Refrigerants

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To continue to meet refrigeration needs, f-gas proponents are turning to low-global warming potential (GWP) HFCs and hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) while advocates of so-called natural solutions — hydrocarbons (HCs), CO2, and ammonia — continue to build their cases.

The European cooling industry needs to make plans to move quickly to lower-GWP refrigerants as the cuts in HFC quota envisaged by the F-Gas regulations will bite sooner than many people expect.

The announcement a few months ago that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was proposing to decertify certain high-global warming potential (GWP) HFC refrigerants for use in a wide range of new commercial refrigeration equipment did not come as a surprise to the HVACR industry.

With the phaseout of R-22, many food retailers are adapting to future R-22 supply constraints by transitioning away from this refrigerant. Because many of the substitute refrigerants are potent greenhouse gases, it is important that food retailers use the retrofitting process as an opportunity to tighten system leaks.

The following article was prepared by Parker Hannifin Corp. Micro Thermo Technologies and describes one of the approaches for use of CO2 in transcritical systems for refrigeration.

Polar Technology has announced that the California supermarket chain Stater Bros. is implementing a cloud-based refrigerant management program called TrakRef.

Here’s an interesting head scratcher for those of you who have been in the refrigeration sector of the HVACR industry for quite some time. Earlier this year, I was at an event called FMI Connect. One of the exhibitors was showing products for secondary and indirect (distributed) systems.

TrakRef® LLC, formerly a division of Polar Technology LLC, became its own entity when Hudson Technologies Inc. acquired Polar Technology, its reclamation facilities, and refrigerant program. TrakRef is wholly owned by refrigerant industry veteran, Ted Atwood, president and founder of the company.

Mexichem, a global specialty chemicals company that produces refrigerant gases, announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that imports of R-134a refrigerant from China do not harm United States industry. This ruling, however, runs counter to a U.S. Department of Commerce proposed final resolution.

Hudson Technologies Inc. has announced the acquisition of the reclamation business and assets of Polar Technologies, a full service refrigerant reclaimer. Polar serves several hundred wholesale customers from three reclamation facilities located in Nashville, Tennessee; Ontario, California; and Puerto Rico.