Tuesday, 28 June 2016: 8:00 AM-9:30 AM
Advances in Refrigeration Systems and Alternative Refrigerants
Chair:
Shitong Zha, Ph.D., HILLPHOENIX
Technical Committee: 10.07 Commercial Food and Beverage Cooling Display and Storage
Sponsor: MTG.LowGWP
This seminar presents the most recent study of commercial refrigeration system using natural refrigerants such as CO2, ammonia propane, ammonia and R600a and low GWP synthetic blends. How to successfully convert light commercial refrigeration applications originally designed for R134a to natural refrigerants? What is performance and energy consumption of a Low-charge ammonia chiller installation and a propane freezer compared to traditional HFC systems? How to improve the efficiency of stand-alone applications with low GWP synthetic refrigerants?
1 Natural, Low-GWP Refrigerants for Light Commercial Refrigeration: Examples of Successfully Converted Applications Using R290, R600a and R744
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Stefan Elbel, Ph.D., Creative Thermal Solutions and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Presented are a number of light commercial applications that were successfully converted for use with natural, low-GWP refrigerants. Among them are a chilled juice dispenser, originally designed for R134a, that was redesigned for use with transcritical carbon dioxide (R744). Another system successfully converted for use with a natural refrigerant was a platelet incubator typically used in pharmaceutical laboratories. The original R134a refrigeration system was redesigned to accommodate isobutane (R600a). Finally, several glass door merchandisers have been converted successfully to both propane (R290) and carbon dioxide. The technical challenges of each of these conversions will be presented and discussed in detail.
2 Reducing GWP with a Low Charge Ammonia/CO2 Chiller
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Scott Mitchell, Southern California Edison |
Ammonia is known to be one of the most energy efficient refrigerants, but its use has mainly been limited to large industrial system applications. Low-charge ammonia chiller technologies recently introduced to the U.S. market have the potential to improve efficiency in many commercial refrigeration applications while addressing previously-held concerns. The presentation showcases an ammonia chiller installation in Irvine, California and share preliminary performance information compared to the existing R-507A system.
3 Decreasing Environmental Impact by Using Propane in Refrigerated Display Cases
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Sean Gouw, P.E., Southern California Edison |
Shifting to low-GWP refrigerants can drastically reduce the potential for greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerant leaks while improving energy efficiency. SCE recently completed laboratory testing of commercial freezer cases with R-404a and R-290 (propane). Results, including temperature and energy performance are shared along with potential plans for energy efficiency and low-GWP refrigerant rebates in California.
4 Advanced Low-GWP Alternatives for Stand-Alone Refrigeration Systems
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Michael Petersen, Creative Thermal Solutions, Inc. |
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Gustavo Pottker, Honeywell - Buffalo Research Laboratory |
This presentation focuses on the application of low global warming potential (GWP) alternative fluids for commercial stand-alone applications. The presented non-flammable and mildly flammable molecules will cover HFO’s and HFO blends which provide lower or very low GWP (below 150). Experimental system test data as well as thermodynamic simulation and design characteristics are discussed compared to current solutions to underline the performance of these new fluid options.