Now that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the use of three hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerants in some smaller appliance applications, advocates of HCs are continuing to promote use in larger equipment, with commercial ice machines as well as reach-in/walk-in freezers and coolers possibly next in line.
While HFC refrigerants appear firmly entrenched in the HVACR industry landscape for the foreseeable future, it is interesting to see how so-called “natural” refrigerants such as ammonia, HCs, and CO2 could have an impact.
The upcoming games of the XXX Olympiad in London are featuring some of the latest state-of-the-art refrigeration and air conditioning equipment as well as the use of one of the oldest refrigerants, namely ammonia, as well as other natural refrigerants such as CO2 and HCs.
I just returned from my biannual visit to the Food Marketing Institute Food Retail Show, called FMI 2012. This is for all things in supermarkets and convenience stores. For me it means the latest in refrigeration equipment and — more and more these days — the refrigerants used in that equipment.
Interest in so-called natural refrigerants continues to grow, especially when it comes to the refrigeration of food. Here are some examples that illustrate how companies are using natural refrigerants to keep food cold and fresh.
Fresh on the heels of the announcement of an almost 50 percent reduction in supplies of virgin HCFC-22, the supermarket industry is reacting. What are they focusing on now?
