RSW Systems with CO2 as Refrigerant: Testing of new system solutions for sea water coolers

Abstract

In a refrigerated seawater (RSW) system using carbon dioxide (CO2) as the refrigerant, a variable bypass valve was installed in front of a suction gas heat exchanger (SGHX). A simulation tool was developed and utilized to optimize the systems transcritical performance (COP) with respect to the gas cooler pressure and choke valve inlet temperature for cooling and combined cooling and water heating. The simulations indicate that the RSW system performance can be increased compared to running a system with a traditional non-variable suction gas heat exchanger, but only when the cooling water temperatures are high (above ~25°C) or where air is used as the cooling medium, for instance commercial or mobile refrigeration. It is strongly recommended that a system to be used for simultaneous cooling and heating should have an improved design compared to the current setup, as this mode of operation shows low cooling capacity and poor energy efficiency.