Bitzer ready to supply growing U.S. demand for CO2 components

In an exclusive interview published in Accelerate America issue #6, Joe Sanchez, application engineering manager at Bitzer, talks about the market opportunities for CO₂ in North American supermarkets, food processing plants and ice rinks.

According to Sanchez, thanks to the manufacturing facility in Georgia, Bitzer is well positioned to supply CO₂ compressors for the burgeoning U.S. natural refrigerant market. Although ammonia and CO₂ compressors represent less than 10% of Bitzer’s business, Sanchez firmly believes that CO₂, used in low temperature systems, will be the choice for supermarkets in the future.

CO₂ compressors and vessels made in the U.S.

At the Flowery U.S. Inc. factory in Georgia, Bitzer manufactures most of its reciprocating compressor line, from fractional up to 50 HP (horse power) units, for all refrigerants. The assembly of CO₂ compressors was introduced here in 2008. Expanded in 2013 to 95,000 square feet, the plant has produced well over 1,000 CO₂ transcritical compressors.

The Flowery plant also manufactures 50 CO₂ vessels for transcritical booster systems at its ASME-certified Pressure Vessel factory, as well as having a unique capability for pneumatic (dry) testing as opposed to hydro testing.

The advantage of the Flowery Branch facility is that it guarantees flexibility of stock, a key concern for Bitzer customers because of the different voltages used in the U.S. market. What is more, since the compressor manufacturing process itself does not differ significantly for CO₂ or fluorinated refrigerants, Bitzer U.S. can take advantage of the overlap of parts.

CO₂ growth in supermarkets and industrial refrigeration applications

Currently, the vast majority of Bitzer CO₂ compressors in North America are for supermarket racks manufactured by OEM customers like Carnot, Hussmann and Hillphoenix. Although this represents less than 10% of Bitzer U.S. business, Sanchez firmly believes that CO₂, used in low-temperature systems, will be the choice for supermarkets in the future.

Outside of commercial refrigeration, CO₂ transcritical compressors are also used in ice rink refrigeration, and in the future will be used in U.S. food processing plants where there are heat loads and the potential for heat recovery, said Sanchez. Already in Europe, a CO₂ Advansor industrial refrigeration site claims to have achieved better efficiency than ammonia by using ice banks and heat reclaim.

According to Sanchez, the blending of commercial and industrial solutions is a new trend. Industrial engineers are now starting to ask themselves, “What in the commercial world can be adapted to an industrial installation?” For example, users of CO₂ are finding that the high volumetric capacity of this refrigerant lends itself to smaller compressors and more flexibility.

ATMOsphere America 2015 “Industrommercial” to showcase CO₂ use in industrial refrigeration

Bitzer U.S. recently started up its first semi-hermetic industrial subcritical CO₂ installation at a cold-storage facility in North Carolina. The plant uses twelve 30-HP semi-hermetic compressors as opposed to two or three large industrial compressors. This installation will enable the facility to reap benefits the commercial world is already familiar with: no shaft seal leakage, high part-load efficiency, and no slide valve, among others.

Sanchez’s “Industrommercial” CO₂ system presentation at ATMOsphere America 2015, on June 26 in Atlanta, will provide more details on the project.

About Bitzer

For 80 years, Bitzer has been manufacturing refrigeration compressors, the “heart” of refrigeration and air conditioning systems. The company is considered a global leader in the production of screw, scroll and semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors for commercial air conditioning and refrigeration applications, with models specifically designed for natural refrigerants including ammonia. In addition to compressors, condensing units and pressure vessels are also part of Bitzer’s product range, which is supplied around the world by more than 40 subsidiaries operating in 90 different countries on five continents.