Post Harvest Management of Horticultural Crops

Components of Refrigeration system

Refrigeration system components
There are five basic components of a refrigeration system, these are:

• Evaporator
• Compressor
• Condenser
• Expansion Valve
• Refrigerant; to conduct the heat from the product

The Evaporator
The purpose of the evaporator is to remove unwanted heat from the product, via the liquid refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant contained within the evaporator is boiling at a low-pressure.
To enable the transfer of heat, the temperature of the liquid refrigerant must be lower than the temperature of the product being cooled. Once transferred, the liquid refrigerant is drawn from the evaporator by the compressor via the suction line. When leaving the evaporator coil the liquid refrigerant is in vapour form.

The Compressor
The purpose of the compressor is to draw the low-temperature, low-pressure vapour from the evaporator via the suction line. Once drawn, the vapour is compressed. When vapour is compressed it rises in temperature. Therefore, the compressor transforms the vapour from a low-temperature vapour to a high-temperature vapour, in turn increasing the pressure. The vapour is then released from the compressor in to the discharge line.

The Condenser
The purpose of the condenser is to extract heat from the refrigerant to the outside air. The condenser is usually installed on the reinforced roof of the building, which enables the transfer of heat. Fans mounted above the condenser unit are used to draw air through the condenser coils. The temperature of the high-pressure vapour determines the temperature at which the condensation begins. As heat has to flow from the condenser to the air, the condensation temperature must be higher than that of the air; usually between -12°C and -1°C. The high-pressure vapour within the condenser is then cooled to the point where it becomes a liquid refrigerant once more, whilst retaining some heat. The liquid refrigerant then flows from the condenser in to the refrigerant line.

The Expansion Valve
Within the refrigeration system, the expansion valve is located at the end of the refrigeran line, before the evaporator. The high-pressure refrigeran reaches the expansion valve, having come from the condenser. The valve then reduces the pressure of the refrigerant as it passes through the orifice, which is located inside the valve. On reducing the pressure, the temperature of the refrigerant also decreases to a level below the surrounding air. This low-pressure, low-temperature refrigeran is then pumped in to the evaporator