Laurenz Hermann, project director of energy efficiency at the German Energy Agency, told just-food yesterday (22 June) that industrial refrigeration technology is playing a game of catch-up with domestic appliances in terms of their environmental impact and energy efficiency.
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“Most of today’s commercial refrigeration appliances are still using HFCs (hydroflourcarbons) as refrigerants,” Hermann explained.
HFCs, when emitted into the atmosphere, are big contributors to global warming. When talking about the greenhouse effect, CO2 emissions are often placed in the spotlight. However, Hermann said, HFCs contribute more to global warming than CO2 by a factor of 3,000.
“In domestic refrigeration appliances, HFCs have already been substituted widely by natural refrigerants with a GWP [global warming potential] of less than three [propane, isobutene]. The project ProCool initiated for the first time a similar development in the field of commercial refrigeration appliances for the foodstuffs industry,” Hermann said.
ProCool, organised by the German Energy Agency, is a scheme designed to help the development of industrial appliances for the food industry that are energy efficient and use alternatives to HFCs.
“CO2 can be regarded as the most promising refrigerant of the future, firstly because of the very low impact on the environment and, secondly, because it is inflammable (unlike propane and isobutene). However, CO2 requires higher pressure in the compressor, so very good engineering is necessary,” Hermann predicted.
This technology is no longer in its testing phase and has now reached the market, Hermann said, pointing to developments using CO2 made by Greek manufacturer Frigoglass to illustrate his point.
“The development and market introduction of CO2 cooling appliances will help reach the targets of the Kyoto protocol, complies with the requirements of some national legislations in the EU (Austria, Denmark) which demand phasing out of HFCs and will play an important role in the EU’s new legislative framework concerning the EcoDesign of energy using products,” Hermann concluded.
