In residential cooling and refrigerating systems, you won’t see ammonia used as a refrigerant anymore, and the reason is simple. The fumes from ammonia can be toxic in enclosed areas. However, in large applications, the industrial ammonia refrigeration system is quite common, and it’s one of the most efficient ways to cool. However, there are some important things to know about R717 systems, if you plan to own one.
R717
R717 is ammonia refrigerant. This kind of cooling system is commonly referred to as anhydrous ammonia which means there is no water or water vapor in the industrial ammonia refrigeration system. An R717 system works just like any other refrigerating system, and it’s good to understand the basics of cooling.
How Do Things Get Cold?
Many people see cold air coming out of air conditioners, chillers, walk-in coolers, and other things and assume that these machines manufacture cold air. In reality, there is no such thing as cold manufacturing. Cold is simply the absence of heat, and the less heat something contains, the colder it is.
Heat Removal
An industrial ammonia refrigeration system (or any other type) works by removing heat from an enclosed area. This is possible because evaporating gas removes heat and cools things off. That’s why you feel cold when you get out of a swimming pool on a windy day. The breeze evaporates the water on your skin, removing heat.
Evaporation and Condensation
The evaporating gas in a chilling system is the refrigerant. R717 is pumped through evaporating and condensing coils. It turns to gas in the evaporating unit (absorbing heat) and releases the heat in the condensing unit. This cycle is repeated over and over, and it is the basic concept of artificial refrigeration systems. The same basic principles apply to modern refrigerators in your home and large industrial systems that use ammonia as a refrigerant.
