Further research into RE170 emerges

The study evaluated the effectiveness of RE170 as a refrigerant both in its pure form and in 11 various blends with R600 (isobutane) and R744 (CO₂). RE170 is considered a natural refrigerant and has a global warming potential (GWP) of 1 and an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0.

The researchers were investigating whether RE170 or any of its blends could be used as an alternative to propane (R290). To do this, the researchers performed a theoretical evaluation of refrigerant options before conducting practical experiments over three phases: a drop-in test with a compressor running at a fixed speed of 2100rpm and an inlet temperature of 30.0°C, a fixed cooling capacity test, and a fixed heating capacity test.

Overall, the researchers found that RE170 offered a better coefficient of performance (COP) than R290, but had a reduced heating and cooling capacity in both refrigeration and heat pump applications. For refrigeration, RE170 showed a COP improvement of 29.8% against R290, with a 17.3% reduction in capacity. For heat pumps there was a 17.99% improvement in COP but a 24.7% reduction in capacity.

Based on the results of the experiments, the researchers determined the pure RE170 would be the best alternative to R290, with some blends being more appropriate in situations where compressor size or speed is a limiting factor.

You can read the full research paper from the International Journal of Refrigeration website.

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