-1062

AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF A SUPERMARKET PLANT

WORKING WITH CARBON DIOXIDE AS REFRIGERANT

L. CECCHINATO(a), M. CORRADI(a), S. MINETTO(a), P. SCHIESARO(b)

(a)
Dipartimento di Fisica Tecnica, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Venezia, 1,
Padova, I-35131, Italy
Fax: +390498276896, marco.corradi@unipd.it
(b)
Arneg S.p.A., via Venezia, 58, Campo San Martino (PD), I-35010, Italy

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the experimental results of a commercial refrigeration plant for supermarkets
working with R744. The system was installed for testing purpose in a test area, simulating a 300 m2
supermarket. The system has a total capacity of 31 kW in medium temperature (MT - evaporation
temperature –10°C) and about 15 kW in low temperature (LT - evaporation temperature –35°C).
The swept volume of the compressors is 5.4 m3/h for MT and 5.9 m3/h for LT, the MT and the LT
circuits are completely separated. The MT unit has two single stage compressors in parallel, while
the LT unit has two compressors in parallel of two-stage internal compound type. In both LT and
MT units on the high pressure side, the heat is rejected to water. The throttling system includes a
differential valve or a step-motor electronic valve (acting as a controlled back-pressure valve) in
alternative, coupled with a liquid receiver and thermostatic electronic valves as the final stage. The
experimental tests were run, both in subcritical and transcritical conditions, using the two valves
varying the gas-cooler water inlet temperature from 15 to 35 °C. Different setting of the differential
valve spring were used.

1. INTRODUCTION

Carbon dioxide is one of the oldest refrigerants, as it was already employed at the end of the
nineteenth century, mainly where safety was essential. However when synthetic refrigerants, around
1931, came into use, CO2 began its decline, because the new fluids provided best energy efficiency
with cheaper and more reliable equipment. High critical pressure (73.84 bar) and rather low critical
temperature (31.06°C) summarise the main drawbacks. Nevertheless today CO2 is gaining more and
more favour thanks to its very low environmental impact. In 1994 the Norwegian prof. Lorentzen
first proposed again this refrigerant as a working fluid for compression vapour inverse cycles and
since then many other authors has extensively studied such applications. Although CO2 shows poor
thermodynamic properties with reference to the energy efficiency of a traditional vapour
compression inverse cycle, it is seen as an effective solution to the problem of the global warming
of anthropic origin, since its ODP is zero and its GWP is negligible, even zero, if the fluid is
recovered from waste of industrial processes.

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 Because of its low critical temperature, a CO2 system is different from a traditional one and often
operates according to a simple transcritical cycle when the temperature of the hot sink exceeds a
specific value (in a typical dimensioning beyond the range 15-20 °C); in this case the upper
pressure is higher than the critical one and heat transfer does not involve two phase transformation
(condensation) but only gas cooling (consequently the heat exchanger is named gas cooler). A
transcritical cycle behaves differently from a traditional one, especially with reference to the
function of the throttling valve and its operation. Many Authors have dealt with these topics, but the
contributions of Casson et al. (2003), Kim et al. (2003), Cavallini and Nekså (2001), Nekså (2002),
Groll (2001), Lorentzen (1994) appear to deserve a mention for accuracy and clearness.
In commercial refrigeration, CO2 may be an important refrigerant alternative to the HFC fluids
normally used. In fact, on a global basis, commercial refrigeration is the refrigeration subsector with
the largest refrigerant emission calculated as CO2 equivalents. These represents 40% of the total
annual refrigerant emissions (IPCC, 2005). Annual leakage rates higher than 30% of the system
refrigerant charge are found when performing a top-down estimate (Palandre et al., 2004). CO2 has
no harmful effects if leaked to the environment and is non-flammable and non-toxic, thus also safe
to the immediate environment. Different systems operating with CO2 as a refrigerant have been
designed and installed in the last years. In northern Europe, carbon dioxide has become a real option
for commercial refrigeration plants.
The application of CO2 in commercial refrigeration has been analyzed in detail both theoretically
and experimentally (Girotto e Neksa, 2002), (Schiesaro e Kruse, 2002), and different plant concepts
were shown by different authors (Girotto, 2005), (Eggen and Aflekt, 1998). Considering only
centralized systems, the possible uses of CO2 are (i) as secondary refrigerant (ii) as a primary
refrigerant in the low temperature stage of a cascade system; (iii) in all-CO2 centralized systems
with the low temperature stage in cascade (iv) in all-CO2 centralised systems with separated circuits
for LT and MT service, both rejecting directly to the environment (or to another hot sink).
In this paper the experimental results of a direct-expansion carbon dioxide commercial refrigeration
plant built with system concept (iv) are presented. In both LT and MT units on the high pressure
side, the heat is rejected to air through a closed water loop connected to a dry-cooler. The
dry-cooler was introduced in this experimental supermarket plant in order to get a closer control of
R744 gas-cooler outlet temperature. With only one compressor running, the system operates in
transcritical conditions when the temperature of the inlet dry-cooler air exceeds 20-22 °C, thus, a
throttling system that keeps the upper pressure close to its optimal value is needed. As suggested by
Casson et al. (2003) and Girotto et al. (2004), the throttling system includes a differential valve, a
liquid receiver and thermostatic electronic valves as the final stage. In parallel with the differential
valve, the plant was equipped with a step-motor electronic valve which allows to control high
pressure in function of gas-cooler outlet temperature.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

The system was installed for testing purpose in a test area, simulating a 300 m2 supermarket. The
MT and LT plant are built according to the diagrams shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 respectively.
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 The medium temperature (MT) system operates at –10°C evaporating temperature with a total
cooling capacity of about 31 kW while the low temperature (LT) system operates at –35°C
evaporating temperature with a total cooling capacity of about 15 kW. The MT system serves
vertical multideck cabinets, cold rooms for dairy and meat and an open chest. The LT system serves
open chests and a cold room. As was previously discussed, the MT and the LT circuits are
completely separated and both stages reject heat directly to the environment.
In the LT circuit there are two double stage compressors of CO2 in parallel with gas intercooling
between the two compression stages; the MT circuit, instead, has a single stage compressor. The
total swept volume of compressors is 5.4 m3/h for MT and 5.9 m3/h for LT and the lubricant is
PAG oil 46 on LT and 68 on MT circuit. In both systems, on the high pressure side, heat is first
rejected to water in a shell and plate gas-cooler and then to air through a closed water loop
connected to a dry-cooler. The dry-cooler loop feeds also the LT shell and plate intercooler between
the two compression stages. Then the refrigerant is throttled down by the first expansion stage to a
liquid receiver and the liquid refrigerant feeds the electronic expansion valves of each cabinet and
cold room where it directly expands. The first throttling stage is obtained through a differential or
electronic valve used in alternative.
The differential valve operates, as explained by Casson et al. (2003), controlling the upstream
pressure, i.e. the gas cooler pressure, which can be evaluated, as a function of the temperature at the
exit of the gas cooler tgc,o and of the differential pressure Δpv set by the valve. This kind of
throttling system makes the pressure at the gas cooler increase as the outlet gas cooler temperature
increases, being Δpv constant: such a self-adjusting ability of the circuit contributes to keep the
cycle maximum pressure quite close to its optimal value. A still better solution is a throttling system
capable of automatically setting the gas cooler pressure of a transcritical cycle at the optimal value
for COP as the operating conditions vary through a servo-controlled electronic valve. For this
purpose A Danfoss ICMT 20-A controlled by an ICAD 600s actuator and equipped with two
pressure transducers and a PT1000 surface sensor (on the return pipe from the gas-cooler to the
liquid receiver) was used.
In this first experimental stage test the valve electronic controller set pressure simply measuring
carbon dioxide gas-cooler outlet temperature and referring the value to a general pressure curve
describing the relationship between the refrigerant temperature and the optimal cycle upper pressure.
The curve, shown in Figure 3, consists of two straight lines connecting in point B at the critical
pressure value. Other than this junction point, the electronic controller allows the slope of the two
lines to be modified. When gas-cooler outlet temperature drops below point C temperature, the
controller forces the full opening of the valve in order to make the plant running in subcritical
conditions.

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Figure 1. Scheme of the MT system. Figure 2. Scheme of the LT system.

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 In order to protect the system against too high discharge pressure, the valve is opened also when
discharge temperature rises over point A temperature. Finally, the controller forces the valve to
open when the receiver pressure drops below a set minimum pressure. This functionality ensures
that the differential pressure across the thermostatic valve is kept over a minimum value under all
running conditions.

Figure 3. Electronic valve control law.

In both circuits there is a shell and plate heat exchanger internal suction/liquid heat exchanger
(SGHX: Suction Gas Heat Exchanger): it is placed after the liquid receiver before the electronic
expansion valve on the liquid side and after the evaporators on the suction line. The
condenser/gas-cooler, intercooler and SGHX shell and plate heat exchanger operate with 1 °C
approach between fluids in design conditions (80 bar high pressure and 30 °C dry-cooler inlet air
temperature).
Thermocouples and pressure transducers are placed according to Figure 1 and Figure 2. Refrigerant
mass flow rates are measured with two Coriolis mass-flow meters placed immediately after SGHX
on the liquid line. All the measurements are acquired and elaborated by five Eurotherm Chessel
model 5000B.

3. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The experimental tests were carried out using both the differential valve and the step-motor

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 electronic valve in MT and LT systems. Varying the gas-cooler water inlet temperature from 15 to
35 °C, the tests were run both in subcritical and transcritical conditions. In order to investigate the
effect of the differential valve setting, the valve spring was adjusted in order to obtain pressure
drops of 10, 15 and 20 bar. As shown in Casson et al. (2003), at high water inlet temperatures the
differential valve can’t properly control the system if pressure drops across the valve are too low
and the intermediate vessel pressure approaches the critical one. Consequently with 10 bars pressure
drop the tests were carried out up to 25 °C.
Tests were performed with only one compressor running in steady-state conditions at -35°C and
-10°C evaporation temperature for LT and MT system respectively. Evaporation temperature was
maintained approximately constant during test adjusting the thermal load. The mean systems
efficiencies in terms of coefficient of performance (COP) were obtained integrating the power
absorption and the cooling capacity, calculated from the instantaneous values of refrigerant
mass-flow, liquid receiver outlet and SGHX outlet on the suction line enthalpies. Enthalpy values
are calculated from pressure and temperature values basing on refrigerant properties as represented
in the NIST Reference Fluid Thermodynamic and Transport Properties - REFPROP, Version 7.0
(2002).

100
Discharge pressure [bar]

90

80

70

60

50
10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Water temperature [°C]

D.V. (10 bar) D.V. (15 bar) D.V. (20 bar) E.V.

Figure 4. Discharge pressures for the MT system with differential valve set at different Δp and
electronic valve.

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 3.0

2.6
COP [-]

2.2

1.8

1.4

1.0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Water temperature [°C]

D.V. (10 bar) D.V. (15 bar) D.V. (20 bar) E.V.

Figure 5. MT system efficiency (COP) with differential valve set at different Δp and electronic
valve.
100
Discharge pressure [bar]

90

80

70

60

50
10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Water temperature [°C]

D.V. (10 bar) D.V. (15 bar) D.V. (20 bar) E.V.

Figure 6. Discharge pressures for the LT system with differential valve set at different Δp and
electronic valve.
2.0

1.6
COP [-]

1.2

0.8

0.4

0.0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Water temperature [°C]

D.V. (10 bar) D.V. (15 bar) D.V. (20 bar) E.V.

Figure 7. LT system efficiency (COP) with differential valve set at different Δp and electronic
valve.

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 Figures 4 and 5 show the trends of the discharge pressure and COP of the different throttling
systems for the MT plant while Figure 6 and 7 show the same variable for the LT plant. From the
curves in Figure 4 and 6, as expected, it appears that the value of the upper cycle pressure realized
by the electronic valve is increasing along with the water temperature and the same occurs for the
upper pressure at fixed Δp of the differential valve. Nevertheless the differential valve with fixed set
point can approximate the electronic valve pressure value, close to the optimal one, only for a
narrow range of water temperature and therefore in general entails a decrease in COP as can be seen
in Figure 5 and 7. The electronic throttling system is particularly efficient at water temperature
below 20 °C values because the complete opening of the first throttling stage valve makes the plant
work as a traditional subcritical system with liquid receiver and thermostatic valve. For water
temperatures higher than 25 °C, a differential valve set at 20 bar can lead to a COP value very close
to the one realised by the electronic valve.

4. CONCLUSIONS
As a conclusion, the electronic throttling system appears to be an optimal solution to manage the
control of the upper pressure of a transcritical cycle in a wide range of secondary fluid temperatures.
The differential expansion valve seems to be a cheaper and simpler solution but can realize optimal
COP only in a narrow temperature range. The electronic throttling system could be further
improved taking into account more cycle parameters (i.e. evaporation temperature, superheating,
power absorption). An adaptive system able to measure and evaluate the efficiency of the entire
plant would be the final solution to optimise the energy consumption and cooling capacity of CO2
transcritical plants.

REFERENCES

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