Refrigeration in the preservation of foodstuffs, health care comfort cooling, food processing, mining, transport, beverage production and industrial manufacturing, has become a vital element for sustainability. Before the introduction of synthetic refrigerants, cooling systems relied on natural refrigerants, sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, ice and ammonia. When first introduced, synthetic refrigerants were hailed as being much safer and more user friendly, and systems charged with them were much easier to install and repair. There was little regard for the long-term impact on the environment. However, this was to change with the Vienna Convention signed by 28 countries in 1985, followed by the legally binding Montreal Protocol signed by 46 nations in 1987.
At the time of the Protocol, millions of refrigeration systems worldwide were adding directly and indirectly towards global carbon emissions, which impact on climate change. The debate as to whether a refrigeration system adds towards global warming or not, has faded. The current global debate is about which refrigerants will provide a long term, environmentally friendly solution.
Users are now seeking refrigerants with a global warming potential( GWP) of less than 150, that are economical, safe to use, and thermodynamically efficient. The threshold of a GWP of 150 is far less than the 1 810 of R22, the 3 922 of R404A, or the 3 985 of R507A, which is charged into many existing plants.
Natural refrigerants( ammonia, CO 2
, propylene), hydrocarbons( isobutane, propane), HFOs( 1234yf, 1234ze) all have
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a GWP below 150, but dependent on the application require specific plant features or work procedures for safety compliance. The direct emissions of the refrigerant could be low, but when considering the thermodynamic efficiency or energy usage( for example, systems that require secondary circuits for safety compliance), the indirect emissions and economics could dilute the benefit of a low GWP.
Pilot projects funded by UNIDO“ Since the signing of the Montreal Protocol, the demand for HFCs( R134a, R404A, R410A, R507) in developing countries has shown a steady increase with a swing towards low GWP refrigerants at a low level. Although natural refrigerants are widely used in domestic and industrial refrigeration, the market share in developing countries is still small,” said Stephan Sicars of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation( UNIDO) in addressing delegates to the
1. The eurammon Natural Refrigerant Seminar was well supported by delegates from around the world.
2. India showed strong support at the eurammon Natural Refrigerant Seminar, from left: DR Riswadkar( Kirloskar), Anil Gulanikar( Dag- Tech Services), Anand Joshi( AAR), Sunilkumar Nair( Kirloskar), Sanjay Grover( Kirloskar), and MP Behere( Kirloskar).
3. International experts gave exciting insights into country-specific conditions, from left: Dr Xianping Zhang, Dr Karin Jahn( eurammon), Bernd Kaltenbrunner( eurammon), Prof. Gratiela Tarlea, Monika Witt( eurammon), Stephan Sicars, Isolde Döbelin, and Juan Perea.
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eurammon natural refrigerants workshop at Chillventa 2016.
He went on to relate some of the developments in China:“ The population of stand-alone cabinets and ice cream freezers charged with HC is estimated at 400 000 and 322 000, respectively. There are nine food
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stores with CO 2 systems. Considering the size of the country and that the population exceeds 1.3 billion, these numbers are low.”
Some of the barriers to HC systems are the higher costs, safety standards, and misconceptions of system performances. Up to 2015, UNIDO funded projects in several
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