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Influence of Biodegradable Refrigeration Oil in Household Refrigerator Compressor: An Experimental and Tribological Investigation

DOI:10.1007/s40735-021-00514-7
Authors:
P. Vithya at Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya University
P. Vithya
G. Sriram at Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya University
G. Sriram
S. Arumugam at Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya University
S. Arumugam
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Abstract and Figures

The present investigation is aimed at finding the suitability of using vegetable oil-based polyol ester as biodegradable refrigeration oil. Rapeseed oil-based pentaerythritol ester was synthesized via successive trans-esterification route. The formulation was blended with synthetic refrigeration oil (POE68) in the fractions of 25%, 50% and 75% by volume. The tribological investigation involving various refrigeration oils was done using the four-ball tribometer. This study further quantifies the influence of biodegradable refrigeration oils on the performance of domestic refrigerator compressor using vapour compression refrigeration test setup. The process of tribological analysis brought to light the comparable anti-friction and excellent wear reduction behaviour with the blended refrigeration oil sample (BIO50—i.e., 50% by vol. of pentaerythritol ester of rapeseed oil and 50% by vol. of POE68). It was noticed that the BIO50 had considerable rise in coefficient of performance (COP) of about 41.7% and prime impact on the performance of refrigeration compressor. The outcome of the experimental study is supportive in finding vegetable oil-based refrigeration oil to substitute partially the synthetic grade for the domestic refrigerator compressor.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
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Journal of Bio- and Tribo-Corrosion (2021) 7:82
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40735-021-00514-7
Influence ofBiodegradable Refrigeration Oil inHousehold Refrigerator
Compressor: AnExperimental andTribological Investigation
P.Vithya1 · G.Sriram1· S.Arumugam1
Received: 6 November 2020 / Revised: 22 December 2020 / Accepted: 31 March 2021 / Published online: 23 April 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Abstract
The present investigation is aimed at finding the suitability of using vegetable oil-based polyol ester as biodegradable refrig-
eration oil. Rapeseed oil-based pentaerythritol ester was synthesized via successive trans-esterification route. The formula-
tion was blended with synthetic refrigeration oil (POE68) in the fractions of 25%, 50% and 75% by volume. The tribological
investigation involving various refrigeration oils was done using the four-ball tribometer. This study further quantifies the
influence of biodegradable refrigeration oils on the performance of domestic refrigerator compressor using vapour compres-
sion refrigeration test setup. The process of tribological analysis brought to light the comparable anti-friction and excellent
wear reduction behaviour with the blended refrigeration oil sample (BIO50—i.e., 50% by vol. of pentaerythritol ester of
rapeseed oil and 50% by vol. of POE68). It was noticed that the BIO50 had considerable rise in coefficient of performance
(COP) of about 41.7% and prime impact on the performance of refrigeration compressor. The outcome of the experimental
study is supportive in finding vegetable oil-based refrigeration oil to substitute partially the synthetic grade for the domestic
refrigerator compressor.
Keywords Refrigeration oil· Pentaerythritol ester· Four ball tribometer· Vapour compression refrigeration system
1 Introduction
At present, the refrigeration industry is functioning with the
aim to strike a balance between environmental protection
and energy economy. The domestic and industrial refrig-
erators have vapour compression refrigeration (VCR) sys-
tems where cooling is generated based on the evaporation
of refrigerants such as chlorofluorocarbon(CFC), hydro-
chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC).
The compressor is the key component of a refrigerator as
well as air conditioner which consumes more power. The
compressor of the domestic refrigeration system consumes
80–100% power of the total energy used [1, 2]. A curtail-
ment of the energy consumption by the compressor would
improve its energy efficiency to have substantial impact on
ecological safety and energy preservation. Wang etal. [3]
investigated the advantage of proposing energy profitable
refrigeration oil. They reported that the proposed refrigera-
tion oilis responsible for the minimization of energy con-
sumption over 15% and reduction in greenhouse gas emis-
sions. The crucial aspects influencing the performance and
consistency of refrigerator compressors are the refrigeration
oil properties, materials, manufacturing process and running
conditions [4, 5].
The refrigeration oil used in refrigerator compressor
serves several functions such as the cooling medium offering
thin lubricant film between moving components (liner/ring,
crank shaft/connecting rod &valves etc.,), reducing noise
and evacuating deposits/sediments. On the other hand, the
existence of oil in VCR system leads to foaming issue and
modifies the physical/thermodynamic/transport properties of
oil-refrigerant mixtures when it enters into condenser/evap-
orator. Traditionally used refrigeration oils are naphthenic
mineral oil, paraffinic mineral oil and heavy alkyl benzene.
Hence, it is of great importance to study the influence of
oil in refrigeration [6–8]. Mineral oil is not highly compat-
ible with HFC134a used in household refrigeration systems
and hence polyolester oil is used as refrigeration oil in the
household refrigerator. Polyolester oil (POE) with viscosities
ISO 15-220 is suitable forpiston and screw compressor of
* P. Vithya
vithyagautham@gmail.com
1 Department ofMechanical Engineering, Sri
Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya,
Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu631561, India
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