Maina. P* and Huan. Z
As the population increases and food become scarce, its preservation has become paramount. Furthermore, with extreme weather conditions being experienced, space and water cooling or heating for human comfort has become important also. These requirements have necessitated the invention and involvement of refrigeration technology. In this study, refrigeration has been defined from the basics and the technology is discussed from its historical background to the current practice. Since its inception, refrigeration technology and the industry as a whole has undergone a lot of transformation especially concerning the refrigeration fluid known as the refrigerant. As discussed in this study, at first, anything that worked was used as the refrigerant, and then safety, cost and efficiency of refrigeration process actuated the creation of better refrigerants. As technology improved, environmental protection and safety became more essential than the other refrigerant requirements and thus influenced another change of refrigerant type. All this time (since 1800 to present), the refrigeration technology was also improving as the refrigerant transformation was taking place. Finally, the study ends with a discussion on the latest generation of refrigerants, their advantages, disadvantages and typical applications. This study is important to all who want to venture into the refrigeration industry as it provides information on this technology from its inception to the current status. Therefore, informed decisions can be easily made using this article.
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