In Brazil, there has been a significant change in the types of refrigerants used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems. This chapter seeks to compare, based on legislation established by the European Parliament and of the Council, which has been understood and obeyed all over the world, the use of F-gas and different types of fluids intended for use in such systems and also discuss the use of natural fluids such as hydrocarbons, ammonia, and carbon dioxide (CO2), in refrigeration or air conditioning systems, considering the characteristics and properties of these types of fluids, such as thermodynamic and psychometric parameters, the global warming potential (GWP), application limits, flammability factor, and performance as refrigerant. Some specific examples of the use of fluids such as R-R290, R-410a, and R-600a, instead of R-22 fluid, will also be discussed. For this purpose, a test bench was developed with an equipment chiller in the Climatization and Thermal Comfort Laboratory—ClimaTConT—of the Federal University of Pará, in order to compare the types of refrigerant fluids, usually used in air conditioning systems, considering the conditions, evaluating the possibilities of reuse of these fluids, without performance losses, in significant values, always seeking the reduction of the use of synthetic fluids, which are more aggressive to nature, generating pollution and degradation to local environments.
Part of the book: Low-temperature Technologies