According to The European Commission’s regulation numbers 842/2006 and 517/2014, refrigerants whose Global Warming Potential ratio is more than 150, have been prohibited in mobile air conditioning (MAC) since January 2017. Therefore, the commonly used R-134 gas has been banned. The search for a new refrigerant, which grants all the required criteria, has begun. In accordance with new European standards, the gas should have environmentally friendly properties and should not be noxious to human life while operating. In this paper, two alternative substances, which can substitute the banned R134a, have been compared. This is synthetic R1234yf, which belongs to the HFO group, and carbon dioxide, which exists in the natural environment. The chemical build, physical and thermodynamic properties have been described. Scientific articles, which present and compare the technical results of testing both refrigerants, have been discussed. Comparison results, tools used and research methodology have been described in these articles. Alternative gases have been analyzed for their environmental impact and have been checked on the toxic, flammable, impact on ozone depletion and global warming. The threats to human life due to the use of the new refrigerants have been reviewed. The thesis also comprises an economical comparison between the two gases. A short review and conclusions have been presented at the end of the article.

Synthetic refrigerants are being phased out gradually in accordance with international environmental protection protocols because of global warming and ozone layer depletion. Adopting R290/R600 refrigerant, an environmentally friendly refrigerant, to replace R134a, a high global warming potential refrigerant, provides one of the solutions. In this study, exergy analysis of R134a and TiO₂ suspended with lubricant and R290/R600 with a composition of 60% R290 and 40% R600 (60:40) was investigated in vapour compression system (VCRS) using R290/ R600 in TiO₂ nanomixture lubricant and compared with R134a and R290/ R600 in pure lubricant. At the inlets and outlets, the main components of the VCRS are connected to temperature and pressure sensors to measure the inlet and outlet temperatures and pressures. The results obtained were used to analyses the exergy losses at various VCRS components (compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve) were investigated to determine the refrigerator’s total exergy destruction (E·x_dest.Total) and efficiency (η_ex). The E·x_dest.Total of R290/R600 in pure lubricant and R290/R600 TiO₂ nanomixture lubricant was reduced by 26.9% and 42.3%, respectively, and system η_ex increased by 27.7% and 38.9% respectively when compared to R134a in the system. Hence, TiO₂ suspended with R290/R600 is potential a substitute for R134a.

The article presents detailed two-phase adiabatic pressure drops data for refrigerant R134a. Study cases have been set for a mass flux varying from 200 to 400 kg/m2s, at the saturation temperature of 19.4°C. Obtained experimental data was compared with the available correlations from the literature for the frictional pressure drop during adiabatic flow. Influence of mixture preparation on pressure drop was investigated, for varying inlet subcooling temperature in the heated section. The flow patterns have also been obtained by means of a high-speed camera placed in the visualization section and compared with literature observations.