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.
The world of so-called natural refrigerants, particularly hydrocarbons (HCs), has gotten a lot more interesting recently. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given Significant New Alternatives Program (SNAP) approval to three HCs.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) is moving forward with an ambitious project to identify low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. What does that mean?
Refrigeration contractors know that there are several upsides to ammonia refrigerants. The most common is its compatibility with the environment. Ammonia does not contribute to global warming because it does not deplete the ozone layer. It has thermodynamic qualities that require less electricity in its usage.
The long-term availability of HFCs survived another effort at phase-down during the 23rd Meeting of the Parties (MOP23) to the Montreal Protocol held in November 2011. Participants did not reach agreement on taking any action to control HFCs.
Recent reports from overseas have revealed that rogue refrigerants were used in hundreds of transport HFC-134a refrigeration systems, which resulted in a number of explosions and at least three deaths. World trade press, industry manufacturers, and watchdog websites have been issuing statements in recent weeks as part of this ongoing story.
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.
The year 2011 introduced the concept of dry-shipping HCFC-22 condensing units for retrofit applications, and that shipping and use is expected to continue through 2012.
“The sky isn’t falling. There are plenty of options.” Those words are from Rajan Rajendran, director of engineering services for Emerson Climate Technologies to an audience of supermarket engineers at the Food Marketing Institute Energy & Store Development Conference.