NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

GEK1521-PHYSICS IN LIFE SCIENCES

TERM PAPER
Thermodynamics and its Application in
Refrigeration
AY 13/14 Semester 1

NAME

: Chin Yin Hau

MATRIC NO.

: A0086814X

1. Introduction
Thermodynamics describes the movement of heat and its relation to work and energy.
Thermodynamics is inextricably linked to our everyday life and its principles can be used to explain
many natural phenomena in life. For instance, the laws of thermodynamics dictate the direction in
which heat flows and this explains why our skin feels warmer while standing under the hot sun, and
colder while holding onto a piece of ice. Further, the laws of thermodynamics are extensively applied
in various engineering applications. Some of these engineering applications manifest in the household
appliances that we deal with in our daily life. Most of these appliances, such as the refrigerator, heater
and air conditioner serve to regulate the temperature of the space and surroundings that we live in.
This paper will explore the concept of thermodynamics in the application of refrigeration.

2. Laws of Thermodynamics
There are four laws in thermodynamics that define the physical quantities, namely energy, entropy
and temperature of a system1. However, only the first and second laws will be covered within the
scope of this paper.
2.1 First Law of Thermodynamics
The 1st law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of energy conservation, dictates that energy
cannot be created nor destroyed, but can be changed from one form to another.
Energy can exist in many different forms such as mechanical energy, gravitational energy, chemical
energy, and thermal energy, and their sum constitutes the total energy of the system. In
thermodynamic analyses, we typically concerned with the change in energy of the system rather than
the absolute value of the total energy.
In a closed system, the first law can be summarized in the form of an energy balance by considering
the energy transfer into and out of the system, as well as the change in the internal energy of the
system.

U =QW

The above equation elucidates that an increase in the internal energy of a system,

(1)

U is equivalent

to the net amount of heat, Q added into the system minus the net work done by the system, W.

2.1 Second Law of Thermodynamics

The 2nd law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated system that is not in thermal
equilibrium will tend to increase over time.
The second law also applies to non-isolated, irreversible systems. In such systems, the net increment
in entropy, considering both the change in entropy of the system and its immediate surroundings,
indicates the irreversibility of a process. Hence, the second law of thermodynamics establishes the
direction in which irreversible processes proceed. For an irreversible process, the net entropy
generated can be summarized in the following equation 1.

S gen = SSys + S Surr >0

where

(2)

S gen refers to the entropy generated during an irreversible process

S Sys refers to the entropy change of the system due to the process
S Surr refers to entropy change of the surroundings due to the process

Furthermore, the second law also characterizes the flow of thermal energy. It states that heat always
flows spontaneously from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature 1. The
second law of thermodynamics, along with the two equivalent statements from Kelvin-Planck and
Clausius, forms the fundamental principles in engineering applications such as heat pumps and heat
engines.

3. Introduction and Thermodynamic Analysis of Refrigeration

Refrigeration is a process of cooling or freezing a system so as to store items below room
temperature. It has many applications, including the most commonly seen household refrigerators,
cryogenics, industrial freezers, as well as air conditioners. This paper will focus on the application of
the refrigeration process on household refrigerators.
3.1 Second Law of Thermodynamics in Refrigeration
According to our understanding of the second law of thermodynamics, processes proceed in the
direction of increasing entropy. The natural flow of heat from hot to cold regions is a spontaneous
phenomenon because such a process leads to an increase in entropy. However, in a refrigerator, heat
needs to be transferred from the cooler region within the refrigerator to the warmer region in the
surroundings. This requires an apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics.

This violation is avoided and refrigeration is made possible by the input of work into the system.
Within the refrigerator, work is input in the form of electrical energy. This electrical energy is
converted to thermal energy during the refrigeration cycle and then released as heat to the surrounding
air2. The conversion of electrical energy to thermal energy causes an increase in entropy of the
process. The net entropy is positive, allowing refrigeration to be carried out spontaneously.
3.2 First Law of Thermodynamics in Refrigeration
Apart from the second law of thermodynamics, the refrigeration process must also fulfill the first
principles. The first law of thermodynamic dictates that energy must be conserved in the refrigeration
process. In this process, heat is transferred from the colder region to the warmer region. Since
refrigeration is a cyclic process, the refrigerant, which absorbs and rejects the heat, must return to its
initial state where its internal energy is the same. Hence, the heat released from the refrigerator to the
warmer surroundings, Qh must be equivalent to the heat absorbed from the cabinet air, Q c plus the
work input by the compressor, W (Figure 1) to fulfil the first law of thermodynamics. In other words,
Qh = Qc + W.

Figure 1. Energy balance in refrigeration system3

4. The Refrigeration Cycle
Household refrigerators typically utilize a vapor-compression cycle (Figure 2). Such a refrigeration
system comprises of four main components, namely a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve,
as well as an evaporator4.

Figure 2. Vapor-compression refrigeration cycle5

A refrigerant such as R134a (1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane) is introduced into the compressor as a
saturated vapor, where it is compressed to a superheated vapor where it possesses a higher
temperature and pressure. This superheated vapor then enters a condenser, where it is condensed to
form a saturated liquid. A cooling water or air is used in the condenser. In the condensation process,
heat is removed from the refrigeration system by the cooling water or air. The saturated liquid then
enters an expansion valve where it is subjected to an abrupt reduction in pressure. This causes the
liquid to undergo partial adiabatic flash evaporation, resulting in a liquid and vapor refrigerant
mixture with a reduced temperature lower than that of the air within the refrigerator 4.
The cooled refrigerant mixture is then passed through the evaporator. In the evaporator, the warmer
air within the refrigerator is circulated by a fan across the tubes that carry the cooled refrigerant
mixture. This temperature gradient enables heat to be transferred from the warmer air to the cold
refrigerant mixture, evaporating the liquid portion of the mixture. As a result, the air within the
refrigerator is cooled to the desired temperature. The refrigeration cycle is completed when the
refrigerant is circulated back to the compressor 4.
The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle can be represented on a temperature-entropy diagram
(Figure 3). With reference to Figure 3, from point 1 to 2, the refrigerant that enters as a saturated
vapor undergoes isentropic compression in the compressor to form a superheated vapor. From point 2
to 3, the superheated vapor is passed through part of the condenser where it is stripped of its superheat
to form a saturated vapor. From point 3 to 4, the vapor continues to travel down the condenser where
it is condensed to form a saturated liquid.

Figure 3. Temperature-entropy diagram of vapor-compression refrigeration cycle 6

From point 4 to 5, the saturated liquid enters the expansion valve, where it is subjected to an abrupt
pressure drop and therefore partially flashed to give a liquid and vapor mixture. This adiabatic flash
evaporation occurs at constant enthalpy (isenthalpic) and results in the cooling of the refrigerant.
From point 5 to 1, the cold liquid-vapor refrigerant mixture enters the evaporator where it is fully
vaporized by the warm air in the refrigerator, completing the refrigeration cycle.

5. Food Preservation by Refrigeration

Refrigeration and freezing are the most common methods of food preservation in the world today.
This trend is not surprising as refrigeration confers many advantages as opposed to traditional
methods of food preservation such as dehydration through the addition of salt and spices. Firstly,
refrigeration does not alter the taste of our food unlike these traditional methods. In addition,
refrigeration also slows down the chemical and biological processes in food, thus reducing the rate of
nutrient loss and extending the shelf life of food products 7. The primary cause for rapid degradation in
the quality of food at room temperature is the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria.
5.1 Refrigeration and microorganism growth
Refrigeration works by altering and controlling the environmental conditions to minimize the growth
of microorganisms. Temperature is a primary factor affecting the growth rate of microorganisms
present in food products. Typically, at low temperatures, the growth rate of such microorganisms
increases exponentially with temperature. As shown in Figure 4 below, microorganisms multiply
rapidly at warm temperatures (usually between 20 oC and 60oC), but grow very slowly at low
temperatures7. It is however important to note that excessively high temperatures will eventually
result in microbial cell death due to the denaturation of these enzymes that catalyze the metabolic
processes.

Figure 4. Rate of growth of microorganisms as a function of temperature at low temperature7

5.2 Bacteria and metabolism
Though bacteria are unicellular microorganisms, a large number of biochemical reactions occur
within the bacteria cell to keep it alive. Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions that occur within
living organisms, such as the catabolic reaction of breaking down sugars to liberate energy. Metabolic
reactions are vital for growth and reproduction of microbial cells. Most of these metabolic pathways
are catalyzed by enzymes. Hence, the metabolism of a cell is dependent upon the factors regulating
the activity of enzymes present in the metabolic pathways 8.
The temperature difference between the interior of a bacterial cell and its surroundings constitutes the
driving force for the flow of heat. At the cell membrane, heat is transferred between the surface of the
bacterial cell and the surroundings mainly by convection and radiation. Unlike warm-blooded
organisms, microorganisms such as bacteria are incapable of regulating their temperature. A change in
the ambient temperature will directly affect the temperature of the bacterial cell.
For instance, a fall in temperature of the surroundings would result in a drop in temperature of the
bacterial cell. As the kinetic energy of a system is directly related to its temperature, this drop in
temperature of the bacteria cell will translate to a decrease in the kinetic energy of the biomolecules
such as enzymes within the cell. As a result, enzyme molecules move more slowly and the number of
collisions per unit time between the enzyme and substrate will decrease 9. Furthermore, effective
collisions would require the resulting chemical potential energy of the molecules to be greater than the
activation energy. As the chemical potential energy of the molecules is again dependent upon the
kinetic energy of the molecules, a decrease in the temperature of the system would result in fewer
effective energetic collisions9.
Hence, by utilizing refrigeration to maintain sufficiently low temperatures, the metabolism rate which
determines the growth and reproduction of the bacteria cells will be minimized. This ensures the
freshness of our food when stored in household refrigerators.
6. Conclusion

Thermodynamics is a vital concept of physics that govern many daily phenomena. In this paper, we
have covered the first and second law of thermodynamics, demonstrated how these two laws govern a
real-world application the refrigeration process, and then applied a thermodynamic analysis to
elucidate the inner workings of a refrigeration cycle. Finally, we extended our discussion to the
common household application of refrigeration on food preservation. Here, we see that physics and
life sciences are in fact intertwined and present in many large and small aspects of life that most
usually overlook. If we take a closer look into some of these daily phenomena and apply our scientific
concepts in physics and the life sciences, we will be amazed by how these concepts come to life.

7. References
1. Y. A. Cengel, M. A. Boles, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach. (McGraw-Hill,
2011).
2. Wikipedia (November 4, 2013); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump
3. Appliance 411 (November 5, 2013); http://www.appliance411.com/faq/defrostproblem.shtml
4. J. M. Smith, H. C. Van Ness, M. M. Abbott, Introduction to Chemical Engineering
Thermodynamics. (McGraw-Hill, 2005)
5. Wikipedia (November 7, 2013); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Refrigeration.png
6. New World Encyclopedia (November 7, 2013);
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Refrigeration
7. Y. A. Cengel, Heat Transfer: A Practical Approach. (McGraw-Hill, 2002)
8. T. Audesirk, G. Audesirk, B. E. Byers, Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology. (Benjamin
Cummings, 2011)
9. Brooklyn College (November 8, 2013);
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/biology/bio4fv/page/enz_act.htm