INTRODUCTION Refrigeration plant was basically used to keep objects in a lower temperature than the surrounding temperature to conserve

food for an extend f time. Before refrigerators were invented, people in the past use ice and water to control the growth of bacteria in order to conserve food. The first refrigerator was invented in 1834 by an American Jacob Perkins whom introduced the first working vapor-compression refrigeration system in the world. Refrigeration uses refrigeration cycle which is part of a thermodynamic process. Refrigeration cycle is an example of vapour compression heat pumps which operates based on the reversed Carnot cycle. The main purpose of the refrigerant system is to transfer heat from a low temperature source to a high temperature sink. This is accomplished by doing additional work. The working substance is used to circulate throughout the system and it is alternately condensed and evaporated. A refrigeration system consists of several main components which include evaporator, compressor, condenser and an expansion valve. An evaporator is used to produce refrigeration that is to remove heat from the surrounding. An evaporator consists of coils of pipe in which the saturated mixture refrigerant at low pressure and temperature is evaporated and changed into vapour refrigerant at low pressure and temperature. A compressor receives the low pressure and temperature vapor refrigerant from evaporator and it is compressed to a high pressure and temperature. The condenser or also known as the cooler consists of coils of pipe in which the high pressure and temperature vapor refrigerant is cooled and condensed. The condensed refrigerant will be then store in the collector meanwhile latent heat is give out to the surrounding medium. Lastly, the expansion valve allows the liquid refrigerant under high pressure and temperature to flow at a controlled rate after lowering its pressure and temperature. Some of the liquid refrigerant evaporates as it passes through the expansion valve, but the larger portion is vaporized in the evaporator at the low pressure and temperature.

LITERATURE REVIEW The use of ice to refrigerate and preserve food goes back to prehistoric times. Harvesting snow and ice was a regular practice by many ancient people which include Chinese, Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, and Persians. Ice and snow were stored in caves and the Persians store them in a pit. Constantly replacing the ice worked well in preserving the food for centuries until the 12 th century (Bolaji, 2005). During the 16th century, chemical refrigerant was discovered. Chemical reaction between sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate with water created a sort of cooling substance which was later used to chill wine (Bhatti, 1999). The first known method of artificial refrigeration was demonstared by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 1756. Cullen used a pump to create a partial vacuum over a container of diethyl ether which absorbs heat from the surrounding air when boiled. This experiment created minute amount of ice. An American inventor Oliver Evans on the other hand designed a refrigeration system based on the vapour-compression refrigeration cycle. Later in the year 1834, an American named Jacob Perkins obtained the first patent for a vapour-compression refrigeration system. The prototype worked but did not make it commercially (Bhatti, 1999).

THEORY Many of the impracticalities associated with the reversed Carnot cycle can be eliminated by vaporizing the refrigerant completely and using expansion valve to act as the accelerating device. This conditions results in a cycle known as the ideal vapour-compression refrigeration cycle. This cycle consists of four major processes which are: Isentropic compression in a compressor (1-2) Constant-pressure heat rejection in a condenser (2-3) Throttling in an expansion device (3-4) Constant-pressure heat absorption in an evaporator (4-1)

In stage 1, the refrigerant enters as a saturated vapour and is compressed isentropically to the condenser pressure. This results in higher temperature of the refrigerant than the surrounding medium. Stage 2 is where the refrigerant enters the compressor as a superheated vapour and leaves as saturated liquid at stage 3. This is due to the constant pressure heat rejection to the surrounding. The temperature remains well above the surrounding temperature. The saturated liquid refrigerant in stage 3 is throttled to the evaporator pressure by passing through an expansion valve. The temperature of the refrigerant drops below the temperature of the refrigerated space. At stage 4, the refrigerant enters the evaporator as a low quality saturated mixture. The mixture completely evaporates by absorbing heat from the refrigerated space. The refrigerant leaves the evaporator as saturated vapour and reenters the compressor and thus completing the cycle.

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of Refrigeration Cycle

The performance of a heat pump is evaluated by its coefficient of performance known as COP and its heating capacity. The COP for the refrigeration system is given by:

(1)

To calculate the cooling effect of the refrigeration system, the refrigerant mass flow must be determined. The volumetric flow rate of the refrigerant, as measured from the volumetric flow meter can be used to calculate refrigerant mass flow rate, .

(2)

The cold output for the evaporator is calculated as: (3)

Where the refrigeration effect,

: (4)

REFERENCES Bhatti, M.S. (1999). A Historical Look at Chloroflurocarbon Refrigerants. ASHRAE Transactions, Part 1, 1999, pp. 1186-1206. Bolaji, B. O. (2005). CFC Refrigerants and Stratospheric Ozone: Past, Present, and Future, In: Environment Sustainability and Conservation in Nigeria, Okoko, E, and Adekunle, V.A.J. (Eds.): Book of Reading of Environment Conservation and Research Team, Chap.37, pp. 231-239.