Russian researchers have come up with a power-saving and ozone-friendly refrigerator which operates without a motor and uses a semiconductor as coolant
RESEARCHERS have been trying to evolve
a refrigerator that would cut down on
power consumption and at the same
time prevent the depletion of earth's
ozone layer. Now, scientists from the
Russian Institute of Light Alloys (VILS)
in Moscow have successfully tested
a new refrigerating unit that neither uses
an electric motor nor a compressor, and
hence consumes a lot less electricity.
One of the major factors that contributes to ozone depletion is freon,
a widely used refrigerant. The new unit
does not use freon and other traditional
coolants.
The scientists have put ke well-known Peltier effect to good, practicable
use. According to Peltier, when an
electric current flows through a semi-
conducting system, heat appears on one
of the crystal plates and the other plate
is cooled. The effect has been used
in military equipment and in cosmonautics (cooling laser guidance
systems).
A Kichkailo and V Pletanov from
ESMAN, an Ukrainian industrial research
institute, developed the new refrigerator using semiconductors made
of tellurobismuth alloys. The alloy
has properties of a crystal. The crystal
is cut into small rectangular pieces and
about 100 such pieces are united in
a module. They are oriented in such
a way that half of them release cold into
a plate and the rest evolve heat. The heat
is removed from the second plate by a
pipe as in traditional refrigerators or is
blown away by a blower.
Semiconductor elements have a very
long life and the only part to be
exchanged periodically is the worn-out
heat pipe - a minor repair.
VILS started off with a five litre thermostat and the interiors cooled to -1 Yc
very rapidly. Then it made two experimental refrigerators of the conventional
165-litre capacity without compressors
- one with a heating pipe and the other
with a blower. The models were tested at
the Smolensk refrigerating machine
plant in Russia and after minor adjustments, both the models achieved cooling to -25' c in an ambient temperature
of more than 30'c. The Smolensk plant
is planning to test run six other models
and will finance commercial production
of such refrigerators shortly.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.