AN ENGINE EXHAUST FIRED NON-CHLOROFLUOROCARBON REFRIGERATION AND THERMAL STORAGE SYSTEM

TYPICAL TRUCK-TRAILER REFRIGERATION UNITS CURRENTLY USE EITHER THE CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS (CFCS) R-12, R-500, OR R-502, OR HYDRO CFC (HCFC) R-22 AS A NEAR TERM REPLACEMENT. ALL OF THESE REFRIGERANTS CONTRIBUTE TO THE OZONE DEPLETION PROBLEM. BECAUSE THE CFCS ARE SCHEDULED FOR A COMPLETEE PHASEOUT BY THE YEAR 2000 AND HCFCS (R-22) BY THE YEAR 2020, IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR THEFOOD INDUSTRY, TRAILER REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY, AND THE CONSUMER, THAT AN ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGNALTERNATIVE SYSTEM BE DEVELOPED. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A METHOD OF PROVIDING ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN REFRIGERATION USING SOLID-STATE AMMONIATED COMPLEX COMPOUND REFRIGERATION THAT CAN BE DRIVEN BY EITHER THE TRUCK DIESEL EXHAUST OR A SMALL BACKUP DIESEL HEATER DURING IDLING. THE SAVINGS IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION, THE NON-CFC ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ASPECTS OFTHE SYSTEM, AND THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE TECHNOLOGY TO PRESENT PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES MAKE THE SYSTEM WELL SUITED TO FUTURE WIDESPREAD USE. PLANNED FOR PHASE I IS A STUDY AND PROOF-OF-CONCEPT LABORATORY TESTING OF UP TO THREE CANDIDATE COMPLEX COMPOUNDS TO DETERMINE THEIR POTENTIAL FOR REFRIGERATION AND THERMAL STORAGE FOR OPERATION IN THE -20 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT TO 35 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT TEMPERATURE RANGE. BASED ON THESE RESULTS, A PRELIMINARY SYSTEM SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN INCLUDING EQUIPMENT MASS, SIZE, AND OVERALL PERFORMANCE, AS WELL AS DETAILED REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL COMPONENTS AND SYSTEM CIRCUITING, WILL BE GENERATED.