Heat-transfer fluids and use thereof in countercurrent heat exchangers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9005468-B2
Application number	US-201113696866-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2011
Priority date	May 11, 2010
Publication date	Apr 14, 2015
Grant date	Apr 14, 2015

Abstract

The invention relates to a ternary composition comprising difluoromethane, 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and a hydrocarbon-derived compound containing at least two fluorine atoms and having a boiling point of between −30 and −18° C., which is selected from 1,1-difluoroethane, 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene and 1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene. This composition is particularly suitable for use as a heat-transfer fluid in the presence of countercurrent heat exchangers.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A ternary composition comprising:
from 50 to 96% of difluoromethane;
from 2 to 48% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene; and
from 2 to 48% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-propene,
wherein the difluoromethane, 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-propene comprise 99% of the ternary composition.

2. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , comprising from 65 to 90% of difluoromethane, from 5 to 30% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 5 to 30% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

3. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , comprising from 75 to 98% of difluoromethane, from 1 to 23% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 1 to 10% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

4. A vapor compression circuit comprising the composition as claimed in claim 1 .

5. The vapor compression circuit as claimed in claim 4 , comprising a countercurrent heat exchanger.

6. A heat-transfer composition comprising the composition as claimed in claim 1 , the heat-transfer composition further comprising one or more additives selected from the group consisting of lubricants, stabilizers, surfactants, tracers, fluorescent agents, odorous agents, solubilizing agents and mixtures thereof.

7. Heat-transfer equipment comprising a vapor compression circuit containing a composition as claimed in claim 6 .

8. Heat-transfer equipment comprising a vapor compression circuit containing a composition as claimed in claim 1 .

9. The heat-transfer equipment as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said vapor compression circuit comprises a countercurrent heat exchanger.

10. A process for heating or cooling a fluid or a body by means of a vapor compression circuit containing a heat-transfer fluid, said process successively comprising the evaporation of the heat-transfer fluid, the compression of the heat-transfer fluid, the condensation of the heat fluid and the expansion of the heat-transfer fluid, in which the heat-transfer fluid is a composition as claimed in claim 1 .

11. The process as claimed in claim 10 , in which the temperature of the fluid or the body cooled is from −40° C. to −10° C., and in which the heat-transfer fluid comprises
from 50 to 96% of difluoromethane, from 2 to 50% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 2 to 50% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

12. The process as claimed in claim 10 , in which the temperature of the fluid or of the body cooled is from −15° C. to 15° C. in which the heat-transfer fluid comprises
from 50 to 96% of difluoromethane, from 2 to 48% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 2 to 30% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

13. The process as claimed in claim 10 , in which the temperature of the fluid or of the body heated is from 30° C. to 80° C., in which the heat-transfer fluid comprises
from 50 to 96% of difluoromethane, from 2 to 48% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 2 to 30% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

14. A process for reducing the environmental impact of a heat-transfer equipment comprising a vapor compression circuit containing an initial heat-transfer fluid, said process comprising a step of replacing the initial heat-transfer fluid in the vapor compression circuit with a final transfer fluid, the final transfer fluid having a GWP lower than the initial heat-transfer fluid, in which the final heat-transfer fluid is a composition as claimed in claim 1 .

15. The process as claimed in claim 14 , in which the initial heat-transfer fluid is a ternary mixture of 52% of 1,1,1-trifluoroethane, 44% of pentafluoroethane and 4% of 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane or a ternary mixture of 52% of 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, 25% of pentafluoroethane and 23% of difluoromethane, and in which the final heat-transfer fluid comprises
from 50 to 70% of difluoromethane, from 2 to 50% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 5 to 50% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

16. The process as claimed in claim 14 , in which the initial heat-transfer fluid is a binary mixture of 50% of difluoromethane and 50% of pentafluoroethane, and in which the final heat-transfer fluid comprises
from 50 to 96% of difluoromethane, from 2 to 50% of 3,3,3-trifluoropropene and from 2 to 50% of trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene.

17. A heat-transfer composition consisting of the composition as claimed in claim 1 and optionally one or more additives selected from the group consisting of lubricants, stabilizers, surfactants, tracers, fluorescent agents, odorous agents, solubilizing agents and mixtures thereof.

18. Heat-transfer equipment comprising a vapor compression circuit containing a composition as claimed in claim 17 .

Assignees

• Rached Wissam
• Arkema France

Inventors

• Rached Wissam

Classifications

• C09K2205/22

  All components of a mixture being fluoro compounds · CPC title

• C09K5/045 Primary

  containing only fluorine as halogen · CPC title

• C09K2205/126

  Unsaturated fluorinated hydrocarbons · CPC title