The actual frequency and tasks performed will vary from system to system. However, here are some generic maintenance tasks which can be applied to many refrigeration systems. These tasks can be divided into two groups: one for maintaining the cabinet and one for maintaining the refrigeration system.

Centralized refrigeration systems have been in use for years. Distributed systems, on the other hand, are one of the newer commercially adopted refrigeration technologies.

As new stores are built and older systems in existing stores replaced, an approach called secondary refrigeration is gaining wider acceptance and is steadily increasing in numbers.

Empirical testing has shown that the optimum time to defrost is when the evaporator loses about 10 percent efficiency. Traditional methods of defrost, based on time, cannot ascertain this loss of efficiency and will either waste time and energy in excessive defrosting, or never fully defrost the evaporator.

Efforts to make CO2 work in transcritical applications got a boost with the announcement the CSC, The Canadian manufacturer of refrigeration systems, will be making a major push in that regard.

GEA Refrigeration Technologies announced that it has acquired the assets, operations, production facilities, and patents of the companies QPM LLC and QPM Manufacturing LLC, of Bellevue, Wash. QPM is a supplier of special steel conveyor belts that transport food products in ovens and freezers.

Safety is paramount when working with ammonia refrigerants. Why? If something does go wrong in such a situation, it can have grave consequences. Ammonia is a health risk because of its corrosiveness to skin, eyes, and lungs. In fact, exposure to 300 ppm creates an imminent danger to life and health.

Uses of so-called natural refrigerants such as HCs, CO2, and ammonia are being advocated as ways to positively deal with issues of climate change, greenhouse effect, and global warming. That was the primary perspective of an extended report from Eurammon, a joint European initiative of companies, institutions, and individuals who advocate an increased use of natural refrigerants.

Members of the Hatfield Township community place a high value on locally sourced and organic foods and environmental stewardship. As such, planning for the town’s new ShopRite supermarket included making sustainability a priority from product offerings to construction of the store itself — including the choice of refrigeration systems and display cases.

The International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration will hold its 2012 Industrial Refrigeration Conference & Exhibition, March 17-21 at the Frontier Airlines Center in Milwaukee.