UPDATE: ATMOsphere 2010 - technology enhancements for ammonia refrigeration

About 170 delegates from 31 different countries gathered for the international workshop on natural refrigerants in Brussels last week.

Kenneth Hoffmann - Star Refrigeration

Kenneth Hoffmann, key account manager for Star Refrigeration, underlined the results of an extensive study about the economic benefits of high temperature ammonia heat pumps (HP) compared to the use of an R134a HP. Results from this report are as follows:

• Significant energy cost and emission savings of ammonia HP for both district heating’s and a chocolate factory.
• Saving on maintenance costs, with 80,000 hours between overhauls, low wear and tear on components.
• Higher investment costs of ammonia HP systems due to higher quality systems for safety reasons compared to traditional refrigerants (HFCs).
• Longer warranties for ammonia HP providing the durability and reliability of the equipment, as well as bringing a wider deployment of the technology (e.g. desalination of water).

Mayekawa Europe: A New Range of Cooling Applications Using Natural Refrigerants

Jan Boone, executive director of Mayekawa presented product solutions for all “Natural Five” refrigerants (ammonia, C0₂, hydrocarbons, air and water).
Mayekawa’s ammonia heat pump technology shows great benefits for natural refrigeration, including:

• Higher efficiency using compressors and IPM motors and being more compact
• Lower charge using a second refrigerant system (CO₂) and a direct expansion system 
• Less leakage having hermetic motors improving safety features of ammonia

Rene van Gerwen - Global Lead Engineer Refrigeration & HVAC at Unilever

Unilever brings together 400 brands of home, personal care and foods products and aims to double its size while reducing its environmental impact. In refrigeration, the two priority areas include ice cream cabinets and industrial refrigeration plants.

However, barriers exist with regards to the use of ammonia for industrial refrigeration and small commercial equipments, including:

• The lack of standard equipment and associated higher costs
• The lack of competent companies/personnel for the design, installation and maintenance of systems
• The inadequate technical & safety standards
• To improve training and certification on a national/regional level
• The need for an active involvement in international standardisation bodies and committees

Monika Witt, eurammon

With the bi-annual Natural Refrigeration Award, eurammon provides encouragements to young scientists working on sustainable refrigeration and air conditioning by recognising the best scientific thesis in the field of natural refrigerants. In 2010 the third edition of the eurammon award took place.

eurammon is a joint initiative by companies, institutions and individuals committed to increasing the use of natural refrigerants.

All ATMOsphere 2010 presentations are available in the paper section.