A study on the performance of the various refrigerants on the two-stage vapor compression refrigeration system with a flash chamber for ships

Abstract The climate crisis and rising electricity costs demand efficient ship cooling systems. This study analyzes a two-stage compression refrigeration system with a flash chamber using seven refrigerants: R134a, R404a, R407c, R32, R717, R1234yf, and R1234zee. At an intermediate temperature of 20°C, R717 achieved the highest cooling capacity per unit mass (1063 kW/kg), while R32 had the highest per unit suction volume (5207.68 kW/m3). R407c exhibited the highest Coefficient of Performance (COP) (4.643) under the same conditions. Thermodynamic analysis via Engineering Equations Solver (EES) reveals the influence of refrigerants, temperatures, and compressor efficiencies, offering insights for optimizing ship refrigeration to enhance energy efficiency and minimize environmental impact.