Resumen
Carbon dioxide is an innocuous refrigerant for the environment. It is a substance of current interest in the refrigeration area. Its good thermodynamic and heat transfer properties have placed it in an excellent position for substituting refrigerants that contribute to global warming. This paper describes carbon dioxide as a refrigerant, the main characteristics that have made it a substance of current interest, its applications in subcritical and transcritical cycles, and a general vision of its usage at international level. Moreover, this paper presents the disadvantages of using this refrigerant and the upgrades made by the scientific community in order to improve the performance of those systems that work with this fluid. This paper is a reference for those interested in having a wider vision of frigorific technology based on carbon dioxide as a refrigerant.