for supermarket refrigeration: CO2 transcritical, CO2/ammonia cascade, waterloop with hydrocarbon plug-ins, CO2 condensing units, hydrocarbon/ CO2 cascade, and more. CO2 transcritical technology, which uses CO2 as the refrigerant for both medium and low temperature refrigeration, has seen the most significant increase across different world regions. Today there are already over 7,200 stores using CO2 transcritical systems around the world, with the highest numbers installed in Europe and Japan as a result of policy pressure to reduce HFC emissions as well as commitments by retailers. With 63 CO2 transcritical stores already in operation today, uptake of the technology is growing in South Africa – primarily driven by retailers Woolworths and Makro. As demand for CO2 technology grows worldwide, system suppliers in South Africa are confident that the market will continue to prosper. In warmer ambient temperature regions, there are high-efficiency solutions capable of transcending the so-called ‘CO2 equator’ (a geographical line above which CO2 is considered to be more energy efficient than fluorinated refrigerants). These include parallel compression, adiabatic cooling, ejectors and sub-coolers. CO2 technology, for example, has been installed in 12 convenience stores in the warm climate of Indonesia. A case study of two stores in Jakarta found that an average of 20% energy savings led to a 15% increase in average sales.
As for light commercial refrigeration, globally there are more than 4.5 million HFC-free units currently in operation, using either CO2 or hydrocarbon refrigerants. This is a truly global trend driven by global consumer brands, such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, Red Bull and others.
Greening transport refrigeration Essential for preserving food on land and at sea, transport refrigeration plays a key role in the food cold chain. A number of natural refrigerant-based systems have been commercialised or are currently being tested for use in road transport and on fishing vessels and cargo ships. A pilot project on hydrocarbon technology involving Transfrig and Tshwane University has been launched in South Africa to develop a climatefriendly technology for refrigerated trucks using propane as the refrigerant. The R290 prototype was built at the end of May 2015 and is currently undergoing testing (including for leakage and safety). In order to address R290 flammability issues, the charge size was significantly reduced from 3.5 kg to 0.65 kg. Direct emission reductions of greenhouse gases were achieved, from the previous 6.9 tCO2eq to just 0.001 tCO2eq. Estimated fuel consumption is also more advantageous for the R290 system, at 1.0 L/h (compared to 1.2 L/h for R404A unit)
COLD FOOD CHAIN INFOGRAPHIC ON P.26
The Natural Voice Magazine July 2016
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