Microchannel Technology Bodes Well for Ammonia as Refrigerant
Modern microchannel tube technology – widely used in the automotive industry for heat exchangers – offers an excellent opportunity to rethink the use of ammonia as a refrigerant, say scientists at the University of Illinois.
In a recent feasibility study, UI researchers used a commercially available microchannel heat exchanger to create a 15-kilowatt refrigeration system with the smallest ammonia charge in the world. A similar technique could be used to significantly reduce the amount of ammonia in large chillers.