Performance analysis of a nitrogen-based Brayton cryocooler prototype

Modeling of Separation with Drying Processes for Compressed Air Using an Experimental Setup with Separation–Condensation and Throttling Devices

“…To achieve very low temperatures of around -140 °C in industrial applications, a Brayton cryocooler can be used, which uses nitrogen as the working fluid [9,10]. The Brayton cryocooler can be used for air conditioning, medical applications (e.g., storage of COVID-19 vaccines), and in the food industry to freeze various food products at very low temperatures.…”

“…Another significant disadvantage of the Brayton cryocooler is the high cost of the initial unit (turbine and centrifugal compressor), which can reach around EUR 70,000. The authors of the article [10] present the results of an energy analysis of the performance of the Brayton cryocooler prototype. To simulate the cooling effect, an electric heater with a power of 15.6 kW was installed in the design of the prototype, and the power of the electric motor for the operation of the piston compressor was 53.7 kW.…”

“…Analysing various variants of cooling systems for premises or technological processes in industry, described in studies [8,[10][11][12][13]15], it can be concluded that these systems are difficult to adapt for cooling compressed air in pneumatic systems of industrial enterprises. Firstly, they require the mandatory availability of large-volume compressed air storage facilities in the form of underground storage facilities or large-sized above-ground compressed air tanks.…”