Exergetic, economic and environmental (3E) assessment of vapour compression test rig working with R600a/GNs nano-refrigerant.

In recent years, the global community has consistently advocated for the advancement of novel vapor compression refrigeration systems that utilize environmental friendly refrigerants, with the objective of phasing out systems that rely on non-ecological refrigerants. This system is extensively utilized in cooling technology which consumes a large amount of available energy as a compressor work. The researchers are aiming to minimize the compressor work and concurrently enhance cycle efficiency through the incorporation of nanoparticles characterized by enhanced thermo-physical attributes. This study presents the exergetic, economic, and environmental assessment of vapor compression test rig by employing different volume concentrations of graphene nanosheets (0.1 %, 0.15 %, 0.20 %, 0.25 %, and 0.3 %) dispersed in 200 ml of mineral oil charged with iso-butane (R600a) refrigerants (75 g, 100 g, and 125 g). The pull-down test, environmental assessment based on total equivalent warming impact, thermo-economic evaluation, relative irreversibility exergy efficiency, and the total plant cost rate (C˙ total) were assessed. A comparable methodology was employed to analyze the total exergy loss. The results revealed that the system utilizing R600a/GNs exhibits superior energy, exergy, environmental, and economic performance compared to pure R600a/Mineral oil. The actual COP and exergy efficiency improved up-to 12.16 % and 23.65 % respectively. In addition, the total equivalent warming impact and exergy loss reduced by 3.67 % and 16.17 % respectively. Lastly, the running cost rate was the most significant, accounting for over 74.87 % of the C˙ total value. In contrast, the penalty cost rate due to CO 2 emissions was the least significant, representing less than 2.69 % of the C˙ total value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]