Natural refrigerant solutions for China presented at Ozone2Climate Industry Roundtable 2015

By Caixia Mao, Apr 30, 2015, 12:00 4 minute reading

On 9 April 2015, the second day of China Refrigeration, UNEP, MEP (Ministry of Environmental Protection) and CRAA (China Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association) organised an Ozone2Climate Roundtable providing updates on the latest policy, technology and market development trends for natural refrigerants in China. The event attracted over 200 international experts from government, industry and associations. Market development company shecco presented a preview of their upcoming G

The Ozone2Climate Industry Roundtable 2015 highlighted the increasing uptake of natural refrigerants in various applications, ranging from supermarkets to industrial and transport refrigeration, to heating solutions. In addition, MEP provided an update on what the Chinese government is planning in order to support the spread of natural refrigerant technologies in China. A section of the event was dedicated to CO2 alone, which has already significantly increased its market share. 
 
Chinese government promotes environmentally friendly refrigerants 
 
Li Xiaoyan from FECO (Foreign Economic Cooperation Office) at MEP provided an overview on China’s progress in implementing Stage I of the HPMP (HCFC Phase-out Management Plan) in industrial and commercial refrigeration. With funding from the ExCom (Executive Committee) Multilateral Fund, FECO is undertaking a series of activities including investing in the conversion of production lines to natural refrigerants, conducting studies on alternative technologies, revising standards, and providing training and workshops for natural refrigerant technology. 
 
In addition to investing in conversion projects and research and development, in 2015 FECO is promoting heat pumps and CO2 commercial refrigeration technology for supermarkets, as well as organising a survey to gather information on the cold chain industry, which will be used to prepare Stage II of the HPMP. 
 
Metro’s plan for CO2 stores in China
 
Holger Guss presented Metro’s commitment to using natural refrigerants starting in 2015, which will help the retailer achieve a 20% reduction in Metro Group specific greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. In China, Metro opened its first CO2 hybrid system in Weifang, Shandong province in 2014. Metro will open one new store and remodel five other stores using CO2 hybrid technology in 2015. From 2016 onwards, CO2 hybrid systems will become Metro China’s standard technology with five new stores planned, together with six remodels. Moreover, Metro is aiming to complete its first CO2 transcritical store in China in 2016-2017.  
 
Industrial applications using CO2 for refrigeration and NH3 for heat pumps
 
Shaoming Jiang from Yantai Moon presented “The application development of CO2 in the field of large and medium-sized refrigeration engineering”. The use of CO2 in industrial refrigeration applications began in 2008 in China. Currently there are more than 30 projects spread across 16 provinces in China where Yantai Moon has used CO2 in as the refrigerant in a variety of industries, including meat-processing, cold chain logistics and ice making. 
 
Morten Schemelzer from Eurovent and Kenneth Hoffman from GEA presented “Optimising heat recovery from industrial processes with NH3 and heat pumps”, showcasing examples of the use of industrial ammonia heat pumps with a capacity ranging from 200 – 15,000 kW. These have been installed in more than 200 projects, providing 90°C hot water. NH3 heat pumps are highly efficient and provide a great return on investment. In 2015 approximately 1/6 of global industrial heat pump sales used natural refrigerants. 
 
One of the case studies presented featured ammonia heat pump installation at a combined heat and power plant. By capturing the waste heat rather than rejecting it to the environment the installation is able to generate 100% useful energy. 
 
CO2 solutions for supermarkets by Danfoss and UTC 
 
Torben Funder-Kristensen from Danfoss presented “Recent progress in refrigerant usage with a focus on CO2 for supermarkets”, showing that CO2 with ejector technology  performs better than R404A systems even at high ambient temperatures. When gas and liquid ejectors are used in parallel efficiencies can be improved even further. The presentation confirmed that CO2 technologies have the potential to be efficient even in hot climates. 
 
Also presenting on the topic of CO2 systems for warm climates was Juergen Goeller from UTC. His presentation looked at a CO2 transcritical system for commercial refrigeration using economizers and ejectors, which can reduce energy consumption by 16% in the medium temperature rack and by 10% in the total refrigeration system. The presentation also touched upon the use of CO2 in transport refrigeration. A CO2 refrigerated container is now commercially available for shipping whilst for road transport refrigeration a new prototype presented in 2014, is undergoing trials. 
 
Learning from European experience in training
 
Igor Croiset from GIZ presented “The European approach to training refrigeration and air conditioning technicians and experts” in which introduced how in the EU certified refrigeration technicians upgraded their knowledge and training to adapt to the new EU F-Gas Regulation. The European experience can provide an example to China on how to prepare technician training for the latest natural refrigerant technologies. 
 

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By Caixia Mao

Apr 30, 2015, 12:00




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