A

Seminar Report
On
AIR-CONDITIONING
(AS AN OPTION IN INDUSTRIAL GAS UTILIZATION)
SUBMITTED BY:
NAME:

EZEUGWA GERRARD .N.

MATRICULATION NUMBER:
COURSE LECTURER:

U2010/3070006
DR EMEKA OKAFOR

DEPARTMENT OF GAS ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF PORT-HARCOURT
[2013-2014]

Page | 1

CONTENTS
1- INTRODUCTION
- Definitions
- Brief history of air-conditioning
- Air-Conditioning Systems: Types of air-conditioning systems
2- THERMODYNAMICS OF AIR-CONDITIONING
- The zeroth, first, second and third laws of thermodynamics
3- PRODUCTION PROCESS
- Puron (R-410A) industrial gas as refrigerant
4- UTILIZATION PROCESS
5- ECONOMICS OF PURON (R-410A) UTILIZATION
6- WAYS TO PROMOTE PURON (R-410A) UTILIZATION
7- CONCLUSION
8- REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
DEFINITIONS

Page | 2

Air-conditioning is a process that simultaneously conditions air;

distributes it combined with the outdoor air to the conditioned space; and
at the same time controls and maintains the required spaces temperature,
humidity, air movement, air cleanliness, sound level, and pressure
differential within predetermined limits for the health and comfort of the
occupants, for product processing, or both. The device used in this process
is called an Air-Conditioner.
Air-Conditioners are devices that lower air temperature. The
cooling is achieved through a refrigeration cycle with the help of a
refrigerant, but sometimes evaporation or free cooling could be used. A
refrigerant is a substance or mixture, used in a refrigeration cycle.
The main aim here is to modify the condition of air by heating,
cooling, dehumidification, cleaning and ventilation. A complete system of
heating, ventilation and air-conditioning is called the HVAC system.
Brief History Of Air-Conditioning.
The term air-conditioning was coined by Stuart Cramer of Charlotte,
North Carolina in 1905 to describe his system for regulating the
temperature and humidity inside a textile factory in the South.
One of the first uses of air-conditioning for personal comfort was in 1902
when the New York Stock Exchanges new building was equipped with a
central cooling as well as heating system. Alfred Wolff, an engineer from
Hoboken, New Jersey who is considered the forerunner in the quest to cool
a working environment, helped design the new system, transferring this
building technology from textile mills to commercial buildings.

Page | 3

In 1906, Stuart Cramer first used the term air-conditioning as he

explores ways to add moisture to the air in his Southern textile mill. He
combined moisture with ventilation to actually condition changes in the
air in the factories, controlling the humidity so necessary in textile plants.
An early pioneer who did much to promote controlled air was
Willis Carrier, a mechanical engineer who worked at the Buffalo Forge
Company in Buffalo, New York. Subsequent subsidiary companies carrying
his name helped conquer the temperature-humidity relationship, marrying
theory with practicality. Starting in 1902, he designed a spray type
temperature and humidity controlled system. His induction system for
multi-room office buildings, hotels, apartments and hospitals was just
another of his air-related inventions. Many industry professionals and
historians consider him the father of air-conditioning.
Air-Conditioning Systems
An air-conditioning system consists of components and equipment
arranged in sequential order to heat or cool, humidify or dehumidify, clean
and purify, attenuate objectionable equipment noise, transport the
conditioned outdoor air and recirculate air to the conditioned space, and
control and maintain an indoor or enclosed environment at optimum energy
use. The types of buildings which the air-conditioning system serves can be
classified as:
Institutional buildings,
Commercial buildings,
Residential buildings,
Manufacturing buildings.

Page | 4

Based on their size, construction, and operating characteristics, airconditioning systems can be classified as the following.
Individual Systems; Individual air-conditioning system normally employs
either a single, self-contained, packaged room air conditioner (installed in a
window or through a wall) or separate indoor and outdoor units to serve an
individual room.
Space Systems; These systems have their air-conditioning, cooling,
heating, and filtration performed predominantly in or above the conditioned
space.
Packaged Systems; these systems are installed with either a single selfcontained, factory-assembled packaged unit (PU) or two split units.
Central Systems; A central system uses chilled water or hot water from a
central plant to cool and heat the air at the coils in an air handling unit
(AHU). Central systems are built-up systems assembled and installed on the
site.

Types of Air-Conditioning Systems

Comfort air-conditioning systems; Used in institutional, commercial,
and residential buildings.
Processing

air-conditioning

systems;

Used

in

manufacturing

buildings, air-conditioning systems are provided for product processing.

THERMODYNAMICS OF AIR-CONDITIONING
There are rules that govern the thermal energy flow, which are
relationships between
Page | 5

(a)
(b)

Thermal energy and mechanical work

Disordered energy and ordered energy

These rules are codified in four laws of thermodynamics which are;

- Zeroth law (a law about thermal equilibrium);

If two objects are in thermal equilibrium with a third object, then they are
in thermal equilibrium with each other.
- First Law (Law about conservation of energy);
Change in internal energy equals heat in minus work out
- Second Law (Entropy);
Entropy of a thermally isolated system never decreases
- Third Law (Entropy and temperature);
An objects entropy approaches zero as its temperature approaches
absolute zero

PRODUCTION PROCESS
The industrial gas used as refrigerant for modern day airconditioning is Puron (R-410A), a zeotropic but near-azeotropic mixture of
Difluoromethane (CH2F2, called R-32 or HFC-32) and Pentafluoroethane
(CHF2CF3, called R-125 or HFC-125). The production process is outlined
below;
Process Of Difluoromethane (HFC-32) Production;
Methylenechloride (HCC-30) is reacted with Hydrogenfluoride (HF) in
the gas phase in a first reactor R-1, and the first product mostly
Page | 6

consisting of Chlorofluoromethane (HCFC-31) is fed from a gas phase

reactor R-1 into the liquid-phase second reactor R-2 lined with
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
HCFC-31 and unreacted materials obtained from the gas phase first
reactor R-1 are fluorinated in liquid phase to produce HFC-32.

HFC-32

R-2

Fig1:

Process

flow

diagram

for

Difluoromethane

production
Process Of Pentafluoroethane (HCF-125) Production;
Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) is reacted with hydrogen fluoride in a gas
phase

in

the

presence

of

Chromium

oxyfluoride

to

obtain

Page | 7

pentafluoroethane in the reactor, by feeding oxygen into the reactor

together with tetrachloroethylene and hydrogen fluoride,
The reaction is carried out at a temperature range of 310-380
degree Celsius,
A fraction comprising of pentafluoroethane and hydrogen chloride is
separated from a reaction mixture which has been obtained from
the reactor, and the remainder returned to the reactor.

Fig 2: Process flow diagram for production of Pentafluoroethane

A binary blend of 50 percent R-32 and 50 percent R-125 is then made. R410A cylinders are coloured pink.

Page | 8

UTILIZATION PROCESS
Every air-conditioner has a compressor inside it. It works to
compress and pump the refrigerant gas. Compression of refrigerant
produces heat. To dissipate this heat, compressed refrigerant is pumped to
the condenser coils where fan blows the heat to the outer atmosphere.
During this process, refrigerant takes the form of a liquid. This liquid
refrigerant is pumped towards expansion valve. Expansion valve has a
temperature sensor connected to it which works in correlation with
thermostat settings. Expansion valve releases the appropriate amount of
refrigerant to the evaporator (cooling coils) where liquefied refrigerant
takes gaseous form. Conversion from liquid to gaseous state due to
expansion produces chillness because energy is absorbed from the
surrounding. Air when passed through fins (attached to coils) gets cooled
and blown to the room. The refrigerant in cooling coils then enters the
compressor and gets compressed once again. The cycle is repeated unless
the compressor is shut down.
In summary, air-conditioner draws heat from the indoor and
releases it to the outdoor. Indoor acts as a source, and outdoor acts as a
sink for heat.
Air-Conditioner As A Heater;

Page | 9

When air-conditioner is used as a heater, the process which is shown and

explained is just simply reversed. As a result of the reverse mechanism, hot
air is propelled towards indoor and cool air towards outdoor.

Fig 3: Process flow diagram for the Air-Conditioning process

ECONOMICS OF PURON (R-410A) UTILIZATION.

Puron is the latest in industrial gas refrigerant market for air-conditioning
systems, it is a replacement gas for Chlorodifluoromethane (R-22). By the
year 2020 it will become the most used refrigerant in air-conditioning
systems because of the great number of advantages associated with it.
These advantages are;
Page | 10

 It is environmental friendly, it contains no chemicals harmful to the

ozone layer,
It is possible to design small and more efficient cooling systems
because less amount of it is needed; it has better heat transfer
properties and low pressure drop.
The refrigerant is non-flammable, less toxic,
It produces negligible amount of sound
Most importantly it has,
Low cost, and low installation cost.

WAYS TO PROMOTE PURON UTILIZATION.

In a bid to promote the use of Puron which is an advocate of a lighter
ecological footprint and a healthier and more productive place to work in
the industry, some steps have to be taken, a few of which are,
Being knowledgeable of the latest technology that focuses on energyefficiency, and picking a puron AC system to install, instead of R-22
freon that damages the environment,
R-22 freon, and other harmful industrial gases like Propane (R-290),
R-11 which are environmentally unacceptable have to be phased out
by the appropriate government laws and limitations,
Private investors and government organizations should come into the
picture, with the aim of carrying out more research and developing
more puron efficient systems.

Page | 11

CONCLUSION
Air conditioners pump heat from cold to hot reservoirs with the aid
of R-410A refrigerant. They dont violate thermodynamics, consume
ordered energy and are most efficient for small temperature differences.

REFERENCES
Oko C.O.C (2005) Engineering Thermodynamics: An Algorithmic
Approach Dialetique Systems Limited, Port Harcourt Nigeria.
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_conditioning
Glenn Elert (2014) The Physics Hypertextbook
physics.info/refrigerators/
Shan K.W, Zalman L (1999) Ac and Refrigeration: Mechanical
Engineering Handbook Ed. Frank Kreith Boca Raton CRC Press LLC
The University Of Virginia Air-Conditioners: How things work
ASHRAE. (1992) HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook, Chap.
22. American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA.

Page | 12