Applying the CO2‑Based Mixture to Realize Efficient and Low-Cost Cooling for Deep Underground
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Published on: February 25, 2015
Xiaocun Sun1,2, Wei Lu1,2, Jinliang Li1,2
1State Key Laboratory for Safe Mining of Deep Coal Resources and Environment Protection, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232000, China.
Abstract:
The problem of heat hazard restricts the safe and efficient mining of deep mineral resources. A heat pump for simultaneous cooling and heating can control the heat hazard of deep mine and satisfy the heat load for mining community. However, the traditionally used working fluid of a heat pump, namely R22, possesses the disadvantages of being environmentally unfriendly and expansive operating cost. A CO2-based mixture is a promising substitute for R22 because of its excellent physical properties and great thermal match performance. This study carries out the thermo-economic analysis of a transcritical heat pump with the CO2-based mixture, and the feasibility of replacing R22 with the CO2-based mixture is investigated. The results show that the introduction of the CO2-based mixture can significantly cut down the irreversible loss in condensation and evaporation processes. R161 is the optimal additive for the CO2-based mixture, and the optimal COPc of CO2/R161 is 2.48, which is 12.2% higher than CO2 and 8.3% higher than R22. Although the initial capital cost of a heat pump with CO2/R161 is 24.2% higher than R22, the annual running cost is 6.39% less than R22, and substituting CO2/R161 for R22 can save operating cost by 1.62 × 106 CNY/year.
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Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant heat.
