Natural Refrigerants Solutions in RAC: Case Studies · •Deep sea water air-conditioning system...

Protecting our Environment with Intelligence

Natural Refrigerants Solutions in RAC: Case Studies

Avipsa Mahapatra and Mark W. Roberts

December 11, 2015, COP 21, Paris


Introduction to EIA


Universal memberships and has reduced 98% of 97 different chemicals responsible for ozone depletion.

Technical and scientific institutions are in place. TEAP, TOCs, SAP.

Proven track record of phasing-out HFC precursors from the same industrial sectors.

Exemplary in its application of the legal principle of common but differentiated responsibilities:

• Financial and technical assistance.

• Allows for grace periods to implement mandated phase-out schedule

Consistent funding for Article 5 countries incremental costs to meet their phase-out obligations through the multilateral fund.

Why HFCs Under the Montreal Protocol?


Enormous HFC Consumption and Emissions Projected

Source: Green-cooling-initiative.org


Closing the Gigatonne Gap

UNEP Report: Gap between 8-13 gigatonnes of CO2e emissions b/w emissions reductions required for 2oC by 2020 and Parties’ current pledges.

HFC phase-down under the Montreal Protocol listed as 1 of 3 ways to close the gap.

HFC phase-down , the most tangible prospect for immediate, cost-effective action to achieve significant reductions.

An amendment could avoid emissions of 2.2 GtCO2e by 2020 and 88-200 GtCO2e, with an additional 11.3 GtCO2e from HFC-23 by-product control by 2050.

Energy efficiency gains could increase mitigation significantly.


Energy Efficiency Co-benefits

Climate impacts of HFC-based equipment:

• Direct emissions (leakage)

• Indirect emissions from energy use (over the life of the equipment the indirect impact may be larger)

Best combination is low-GWP alternative with high energy efficiency

High energy efficiency can also off-set higher initial capital costs

Future proof solution


Costs A Challenge?

Misconception that HFC-free products are more costly

Must account for lifecycle costs of products

• Purchase price, usage/energy efficiency, maintenance, disposal costs, and societal costs (env. degradation, climate change, social costs, etc.)

HFC-free systems shown to have:

• Lower purchase prices when manufactured to scale (e.g. HC refrigerators)

• Achieve higher energy efficiency.

• Lowered maintenance.

• Lowered refrigerant costs.

• Reduced costs of disposal.


Some Examples of HFC-free Alternatives

Application Equipment/Products Low-GWP Alternatives

Appliances Water coolers, refrigerators, vending machines

Propane, isobutane, CO2

Commercial Refrigeration

Supermarket systems, food display cases

Transcritical CO2, hydrocarbons

Transport RefrigerationRefrigeration systems forcontainer, trucks/trailers, railcars, fishing vessels

CO2, ammonia, nitrogen, cryogenic

Industrial Refrigeration and AC

Chillers Ammonia, CO2, evaporative cooling

Domestic/LightCommercial AC

Window/split airconditioners, heat pumps

Hydrocarbons,Evaporative cooling

MVAC Cars, vans, trucks HFO-1234yf, CO2

FoamRigid PU, Flexible, XPS, EPS Cyclopentane, nitrogen, CO2,

water, methyl formate, HFO-1234zd


Case Studies: Domestic Refrigeration

Palfridge (The Fridge Factory) Small Commercial and Domestic Refrigerators• Iso-butane (R600a) or propane (R290).

• Costs lower than HFC (R134a, R404A) models.

• 8-24% lower energy consumption

• Appliances can be powered by solar energy.

• Up to 70,000 refrigerators/year with carbon savings of 29,000 tons/year.

Haier Domestic Refrigerators

• Models using R-600a (iso-butane) as a refrigerant.

• R-600a model uses a reported 1.08 kW/day.

• Air-cooled design provides even temperatures throughout the unit.


Case Studies: Commercial Refrigeration

Lawson Grocery Stores

• Transcritical CO2 system by Sanyo (Panasonic).

• System uses split cycle technology, lowering CO2 pressure and increasing cooling effect.

• Reports of at least 21% energy efficiency improvement over HFC 410A.

• Lawson has more than 700 transcritical CO2 stores.

Tesco Supermarkets

• Transcritical CO2 systems and Cascade CO2 systems.

• More than 194 natural refrigerant systems.

• Store in Ningbo, China maintains increased energy efficiency of 24% over traditional HFC system.


Heat Pumps using Water (R-718) for Ice Production

• Israeli Company founded in 1965

• Vacuum Ice Maker (VIM) technology

• Using water as a refrigerant has been used for ice making, mine cooling, snow makers etc.

I.D.E. Technologies Israel, ltd.


Case Studies: Industrial Refrigeration

Zhangzi Island Cascade CO2 Cold Storage• First large-scale cold storage cascade CO2/ammonia refrigeration system in China.

• In the processing plant, CO2 brine system is installed and sea water is used to cool the high level ammonia refrigeration.

• Reduced ammonia refrigerant charge by more than 90%

• Limits the NH3 refrigerant to inside the refrigeration control room, fully satisfying safety requirements.

• 30% annual energy savings

Magnet Electrical Ammonia Heat Pump Installation, South Africa

• Installed at Rainbow Chicken plant in Hammarsdale, South Africa

• Harnesses waste heat from compressors in the existing ammonia refrigeration plant to produce hot water.

• Energy savings up to 90%

• Payback: 1.8 years


Ammonia Refrigerated Cold Rooms

Kor Az, Limited installations:

Milotal Frozen Vegetables Ltd.

Production and storage of frozen vegetables for export to Europe, U.S. and Canada

One of the largest refrigerated rooms in the world, covering 3,000 sq meters

Use of ammonia and compressed air ensures stable pressure of ammonia in a high ambient temperature

Nestle’s Tene Noga Ice Cream Plant, KiryatMalachi, Israel


Case Studies: Transport Refrigeration

ThermoKing CO2 System

• Uses liquid CO2 as the refrigerant in an open loop system.

• Reduces total GHG emissions of transport refrigeration by 75-90%.

• Achieves improved performance, is quieter, and offers faster temp recovery compared to conventional HFC units.

• A retailer in the Netherlands converted its entire fleet and reduced its carbon footprint by 27%.

ClimateWell’s AC

• No compressor, so no need for a refrigerant

• System runs only with heat, water and glycol.

• Ideal for trucks, buses, recreational vehicles and construction equipment

• Obtains energy directly from the vehicle’s fuel or the engine waste heat

• Can reduce fuel costs used for cabin comfort by up to 90 percent.

• Placement flexible and can be retrofitted to existing vehicles.


Case Studies: Domestic Air Conditioning

Godrej Green Balance EON Air-Conditioners

• Uses R-290 (propane) as refrigerant.

• Saves 23% more energy than other products on the market.

• Godrej reports the system uses less energy than a hair dryer, iron, or a blender.

De’Longhi Pinguino Portable ACs

• Use R-290 (propane) as refrigerant.

• Energy savings between 15-20%.

• Based in Italy with operations across Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, U.A.E., South Africa, Brazil, Chile, U.S. and Canada.


Case Studies: Commercial/Industrial Air Conditioning

Heathrow Terminal 5

• Four systems: cooling capacity of 6.6 MW each

• Ammonia charge of 1,300 kg each

• The facility incorporates a chilled water storage system to minimize the installed chiller capacity

• Utilizes “free cooling” by capturing and storing night-time and low ambient temperature cooling opportunities.

Axima Frigobox Air-Conditioning Chillers

• Ammonia and CO2 as its refrigerants.

• Plug and play chillers for 18 to 240 kW applications.

• Achieves high efficiency and reduces carbon footprint by 12 tonnes CO2/year compared to R-134a chiller.

• Used in several Nestle locations in Africa, including Angola, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.


Singapore Far East Mall: Hydrocarbon Chillers

• Uses ERG Minus 50 refrigerant (blend of R-290 and propylene).

• Conversion of R-22 system, energy efficiency gains of up to 16%.

• Energy Resources Group of Australia also helped install more than 70 hydrocarbon chillers in conversion projects throughout Asia in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

• Conversion of Sahid Jaya Hotel in Indonesia resulted in 72% energy efficiency gains.

District Cooling in Mauritius

• Deep sea water air-conditioning system developed by Sotravic Limited.

• Replaces a 30 MW system with a 4 MW system.

• Huge savings of nearly U.S. $6.7 million annually for Mauritius due to reduction of oil imports due to energy efficiency improvements.

• Designed to demonstrate the feasibility of ammonia chillers in a tropical climate and the associated enhanced energy efficiency.

Case Studies: Commercial/Industrial Air Conditioning


Not-in-Kind: Evaporative Cooling

Blaustein International Centre for desert Studies, Sde Boquer, Israel

• Cools temperatures by 10-15°C without mechanical compression

• Ideal for dry conditions

• The cooling power: 100-120 kW under ambient conditions of 36°C and 22% relative humidity.


More Resources…


Thank you! Questions?

Avipsa [email protected]

Mark W. [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Additional resources

• EIA Report: Global Digest of Available Climate-friendly Refrigeration and Air

Conditioning Technologies

o Available at: http://eia-global.org/images/uploads/Putting_the_Freeze.pdf

• Cool Technologies: Interactive online database of HFC-free technologies

o Available at: http://cooltechnologies.org/

• EIA Report: U.S. Federal Procurement of HFC-free Technologies

o Email [email protected]

http://eia-global.org/images/uploads/Putting_the_Freeze.pdf

http://cooltechnologies.org/


Natural Refrigerants Solutions in RAC: Case Studies · •Deep sea water air-conditioning system...

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