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Sustainable Cooling Technologies:
Challenges of Using Water as a Refrigerant

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Author

Dr. Raed Fayad
Level

Advanced
Study time

~ 30 minutes
Videos

5
Contact

raed.fayad@minesparis.psl.eu

Module Description

Cooling is no longer a comfort issue alone. It is a public health necessity especially in the content of global warming. As a consequence, it is becoming one of the largest drivers of global energy demand and climate pressure.

As temperatures rise and heatwaves intensify, buildings worldwide are relying more than ever on cooling systems that are energy-intensive and environmentally harmful.

At the same time, the synthetic refrigerants traditionally used in these systems are being phased out due to their impact on the climate, the ozone layer, and long-term environmental consequences.

This creates a critical question:

Can we cool our buildings using a refrigerant that is efficient, safe, abundant… and truly sustainable?

This module is dedicated to challenges engineers face when designing a refrigeration system using water as refrigerant.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

Understand the engineering challenges of using water as refrigerant
Learn about direct contact heat exchangers
Learn about compressor's challenges when working with near vacuum pressures

created by

Dr. Raed Fayad

Raed Fayad is a research engineer at the Center for Energy, Environment and Processes at Mines Paris PSL. He holds a Ph.D. on the modeling and experimental characterisation of chiller using water as refrigerant.

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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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César Valderrama

César Valderrama is a full professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Barcelona Tech UPC. Since 2011 he was appointed coordinator at the UPC of the Master in Sustainable Energy of the KIC Innoenergy of the European Institute of Technology (EIT) and since 2020 he is the program director. Since 2023 he is deputy director of the Barcelona East School of Engineering. He has published more than 140 research articles and has received several grants from national and European competitive programs such as H200 and Horizon Europe. His research interest focuses on the analysis of the processes and supply routes of resources for the European energy transition through the recovery and circularity of critical and strategic materials in urban and industrial cycles. He is also developing research in the areas of the analysis of the sustainability of the European economic model and the viability of implementing alternative post-growth models from a transdisciplinary perspective that allow addressing the challenges of the socioeconomic model.

Gabriella Calderari

European Projects Designer and Manager with international experience in the coordination and monitoring of complex projects, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability, circular economy and international cooperation.

Graduated in Law at the University of Bologna, PhD in Energy and Environment at Sapienza University of Rome, PMP® certified, she collaborates with numerous international public and private organizations as project writer, project manager and external monitoring and quality expert.

Sameer Khader

Prof. Sameer Khader is a Full Professor of Electrical Engineering at Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU). He has held various leadership roles, including Dean of Graduate Studies & Scientific Research (2012-2015) and University Academic Provost. In 2010-2011, he was a visiting professor at the University of Hartford, USA. He currently directs the Power Electronics & Signal Processing Research Unit at PPU.

His research focuses on electrical machines, drives, power electronics, renewable energy, smart grids, and engineering education. He has received multiple awards, including the AMIDEAST Teaching Excellence Award (2008), and has published several IEEE papers. Prof. Khader has led multiple international projects, including World Bank and EU-funded initiatives. He is also a certified LabVIEW Associate Developer (CLAD).

Samer Y. Alsadi

SAMER Y. ALSADI. was born in Jenin City, West Bank Palestine in 1971. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in power systems engineering from Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow, Russia, in 1996 and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the same institute, in 2000.

From 2000-2001, he was an Electrical Engineer in the electrical department of Jenin’s Municipal. Since 2001 he has been an Assistant Professor with the Electrical Engineering Department, at Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie. He is the author of some articles. His research interests include renewable energy, power systems, simulation, and analysis. He has been a Professor since 2019, dean of scientific research since 2020, distinguished Professor in 2025, and a senior IEEE member since 2017.

Nesreen Ghaddar

Nesreen Ghaddar is Qatar Chair of Energy Studies, and professor of mechanical engineering at the American University of Beirut. She is also the Director of the Munib and Angela Masri Institute of Energy and Natural Resources at AUB. She joined the University in 1991, and subsequently served as Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department (2001-2007), coordinator of the Chemical Engineering program and Acting Associate Provost (2008-09), before being appointed Associate Provost in 2009. Dr. Ghaddar’s first academic appointment was as an assistant professor at Kuwait University (1985-90). She obtained her BE (1980) from Kuwait University; and her Master’s (1982) and PhD (1985) in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The focus of Dr. Ghaddar’s research is computational and experimental heat transfer enhancement for efficient cooling, solar energy applications, energy conversion, personalized ventilation and localized cooling systems, indoor air quality, modeling of moisture and heat transport processes for clothed humans and thermal comfort. Dr. Ghaddar was named a Fellow of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences in 2007 and was elected to the Lebanese Academy of Science in 2009. In 2012 she received the Distinguished Scholar Medal and Certificate for Research Excellence from the Lebanese Council.

Dana Al Batlouni

Dana is a design researcher and the founder of MAJAZ, a design firm dedicated to fostering thoughtful, research-driven solutions across industries. She earned her PhD from the Cardiff School of Art and Design, UK, where her research focused on knowledge creation within university–industry collaborative design projects. Upon returning to Lebanon, Dana set out to advance the integration of design research across sectors, beginning with academic institutions. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to human-centered design and a systems-oriented perspective, empowering organizations to craft purposeful services and interventions that reflect both the needs of users and stakeholders and the complexities of the broader ecosystem.

Assaad Zoughaib

Assaad Zoughaib is a full professor at Mines Paris, PSL University, where he leads the Energy Master program. He is also adjunct director of Center for Energy, Environment and Processes(CEEP). With a PhD in Energy from Mines ParisTech, his research focuses on applied thermodynamics, energy efficiency, and sustainable industrial processes. He has authored over 120 publications and developed the CERES platform, an open-source tool for optimizing energy recovery in industrial settings. His work integrates methodologies like pinch analysis and exergy optimization to design flexible, low-carbon energy systems. Zoughaib is also the author of "From Pinch Methodology to Pinch-Exergy Integration of Flexible Systems," published by ISTE Press – Elsevier.

Abed Ellatif Samhat

Abed Ellatif Samhat joined the Lebanese University in 2009 and he is the director of the Scientific Research Center in Engineering (CRSI) at the Faculty of Engineering - since 2021. His areas of interest include mobile and wireless networks, IoT, security and applied AI. He is also involved in several capacity building Erasmus+ projects. He received the engineering diploma in electrical and electronics from the Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2000, and the master degree and the Ph.D. degree in computer science from Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris - France, in 2001 and 2004, respectively. From 2005 to 2008, he was a Research Engineer with France Telecom Group, Orange Labs–Paris, where he was involved in several national and European projects, including ambient networks and Gandalf.

Katiuscia Cipri

Katiuscia Cipri was a researcher and academic in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, now external consultant for the same Institution. MSc in Engineering, PhD in Energetic, her primary research areas included cryogenic engineering, renewable energy systems, and sustainable development. With a commitment to academic excellence and interdisciplinary collaboration, Cipri has coordinated multiple European Union-funded projects under the ERASMUS+ and TEMPUS programs. These initiatives, such as JAMILA, DALILA, WESET, ECO-RED, DIEGO and SERMED, aim to develop academic curricula on sustainable energies and the green economy, particularly in collaboration with universities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. She continues to engage in activities that promote innovation, critical inquiry, and knowledge dissemination within her field.

Carlos Gonzalez De Miguel

Carlos González, PhD is assistant professor with the Electrical Engineering Department at Barcelona Tech UPC. Before joining UPC, he worked as self-employed energy consultant and lecturer on energy markets and innovation methodologies. Previously, he was postdoctoral researcher at ESADE Business School (Spain) on regulatory, market and business analysis for implementing innovative, flexible solutions in the electricity grid. He obtained his PhD from KU Leuven, Belgium, and from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and joined Bausch Datacom NV for implementing the patented short-circuit detection algorithms developed during his PhD. From 2006 to 2010, he was researcher at CITCEA-UPC and developed software to assist the integration of renewables in the grid.

Paolo Venturini

Paolo Venturini, a Mechanical Engineer with a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). His multidisciplinary research encompasses fields such as multiphase flows, erosion and fouling modelling, turbomachinery, energy systems, biofuels, sustainable mobility, and hydrogen technologies. He develops advanced models to predict erosion and particle deposition in critical systems, including gas turbines, compressors, wind and tidal turbines. His work extends to experimental investigations into the use of vegetable and waste cooking oils as sustainable fuels for internal combustion engines, as well as the potential of biomass gasification for producing hydrogen-rich syngas. Additionally, he focuses on integrating hydrogen-based solutions into energy systems to support decarbonization efforts especially in the energy and transportation sectors.

Ahmad Diab

Ahmad Diab is a development specialist and an energy policy consultant. He is currently serving as a senior research assistant at the Munib and Angela Masri Institute of Energy and Natural Resources at the American University of Beirut (AUB). His work focuses on sustainability, the energy industry and context-aware development. He received is MA in Sociology, MSc in Energy Studies and BE in Electrical and Computer Engineering from AUB.

Sorina Mortada

Dr. Sorina Mortada is a Board Member of the Electricity Regulatory Authority in Lebanon, appointed in October 2025, where she contributes to electricity sector reform and the development of modern regulatory frameworks.

With over 15 years of experience in energy policy, regulation, and sustainable energy systems, she has played a key role in shaping national strategies, legislative frameworks, and market-oriented reforms. She has led high-impact initiatives in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable cooling in collaboration with international partners, governments, and the private sector. Her expertise includes regulatory design, market analysis, monitoring and evaluation (MRV),

and integrating innovative energy solutions into policy frameworks. Dr. Mortada holds a Ph.D. in Energy from Mines ParisTech and is an Associate Professor at the Lebanese University.

Majd Olleik

Majd Olleik is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at the American University of Beirut. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering in 2022 from TU Wien, specializing in electricity and energy economics. His research combines optimization, game theory, simulation, and decision analysis to inform electricity planning, market design, and energy policy in developing and resource-constrained contexts. In addition to his academic work, Majd has provided policy-oriented consulting to international organizations, including the World Bank and the UN-ESCWA, as well as regional governments and international companies.

Saad Maakaron

AUB graduate Y2K, in Mechanical and Mechatronics, Saad co-founded Green Essence in 2006 to specialize in energy efficiency and renewable energy, switching homes, businesses, and institutions towards sustainability in energy. Using solar for new applications, they help in water treatment, water distribution, irrigation, recycling, heating and cooling for agro-industries, among others. Green Essence grew organically bringing the benefits of solar energy to everyone, and helping businesses and individuals all over Lebanon to save, on energy and pollution.

Sustainable Cooling Technologies: Challenges of Using Water as a Refrigerant