Magneto caloric effect based refrigeration system

A cooling system consists of a device or devices used to lower the temperature of a defined region in space through some cooling process. Currently, the most popular commercial cooling medium is the refrigerant. A refrigerant in its general sense is what makes refrigerator cool foods, and it also use to makes air conditioners and other cooling products. A typical consumer based refrigerator lowers temperatures by modulating a gas vapour compression-evaporation cycle, to cool a refrigerant fluid which has been heated by the contents of the refrigerator (i.e. the food inside). Typical refrigerants used in refrigerators are ammonia, methyl chloride, and sulfur dioxide, all of which are toxic. To mitigate the risks associated with toxic refrigerants, a collaboration by Frigidaire, General Motors, and DuPont netted the development of Freon (or R12), a chlorofluorocarbon. Freon is a non-flammable and non-toxic, but ozone- depleting gas1. Because of the damaging effects of Freon to the ozone layer, there has been much interest in targeting other refrigerants. The future seems ripe for new refrigeration technology.

There are two main reasons why magnetic refrigeration research continues. While a magnetic refrigerator would cost more than today's refrigerator, it could consume 20% more energy than current evaporation-compression refrigerators, The other attraction to magnetic refrigeration is the ecological impact a magnetic refrigerator would bring should it supplant current technologies. Not only would ozone-depleting refrigerant concerns be calmed, but the energy savings itself would lessen the strain our household appliances put on our environment.