Experimental Study of R-32/R-290 Mixture as a Replacement for R-410A with Mixture Variation Optimization Using the Weighted Product Method

Abstract

The primary issue in refrigeration is environmental pollution caused by synthetic HFC refrigerants like R-410A, which has a very high Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 2088. As a more environmentally friendly alternative, this study explores the potential of a mixture of R-32 (GWP = 675) and R-290 (GWP = 3). Blending these two refrigerants aims to find a composition that significantly reduces global warming impact—with a mixture GWP much lower than that of R-410A—while maintaining similar thermodynamic characteristics to conventional refrigerants. This study focuses on retrofitting an R-410A split AC system with an R-32/R-290 mixture in a 68%/32% composition using a drop-in substitute method, without modifying the main system components. The experiment was conducted with four variations of mixture mass charges: 54%, 57%, 60%, and 63% of the standard R-410A charge mass of 340g. System performance was analyzed based on cooling capacity, power consumption, and Coefficient of Performance (COP) using REFPROP software, and the mixture variation was optimized using the Weighted Product (WP) method. The experimental results indicate that the 63% charge variation most closely approximates the performance of R-410A. To achieve optimal performance, further research is recommended, focusing on the optimization of the capillary tube's diameter and length to reduce the pressure drop. This optimization is expected to enhance system efficiency and further reduce the GWP from 2088 (R-410A) to 460 (R-32/R-290 mixture).

Country : Indonesia

1 Gavy Finda Koernia2 Rio Rizki Ghifari3 Berkah Fajar TK

  1. Mechanical Design Engineering Study Program, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia
  2. Mechanical Design Engineering Study Program, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia
  3. Mechanical Engineering Study Program, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia

IRJIET, Volume 9, Issue 11, November 2025 pp. 1-11

doi.org/10.47001/IRJIET/2025.911001

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