The History Of Refrigeration

To now consider the world without refrigeration is almost unimaginable

. Fridges, freezers and air conditioners are now present in some forms in almost every building in the towns and cities of the world, with the same technology also utilised to cool us in our cars, as well as keeping computer's and electronics cool.

Of course, this has not always been the case. In our past the luxury of cool drinks and ice creams were not even a consideration, with the problem being simply how to prevent food from going off so quickly in the hotter parts of the year.

The link between lower temperatures and longer preservation was quickly realised by the developed parts of the world and attempts to provide cooler storage began.

Cellars and larders were the traditional storage rooms. No direct sunlight and often built under the earth kept these spaces cool compared with the areas warmed by the direct sun. These areas, combined with some curing and pickling processes, could store food longer than it would last. However the ability to enjoy fresh foods and drinks was difficult, with fresh meat being generally reserved for what had been caught recently. Likewise the ability to transport foods and other time expiring produce was almost non-existent as it would certainly spoil during the long journey by sea, leaving sailors with terrible diets and the import of foods impossible.

The introduction of ice was the next major step in the refrigeration story. Ice would be harvested from colder climates and transported to where it was required. This ice could then be placed into storage rooms and boxes to reduce temperatures, as well as being put into or around drinks to cool them down.

Ice cooling lasted a huge span of time, commencing with the early Chinese, Romans and Greeks and continuing even into the 20 century in North America. Eventually however, despite the leaps forward in insulation technology, the constraints of ice transportation and the increasing levels of pollution found in natural ice led to redoubled efforts in developing artificial cooling methods.

Chemical cooling was attempted for some time by adding chemicals to water, such as Sodium Nitrate, which brought about a cooling effect. Despite it's relatively low use it really set the scene for scientists to look fully at the chemicals that maybe used to bring about refrigeration. As early as the 18th Century, William Cullen had shown cooling air could be achieved by changing pressures around chemicals, causing evaporation and it's resulting cooling effect.

The consideration of utilising evaporation and compression/expansion was experimented with for many years by some of the leading scientists of their day, such as Faraday and Franklin. Eventually the modern idea of refrigeration was refined and the coolants became the focus.

Early systems had used dangerous and noxious gases such as ammonia and methyl chloride, resulting in a number of fatal accidents. Eventually a collaborative effort by American corporations resulted in the development of Freon gas. A much safer alternative to the much more deadly gases used previously. This gas revolutionised refrigerators and when combined with insulation technology, created the box fridges and freezers used throughout the world today.

by: George Hein

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