Study of the Performance-Economic-Environmental Impact of Replacing R404A with R448A in Refrigeration Systems

Ma Peicheng; Zheng Xiaohai; Wang Yongqiang; Wang Zilong; Gao Wenjing; Zhang Hua

doi:10.12465/issn.0253-4339.20250502002

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Study of the Performance-Economic-Environmental Impact of Replacing R404A with R448A in Refrigeration Systems

更新时间：2026-07-27

- Study of the Performance-Economic-Environmental Impact of Replacing R404A with R448A in Refrigeration Systems
- Journal of Refrigeration Vol. 47, Issue 4, Pages: 113-123(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.上海理工大学能源与动力工程学院上海 200093
  2. 克拉玛依碳和网络科技有限公司克拉玛依 834000
- 作者简介：
  
  Wang Zilong， male， professor， School of Energy and Power Engineering， University of Shanghai for Science and Technology， 86-13816982695， E-mail： wzl@usst.edu.cn. Research fields： refrigeration，phase change energy storage， high efficiency heat transfer technology.
- 基金信息：
  
  the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52476211);Central Government Guides Local Science and Technology Development Fund Projects(YDZX20213100003002)
- DOI：10.12465/issn.0253-4339.20250502002
  CLC： TB61⁺1;TB657.3
- Received：02 May 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-06-08，
  
  Accepted：01 August 2025，
  
  Online First：20 January 2026，
  
  Published：16 August 2026
- 稿件说明：
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麻培成,郑小海,王勇强等.R448A替代R404A对制冷系统的性能-经济-环境影响研究[J].制冷学报,2026,47(04):113-123.

Ma Peicheng,Zheng Xiaohai,Wang Yongqiang,et al.Study of the Performance-Economic-Environmental Impact of Replacing R404A with R448A in Refrigeration Systems[J].Journal of Refrigeration,2026,47(04):113-123.
麻培成,郑小海,王勇强等.R448A替代R404A对制冷系统的性能-经济-环境影响研究[J].制冷学报,2026,47(04):113-123. DOI： 10.12465/issn.0253-4339.20250502002.

Ma Peicheng,Zheng Xiaohai,Wang Yongqiang,et al.Study of the Performance-Economic-Environmental Impact of Replacing R404A with R448A in Refrigeration Systems[J].Journal of Refrigeration,2026,47(04):113-123. DOI： 10.12465/issn.0253-4339.20250502002.

摘要

R404A是一种常用的中温制冷剂，因具有出色的低温制冷效率以及对臭氧层无害的特性而被广泛应用于中低温制冷系统，但其全球变暖潜值（GWP为3 922）较高，即将被淘汰。R448A因具有优异的热物性和较低的GWP，目前已成为替代R404A的重要选择之一。本文基于一套高低温试验箱制冷系统，研究了等效工况下R448A替代R404A的系统特性，对比分析了R448A和R404A对系统经济和环境的影响。结果表明：R404A和R448A系统制冷量和COP均随着充注量的增加呈现先增大后减小趋势；相比于R404A，R448A系统最佳充注量增加约9.3%，但制冷量和COP分别提高17.2%和17.1%；当系统蒸发温度相同时，R448A系统对环境温度波动的敏感度显著低于R404A系统，环境温度每升高1 ℃，R404A和R448A系统的制冷量分别下降1.69%和0.86%，且系统COP最高可优于R404A的9.9%；此外，使用R448A的投资回报周期约为1 a，并随着系统使用周期年限的增加，R448A系统的总年化成本（TAC）逐渐低于R404A系统，使用周期每增加1 a，其系统成本可节约0.6%~6.6%，将R404A更换为R448A后系统的碳排放总量可降低32%以上，其中约27%的降低来自运行周期内的制冷剂泄漏以及报废回收过程。

Abstract

R404A is a widely used medium-temperature refrigerant in low- and medium-temperature refrigeration systems because of its excellent efficiency and ozone-friendly properties. However， its high Global Warming Potential （GWP=3 922） has led to its scheduled phase-out by 2030. R448A has emerged as a key alternative， offering superior thermophysical properties and a significantly lower GWP. This study investigated a refrigeration system in high- and low-temperature test chambers to explore the operating conditions for the case of R404A replaced by R448A. The results showed that the cooling capacity and coefficient of performance （COP） of both systems initially increased and then decreased with increasing refrigerant charge. The optimal charge for R448A was approximately 9.3% higher than that for R404A， and its cooling capacity and COP improved by over 17%. At the same evaporation temperature， the R448A system was less sensitive to ambient temperature fluctuations. A 10 ℃ increase in ambient temperature resulted in a 16.9% decrease in cooling capacity for R404A， whereas R448A only experienced an 8.6% decrease. Additionally， the maximum COP of the R448A system was approximately 9.9% higher than that of R404A.The return on investment for R448A is approximately one year， and as the system's life cycle progresses， the total annualized cost （TAC） of R448A becomes lower than that of R404A， with annual savings ranging from 0.6% to 6.6%. Replacing R404A with R448A can reduce total carbon emissions by over 32%， with approximately 27% of this reduction attributed to refrigerant leakage during operation and end-of-life recycling.

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