Análise de fluidos refrigerantes no processo industrial de liquefação do cloro

Abstract

The chlorine production process via electrolysis is important in the chemical industry due to the wide application of this product in several areas. After the production of chlorine via electrolysis, the chlorine undergoes some treatment steps in order to be commercialized and used in other process routes. Within them, the liquefaction of chlorine is necessary to reduce the temperature of the chlorine to the point of liquefying almost entirely. In this operation, shell and tube type heat exchangers are used. One of the factors that impact the efficiency of these equipment is the type of refrigerant to be used. The choice of fluid is gaining importance, because in addition to its energy capacity, environmental concern is present due to the entire current context. Therefore, the present work aimed to analyze the efficiency of three refrigerants in the process, R-134A, R-12 and R-1234YF, considering their liquefaction capacity and the environmental impact compared through indices the Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP). The operating conditions of the heat exchangers were used as a basis for simulation in the Aspen Hysys software. The results obtained in the simulation were used to perform the analysis of better efficiency in the process together with the comparison of the environmental indices. From the results it was found that the fluid R-134A is more efficient when it is related to the liquefaction capacity, however, the R-1234YF has the lowest environmental impact.