Ammonia compressors remove heat from objects or spaces by changing refrigerants from liquid to gas and back. Ammonia is commonly used in commercial applications, while home appliances typically use Freon. Compressors can be reciprocating, screw, or scroll types. Ammonia is a natural gas that can be toxic if used improperly.
An ammonia compressor is a mechanical device that creates refrigeration by removing heat from objects or spaces. Compressor systems cool by changing a refrigerant, such as ammonia, various types of Freon and other gases, from a liquid state to a gaseous state and then back to a liquid. Ammonia is commonly used in cold storage systems, ice rinks and other commercial applications. Home refrigerators and freezers used to use ammonia, but in modern times, home appliances typically use a type of Freon.
Typically, a compressor compresses ammonia gas, which heats up when pressurized. The hot, compressed vapors travel through the coils, just like the ones on the back of a refrigerator, and dissipate the heat. As it cools in the coils, the gas condenses into a liquid that is still under high pressure. This liquid flows through the expansion valve, which looks like a small hole or port, into a low pressure area. The pressure drop causes the gas to immediately boil and vaporize, thereby lowering its temperature to -27° Fahrenheit (-32.8° Celsius), which creates the chilling effect.
An ammonia compressor can be of three types: reciprocating, screw or helical or scroll. Reciprocating, or piston, compressors are generally similar to the engine system in an automobile: liquid enters the piston chamber and as the piston pushes on it, it is compressed into vapor. In this type of compressor, the open compressor design is usually used for an ammonia compressor.
Screw compressors, or helical rotary compressors, are single or twin screw. Sometimes people call them rotary compressors. Two gate rotors, or starter gears, meshing with the screw not only drive the screw, but also control and balance the load pressure. As ammonia enters the single screw compressor, the screw turns and compresses it in the sections between the grooves and the housing, and then pushes the pressurized gas out through the discharge port and into the coil area.
A twin screw ammonia compressor consists of precisely timed rotors that mesh tightly as they rotate within a shared housing. While one motor turns one screw clockwise, the other rotates counterclockwise. Generally, single screw compressors with gate rotors are quieter and have less vibration.
Scroll compressors typically use one fixed and one orbiting scroll to compress ammonia vapours. The fixed upper scroll contains the gas discharge port; the unique rotation of the lower scroll causes the scroll to move in a circular path around the center of the shaft. As it orbits, it collects ammonia vapors at its edge, compressing them. Trapped vapors move to the center of the fixed scroll and exit through the exhaust port.
In the simplest terms, ammonia is a natural gas made up of one part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen. Although ammonia is found in some common cleaners, it can be toxic or even deadly if used improperly. This is why ammonia is generally not used in home refrigerators or freezers. Ammonia is used extensively in large commercial chillers because it is less expensive to use. A household refrigerator with an ammonia compressor is usually an antique.
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