Analysis and hazard evaluation of heat-transfer fluids for the direct contact cooling system

This paper discusses several low-temperature heat-tranfer fluids, including water-based inorganic salt, organic salt, alcohol/glycol mixtures, silicones, and halogenated hydrocarbons in order to choose the best heat-transfer fluid for the newly designed direct contact refrigeration system. So, it contains a survey on commercial products such as propylene glycol and potassium formate as newly used in super market and food processing refrigeration. The stability of commercial fluids at the working temperature of $-20^{\circ}C$ was monitored as a function of time up to two months. And organic and inorganic compositions of candidate fluids were obtained by analytical instruments such as ES, XRF, AAS, ICP-AES, GC, and GC-MS. Analysis results indicate that commercial propylene glycol is very efficient and safe heat transfer fluids for the direct cooling system with liquid phase.