Pengaruh Receiver Terhadap Kinerja Refrigerasi Mesin Pembeku

Freezing is the best method to preserve the quality of food for a long period of time compared to other technologies such as drying and canning. Technology of freezing requires more energy than other preservation technologies, however. Therefore, an energy efficient freezer is needed. This research aims to the effect of utilization of a receiver to improve the freezer performance efficency. The research is conducted on freezer used to cool and freeze 1 kg of water from a temperature of 27oC to -14oC, then a receiver is installed in the freezer and the same research is conducted (the type and setting of expansion valve and test materials are the same). The refrigerant medium is R404A working fluid. The receiver is installed between condenser and filter dryer in the system circuit of the freezer. The result shows that the utilization of receiver increases the coefficent of performance (COP) from 2.24 to 2.69 and reduce the electricity consumption. The time required for freezing becomes shorter particularly on the transition of liquid to solid phase (ice) . Consequently, the freezing rate becomes quicker and provides advantages for application of food freezing.