Development and performance analysis of a multi-temperature combined compression/ejection refrigeration cycle using environment friendly refrigerants

• A multi-temperature compression-ejection refrigeration cycle is proposed and analyzed.
• Environment friendly refrigerants suitable for the cycle are selected.
• Strong dependence between system performances and the ratio of the cooling capacities is established.
• Simulation results of the developed model predict good performances for selected fluids.
• Effect of the temperature level of cold production and ambient on performances is analyzed.

A combined compression/ejection refrigeration cycle intended for the simultaneous production of cold for refrigeration and freezing, and operating based on environment friendly refrigerants is proposed and analyzed in this study. This makes it possible to valorize the low-temperature heat sources in the ejector cycle, thereby reducing the share of mechanical energy otherwise required to operate the conventional two-stage vapor compression system.A selection of eight candidates' fluids was performed. The developed simulation model helped to establish the strong dependence between system performances and the ratio of the cooling capacities of refrigeration and freezing. In addition to the effect of the temperature level of cold production, the influence of the ambient temperature on system performance was also analyzed when using refrigerants R290, R152a and R134a.