NH₃ at the IIR Conference on Cold Chain & Sustainability

Between 29 and 31 March, the UK will be hosting the ‘1st IIR International Conference on Cold Chain and Sustainability’. Organised by the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR), the conference will incorporate approximately 90 papers split between three parallel sessions over two days that will explore the latest developments and key trends in technology covering food, pharmaceuticals and other applications.

Presentation highlights

Presentations will fall under different themes and will include:

Refrigerants & refrigeration in the future

• Using natural refrigerants in the cold chain, A Pachai, M Jones
• Ammonia a safe refrigerant?, L Rolfsman

Innovative technologies for process equipment design

• Packaged ammonia chillers in the cold chain, R Lamb, A Pearson
• The use of NH₃ and CO₂ heat pumps in food processing plants with cold storage facilities, K Visser
• District heating, district cooling and desalination using ammonia heat pumps, D Pearson
• Improved efficiency and real time temperature monitoring in the food supply chain, G Ólafsdóttir, S Bogason, C Colmer, M Eden, T Hafliðason, M Kück
• Air cycle combined heating and cooling for the food industry, A Foster, T Brown, A Gigiel, J Evans
• Optimal configuration and energy conservation of condensers based on part load, J Zhang, Y Xu

Energy efficiency in food & pharmaceuticals

• Reducing energy consumption in cold storage rooms, J Evans, A Gigiel
• Energy use across supermarket refrigeration, J Lawrence, D Gibson
• Improving the energy efficiency of food refrigeration operations throughput the cold chain, S James

Advances in commercial refrigeration

• Ecodesign of refrigeration products, S Mudgal, J Bain, M Liput
• Theoretical evaluation of integrated systems for refrigeration and air conditioning in supermarkets, L Cecchinato, M Corradi, E Fornasieri, S Minetto

Sustainable retail refrigeration

• Evaluation of energy savings by heat recovery from refrigeration plants in supermarkets, G Cortella, O Saro
• Performance of retail and commercial refrigeration systems, J Evans, M Swain

With regards to retail refrigeration, prior to the opening of the conference on 29 March, The Carbon Trust, The Institute of Refrigeration and The British Refrigeration Association will be launching a 'road map', as a guide to the steps that can be taken to reduce carbon emissions in retail refrigeration applications. The Road Map project has investigated the technologies that could potentially be used, and prioritised them in terms of carbon saving potential, relative cost and commercial maturity.

Site visit to a two-stage pumped circulation ammonia refrigeration plant designed by Star Refrigeration

In the morning of 31 March, participants will have a choice between technical site visits and short courses.

Of particular interest is the site visit to a 10,000m² frozen and chill storage space inside an existing ambient warehouse that was completed in 2008 in just 18 weeks. The store has a two-stage pumped circulation ammonia refrigeration plant providing cooling to a -25°C cold store and +2°C chill chamber. Designed and installed by Star Refrigeration, the plant includes a number of energy efficiency enhancements including integrated compressor/cooler control, defrost on demand and heat recovery for the under floor heater mat. A guided tour of the facility will include a walk around the two temperature controlled chambers and the refrigeration plant room. Star Refrigeration staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have regarding the refrigeration plant.

Closing session

Titled ‘Sustainable technology development and influencing policy’, the closing presentation by Andy Pearson, President Elect of the Institute of Refrigeration, will bring together the sustainability and cold chain conference themes looking forward towards a strategy for sustainable development.