Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 3

The refri gerati on and ai r condi ti oni ng i ndustry i s adjust-

i ng to the uni que features of new refri gerants and l ubri -


cants that are evol vi ng as a resul t of the phasi ng out of
CFC and HCFC refri gerants. The new l ong term refri ger-
ant repl acements to date consi st of pure components and
bl ends of HFCs. The HFCs are not mi sci bl e wi th the com-
monl y used mi neral oi l s thus l eadi ng to the i ntroducti on of
pol yol ester l ubri cants to refri gerati on and ai r condi ti oni ng
systems. The HFC refri gerants and pol yol ester oi l s requi re
speci al consi derati ons wi th regard to fi l ter-dri er materi al
compati bi l i ty.
Regardl ess of the refri gerant and l ubri cant type, the pri -
mary qual i ti es desi red i n a fi l ter-dri er are: fi l trati on,
removal of moi sture, and removal of aci d. Mol ecul ar si eve
i s a desi ccant that has been used for the pri mary purpose
of removi ng moi sture, and acti vated al umi na pri mari l y for
the purpose of removi ng aci d. I t fol l ows, therefore, that
these two desi ccants be tested for compati bi l i ty wi th HFC
refri gerants and pol yol ester oi l s. Compati bi l i ty i s mea-
sured by degree of refri gerant decomposi ti on and i t must
be noted that al l commonl y used CFCs and HCFCs (i .e.,
R-12, R-22, and R-502) decompose to a certai n extent i n the
presence of these desi ccants. Extensi ve l aboratory testi ng
and many years of posi ti ve fi el d experi ence have proven
the decomposi ti on of the CFCs and HCFCs i n refri g era-
ti on systems to be i nsi gni fi cant. Seal ed tube tests have
shown decomposi ti on i n the presence of desi ccants i s hi gh-
est wi th R-22; therefore, i ts compati bi l i ty test resul ts can
be consi dered acceptabl e and used as a compari son i n the
anal ysi s of a new HFC.
Desi ccants are presented i n a fi l ter-dri er i n two basi c for-
mats: a mol ded core and as l oose beads. The mol ded core
consi sts of acti vated al umi na and mol ecul ar si eve (and pos-
si bl y acti vated carbon) i n a granul ar form bound together
i n a sol i d core. Loose fi l l type fi l ter-dri ers consi st of the
same desi ccants i n the form of l arger beads but whi ch are
not bound together. The compati bi l i ty or stabi l i ty of a
gi ven desi ccant i s di fferent i n a mol ded core than i t i s i n a
l oose bead format.
A mi xture of acti vated al umi na and mol ecul ar si eve has
proven through the years to be the most effecti ve way of
keepi ng contami nati on to a mi ni mum. Compati bi l i ty of
these desi ccants wi th refri gerants i s determi ned usi ng a
seal ed tube test. The refri gerant i s anal yzed for decompo-
si ti on. The degree of decomposi ti on determi nes i f the des-
i ccant i s compati bl e wi th the refri gerant. However, as pre-
vi ousl y stated, al l chl ori nated and fl uori nated carbons
(CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs) decompose to a certai n degree i n
the seal ed tube test, so the deci si on must be based on com-
pari sons -not absol utes. I n seal ed tube tests HFC refri ger-
ants have been shown to be much more stabl e than CFCs
and HCFCs.
Pol yol ester l ubri cants are very hygroscopi c, meani ng they
have a str ong attr acti on to water . Pol yol ester oi l
that i s contami nated wi th water can hydrol yze (react wi th
water) to form a carboxyl i c aci d. Carboxyl i c aci ds are
organi c aci ds whi ch can damage a system i f they are not
removed.
Extensi ve testi ng has been performed by Sporl an Val ve
Company and an i ndependent testi ng l aboratory to deter-
mi ne the compati bi l i ti es of mol ecul ar si eve and acti vated
al umi na wi th the HFC refri gerants and the pol yol ester
l ubri cants. Sporl an has al so been i nvol ved i n many fi el d
tri al s wi th HFC refri gerants to determi ne the performance
of the Catch-Al l on actual systems.
Compati bi l i ty testi ng of desi ccant mater i al s i s done
using the ANSI /ASHRAE Standard Sealed Tube Method
97-1989. The seal ed tube test i s an accepted method to
determi ne compati bi l i ty of materi al s i n a refri gerati on sys-
tem. The test consi sts of copper, al umi num, and steel
coupons, 1.0 cc of refri gerant, 1.0 cc of the appropri ate oi l ,
and .50g of the subject desi ccant or core materi al s com-
bi ned i n a seal ed gl ass tube. The tubes are aged for 30 days
at an el evated temperature of 300F. At the end of the test
peri od the tubes are tested for Cl
-
(chl ori de) and F
-
(fl uo-
ri de) i on content, whi ch i ndi cates the degree of refri gerant
decomposi ti on.
The fol l owi ng chart summari zes the resul ts of the seal ed
tube tests. The tests were performed wi th R-22 to establ i sh
an acceptabl e decomposi ti on percentage and to determi ne
a basel i ne. The resul ts are compared to those wi th R- 134a.
The 3A mol ecul ar si eve and 4A mol ecul ar si eve resul ts are
averaged val ues from three separate manufacturers mol e-
cul ar si eves.
Figure 1
SEALED TUBE TEST RESULTS
R-22 and R-134a With Various Desiccants
D
ESICCANT
COMPATIBILITY
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Core
R-22
3A MS
bead
R-134a
4A MS
bead
R-134a
3A MS
bead
R-22
4A MS
bead
R-22
Activated
Alumina
bead
R-22
Core
R-134a
%

R
e
f
r
i
g
e
r
a
n
t

D
e
c
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

b
y

I
o
n

P
r
e
s
e
n
t
Form 40-130
February 1994
CL
-
F
-
Fi gure 1 i ndi cates that seal ed tube test resul ts i n the range
of 6% to 7% refri gerant decomposi ti on are enti rel y accept-
abl e and present no probl em i n actual systems. I t must be
understood that the seal ed tube test i s an extremel y severe
test and i s a compari son test onl y. The tubes are exposed
to very hi gh temperatures i n order to accel erate the reac-
ti ons. The degree to whi ch the decomposi ti on reacti ons are
accel erated wi th temperature i ncrease i s i l l ustrated i n
Fi gure 2.
Figure 2
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON SEALED TUBE TEST
Molded Core/R-22/Mineral oil/Cu-AI-Fe
The drasti c i ncrease i n the decomposi ti on rate as the tem-
perature i ncreases shows the severi ty of the seal ed tube
test. At the temperatures typi cal l y seen by a fi l ter-dri er i n
a system the decomposi ti on rate i s greatl y reduced.
The resul ts for the i ndi vi dual beaded desi ccants used i n
l oose fi l l type fi l ter-dri ers are gi ven i n Fi gures 3 and 4.
Mol ecul ar si eve was tested from three separate manufac-
turers usi ng both 3 angstrom (3A) and 4 angstrom (4A)
mol ecul ar si eves.
The terms 3A and 4A refer to the si ze of the pore openi ng
of the mol ecul ar si eve. 3A and 4A mol ecul ar si eve have the
same basi c crystal structure. The actual si ze of the openi ng
i s determi ned by the cati on used i n the crystal . I n a 4A
si eve the cati on i s sodi um and i n a 3A si eve i t i s potassi um.
The bi nders used i n the manufacturi ng of the mol ecul ar
si eves affect the si eves compati bi l i ty and water capaci ty.
These resul ts show the greater stabi l i ty of R-134a over
R-22 and the i nsi gni fi cant di fference wi th R-134a between
usi ng 3A and 4A mol ecul ar si eve. R-22 gi ves decomposi ti on
rates i n the range of 6% to 7% wi th 4A si eve and 1% wi th
3A si eve. R-134a gi ves decomposi ti on rates i n the range
of.01% wi th 4A si eve and .005% wi th 3A si eve.
Figure 3
SEALED TUBE TEST RESULTS
Beaded Molecular Sieves
R-22/Mineral oil/Desiccant/Cu-AI-Fe
Figure 4
SEALED TUBE TEST RESULTS
Beaded Molecular Sieves
R-134a/Polyolester oil/Desiccant/Cu-AI-Fe
Page 2 / Form 40-130
8
CL
-
F
-
4A 3A
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
4A 3A 4A 3A
Supplier A Supplier B Supplier C
4A 3A
0.02
4A 3A 4A 3A
Supplier A Supplier B Supplier C
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
%

R
e
f
r
i
g
e
r
a
n
t

D
e
c
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

b
y

F
-

P
r
e
s
e
n
t
%

R
e
f
r
i
g
e
r
a
n
t

D
e
c
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

b
y

I
o
n
P
r
e
s
e
n
t
CELCIUS
FAHRENHEIT
100
212
150
302
125
257
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.5
%

R
-
2
2

R
E
A
C
T
E
D
ACTUAL FIELD TEST RESULTS
I n order to prove the effecti veness of the Catch-Al l i n
HFC/pol yol ester l ubri cant systems, Sporl an has parti ci pated
i n several fi el d tri al s. One wi del y documented tri al was spon-
sor ed by the New Yor k State Ener gy Resear ch and
Devel opment Authori ty and the Empi re State El ectri c
Ener gy Resear ch Cor por ati on. The tr i al featur ed the
Hannaford Brothers Shop 'n Save supermarket i n Gl ens
Fal l s, New York. At thi s store R-134a and pol yol ester l ubri -
cant have been used i n medi um temperature and ai r condi -
ti oni ng systems. Sporl an Catch-Al l s were used throughout
and the contami nant l evel s were cl osel y moni tored.
Fi gur e 5 pl ots the moi stur e content and Fi gur e 6 the
aci d number of the pol yol ester oi l ver sus ti me on the
medi u m temper atu r e r efr i ger ati on s y s tem. Both
Figure 5
GLENS FALLS SHOP N SAVE
DEMONSTRATION RESULTS
Oil Analysis for Med-Temp Rack With POE Oil
CONCLUSION
Whi l e the testi ng di scussed to thi s poi nt was performed
wi th R-134a, many other al ternati ve refri gerants have
been tested for compati bi l i ty wi th Sporl an mol ded cores.
The seal ed tube tests and fi el d tri al s have shown si mi l ar
resul ts. Seal ed tube test resul ts for several al ternati ve
refri gerants are shown i n Fi gure 7.
The conclusion to be drawn from the test results and field
tests is that the Sporlan Catch-AII, which has proven
superior performance for many years, continues to be the
proper choice for alternative refrigerants.
pl ots show a general decrease i n moi sture content and aci d
number of the oi l . The fi nal val ues after 50 weeks show a
moi sture content of 45 ppm and an aci d number of 0.04.
The ai r condi ti oni ng system showed si mi l ar trends wi th
fi nal resul ts of 70 ppm water and an aci d number of 0.03.
The resul ts of the oi l anal ysi s l ed to the concl usi on by
Aspen Systems, I nc. (an engi neeri ng research fi rm) that
Sporl an Catch-Al l s can mai ntai n moi sture l evel s bel ow 50
ppm on the R-134a and pol yol ester system. Wear anal ysi s
of two compressors found wear patterns si mi l ar to those
found on compressors runni ng wi th tradi ti onal refri ger-
ants and l ubri cants. Duri ng the test peri od there were no
moi sture or l ubri cant rel ated probl ems.
Figure 6
GLENS FALLS SHOP N SAVE
DEMONSTRATION RESULTS
Oil Analysis for Med-Temp Rack With POE Oil
Figure 7
SEALED TUBE TEST RESULTS OF THE
CATCH-ALL WITH ALTERNATIVE REFRIGERANTS
Form 40-130 / Page 3
COURTESY OF HANNAFORD BROS.
PORTLAND, MAINE
RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY ASPEN SYSTEMS
MARLBOROUGH, MASS.
250
M
o
i
s
t
u
r
e

(
p
p
m
)
Weeks
60 40 20 0
0
50
100
150
200
Increases in water
concentration are due to
opening of the system
0.15
A
c
i
d

N
u
m
b
e
r
Weeks
60 40 20 0
0
0.05
0.10
2
R-402A
(HP-80)
R-404A
(HP-62)
R-401A
(MP-39)
R-134a R-125 R-123
0
0.5
1
1.5
Cl
-
%

R
e
f
r
i
g
e
r
a
n
t

D
e
c
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n

b
y

I
o
n

P
r
e
s
e
n
t
F
-

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi