A Study on Performance Comparison of Eco-Friendly Refrigerants in Vapour Compression Refrigeration Systems

Refrigeration and air conditioning systems consume a significant share of global electricity and rely heavily on refrigerants that historically contributed to ozone depletion and global warming. This paper presents a comparative study of the performance of conventional and eco-friendly refrigerants used in vapour compression refrigeration (VCR) systems. Refrigerants studied include R-12, R-22, R-134a, R-410A, R-290 (propane), and R-600a (isobutane). The Coefficient of Performance (COP), cooling capacity, ozone depletion potential (ODP), and global warming potential (GWP) of each refrigerant are compared at varying evaporator and condenser temperatures using standard thermodynamic cycle analysis. Results show that natural refrigerants such as R-290 offer COP values 5 to 8 percent higher than R-134a while having near-zero ODP and very low GWP, making them attractive replacements for synthetic refrigerants in small-capacity refrigeration and air conditioning applications. Safety considerations including flammability and charge limits for hydrocarbon refrigerants are also discussed.