1,1,1,3,3,3-Esafluoropropano (R236fa) is a product with thermophysical properties and environmental characteristics which allow various applications, such as centrifugal chiller for residential air conditioning, ORC Organic Rankine Cycle for heat recovery and power generation, sensible heat transfer in refrigeration at low temperatures, secondary fluids in commercial refrigeration, heat pumps and passive cooling systems.
Added to the above mentioned applications, there are various uses as a foaming agent, solvent and agent for aerosol.
Physical and thermodynamic properties:
HFC-236fa has a high critical temperature (approx 125°C), which results into an efficiency of the refrigeration cycle greater than, for example, that of R134a, having a critical temperature of about 101°C.
Laboratory tests indicate HFC-236fa as a fluid with high hydrolytic and thermal stability.
Application in ORC - Organic Rankine Cycle:
An Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) converts thermal energy into mechanical power to the shaft using a fluid that has in its molecule one or more carbon atoms.
The advantage of the ORC systems lies in the fact that they recover useful energy from sources at a low energy level, such as low pressure steam coming out of the turbines of thermoelectric power plants, transforming it typically into electrical energy. The efficiency of an ORC varies between 10% and 20%, depending on the levels of temperature and of fluid applied.
The ORC constitutes an opportunity for heat recovery at temperatures between 150 and 200°C, especially if it is not possible to use locally the waste heat. The greater the deltaT between the temperature of the source and that of the water of condensation, the greater the efficiency of the cycle.
Application as a secondary fluid to transport heat :
Exchange of sensible heat occurs in those heat transfer processes wherein the exchange fluid does not change phase. Typically, the fluid is in the liquid phase. There is a variety of different applications in the field of industrial and commercial refrigeration as, for example, the secondary refrigeration circuits in supermarkets.
HFC-236fa allows the use of a fluid which is non corrosive, non flammable, with favorable characteristics in terms of heat transfer (greater efficiency of the exchanger) and transport (reduction of the absorption of the circulation pumps of the liquid fluid).
