Performance of Mineral Oil Based Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Nanolubricant in Vapor Compression Refrigeration System: An Experimental Study

Extensive research has been carried out in order to design a refrigeration system that is efficient and consumes less power. Several researchers have explored various techniques to decrease the power usage of compressors and increase the coefficient of performance (COP) of refrigeration systems by utilizing nanoparticles. The remarkable properties of nanoparticles, including their exceptional thermo-physical and tribological characteristics, have made their usage in a variety of thermal applications. This study investigated the performance of a hydrocarbon blend refrigerant also known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), mixed with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) nanolubricant made from mineral oil (MO) at different concentrations (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g/L), to replace the conventional working fluid R134a/Polyolester (POE) oil. The overall performance of the system was observed by evaluating different parameters such as; pressure ratio, compressor energy consumption (EC), refrigeration effect (RE) and COP. The results revealed that by using 0.4 g/L nanolubricant with LPG reduced the pressure ratio and compressor’s energy consumption by 54.3% and 25% respectively, and also improved the COP by 25% compared to R134/POE. The ideal concentration for nanolubricant among all the working fluids was found to be 0.4 g/L.