Experimental Investigation of Coefficient of Performance Enhancement (COP) in Ice Plant Using Brine-Based Metal Oxide Nanofluids

The research investigates brine-based metal oxide nanofluids to improve heat transfer and ice plant COP. The novelty of the study is in the use of stable nanofluids of ZnO, CuO, and Al2O3 prepared using surfactants and ultra-sonication to improve the performance of an ice plant working on the vapor compression refrigeration cycle. The study found that the COP of the ice plant was significantly enhanced using these nanofluids, with the greatest improvement of 27% observed for Al2O3 nanofluids at a particle volume concentration of 0.3%. The experiment also showed a reduction in compressor power consumption by 22% at the same concentration and temperature, indicating the potential use of these nanofluids in ice plant applications. The study further demonstrated that the COP improvement was more significant at a controlled temperature of 20 °C than at 25 °C.