Hydrocarbons as one of the natural refrigerants have drawn much attention for their excellent thermophysical properties and environmental performance(ODP=0

GWP is extremely low). This paper compares the operational performances of HCs with several conventional refrigerants

discusses the research progress of the application of HCs on small commercial freezers from the point of theory and tests

and expounds the progress on compressor

lubricating oil and other relevant aspects. Compared to the traditional refrigerant used in small commercial freezers

hydrocarbons have much higher unit mass refrigerating capacity and COP

lower exhaust temperature. Moreover

in actual operation

their cooling rate is faster and noise level is lower. However

hydrocarbons are flammable. Although the refrigerant charge of small commercial freezers is small

relevant fire or explosion experiments should be done when hydrocarbons leak from a small commercial freezer.