Low global warming potential refrigerants in liquid chillers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10407602-B2
Application number	US-201715827902-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2017
Priority date	Nov 30, 2017
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

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.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigeration system, comprising:
a negative pressure liquid chiller, including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator fluidly connected to form a refrigeration circuit, and further including a purge; and
a refrigerant composition configured as a low pressure refrigerant and including an environmentally-suitable chiller refrigerant that has a 100 year direct global warming potential (GWP) of less than 150, the refrigerant composition including 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% to at or about 81%, and an amount of R-1130-(E) in the mixture is in a range from at or about 31% to at or about 19%.

2. The refrigeration system according to claim 1 , wherein the amount of R-1336mzz-(Z) in the mixture is in a range from at or about 69% to at or about 76% and the amount of R-1130-(E) in the mixture is in a range from at or about 31% to at or about 24%.

3. The refrigeration system according to claim 1 , wherein the amount of R-1336mzz-(Z) in the mixture is at or about 75% and the amount of R-1130-(E) in the mixture is at or about 25%.

4. The refrigeration system according to claim 1 , wherein the environmentally-suitable chiller refrigerant has a GWP less than 10.

5. The refrigeration system according to claim 1 , wherein the environmentally-suitable chiller refrigerant has a GWP of at or about 2.

6. A method of charging a chiller system, comprising:
removing an existing refrigerant from the chiller system, wherein the chiller system is a negative pressure liquid chiller including a purge;
replacing the existing refrigerant with an environmentally friendly refrigerant composition that includes a mixture of R-1336mzz-(Z) and R-1130-(E) the environmentally friendly refrigerant composition configured as a low pressure refrigerant.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the existing chiller refrigerant has a 100 year direct global warming potential (GWP) of at least 150 or ozone depleting refrigerant and a lubricant.

8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the existing chiller refrigerant includes at least one of R-123 and R-11.

9. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising retaining existing chiller hardware when replacing the existing refrigerant.

10. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the environmentally friendly chiller refrigerant has a GWP of less than 150.

11. The method according to claim 10 , 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.

12. The method according to claim 10 , 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 76% 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 24% by weight.

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein an amount of R-1336mzz-(Z) in the mixture is at or about 75% by weight and an amount of R-1130-(E) in the mixture is at or about 25% by weight.

14. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the environmentally friendly refrigerant composition has a GWP less than 10.

15. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the environmentally friendly refrigerant composition has a GWP of at or about 2.

16. The refrigeration system according to claim 1 , wherein the low pressure refrigerant has a vapor pressure less than about 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute (psia) at about 0° F.

17. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the low pressure refrigerant has a vapor pressure less than about 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute (psia) at about 0° F.

Assignees

• Trane Int Inc

Inventors

• Kujak Stephen A
• Schultz Kenneth J

Classifications

• F25B41/31 Primary

  Expansion valves · CPC title

• F25B41/20

  Disposition of valves, e.g. of on-off valves or flow control valves (expansion valves F25B41/31) · CPC title

• C09K5/04

  the change of state being from liquid to vapour or vice versa · CPC title

• C09K2205/122

  Halogenated hydrocarbons · CPC title

• F25B2400/18

  Refrigerant conversion · CPC title