ATLANTA - Carbon dioxide (CO2) was used in the early stages of refrigeration but fell out of favor with the development of halocarbon refrigerants. Due to CO2's desirable environmental properties and relative safety, there is renewed interest in carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. Because of this, guidance on the use of CO2 has been added to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 2006 Handbook, Refrigeration.

The Handbook covers the refrigeration equipment and systems for applications other than human comfort. It includes information on cooling, freezing, and storing food; industrial applications of refrigeration; and low-temperature refrigeration. Primarily a reference for the practicing engineer, the volume is also useful for anyone involved in cooling and storage of food products.

"CO2 is a refrigerant with a high coefficient of performance," said Ron Vallort, a consulting engineer from Chicago who specializes in refrigeration. "Some people hesitated to use CO2 because it operates under a higher pressure and produces lower temperatures than are usually needed in some industries. But it is now coming back into vogue as a natural refrigerant with no ozone depletion potential and very low global warming potential."

Other additions to the volume include:

A new chapter, "Refrigerant Containment, Recovery, Recycling, and Reclamation;"

Chapter 10, "Cooling and Freezing Times of Foods," has extensive updates, new geometric shape factors, and a new section comparing freezing time estimating methods;

Chapter 13, "Refrigeration Load," has new material on heat gain from cooler floors and coil defrosting;

Chapter 46, "Retail Food Store Refrigeration and Equipment," has new discussions on self-contained versus remote systems, energy efficiency, storage rooms, and interaction with supermarket air conditioning systems; and

Chapter 47, "Food Service and General Commercial Refrigeration Equipment," has new content on refrigerated cabinets, vending and ice machines, and energy efficiency.

The cost of the 2006 ASHRAE Handbook, Refrigeration, is $195, in inch-pound (I-P) or the International System of Units (SI). The 2006 ASHRAE Handbook CD, which contains both the I-P and SI editions, costs $155.

To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Service at 800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax 404-321-5478, by mail at 1791 Tullie Circle NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, or visit the ASHRAE online bookstore at www.ashrae.org.

Publication date: 07/03/2006