ATMOsphere Australia presents first round of CO₂ case studies

Taking place in Luna Park, Sydney on 2 May, ATMOsphere Australia 2017 represents a unique opportunity to connect with more than 180 HVAC&R stakeholders, policymakers, end users and many more industry professionals. Innovative presentations from Bitzer, McAlpine Hussmann, Woolworths Engineering Services, AJ Baker & Sons, MHI Australia and Mayekawa Australia have been added to the line-up.

Topics include updates on regulations and standards in Australia and New Zealand, training as well as the newest technology trends.

The new presentations are:

Bitzer: Efficiency gains of a booster system with parallel compression by Ian Suffield

This case study aims to provide an overview of the possible increases of overall system efficiency to a booster system featuring parallel compression by optimising the operational pressures within the parallel compression stage. Bitzer Germany, in partnership with CAREL, has developed a control package that includes specifically designed algorithms to provide this energy saving feature without the end user having to undertake complex programming themselves.

McAlpine Hussmann: Hussmann – NZ & AU, CO₂ and the journey thus far by Brian Rees

This presentation will share insights of Hussmann-NZ & AU’s journey from HFC refrigerants to natural refrigerants with a focus on secondary cascade CO₂ initially and evolution to transcritical CO₂ and full natural solutions. This presentation will share insights and key numbers that clearly signal that CO₂ acceptance has been significant in NZ within the supermarket sector in particular, and leveraging these experiences will ease the transition for other refrigeration users.

Woolworths Engineering Services: Woolworths’ investment in Australian industry to deliver sustainable HFC-free refrigeration innovation by Dario Ferlin

Woolworths, one of the leading retailers in Australia, has been a principal actor in the local refrigeration industry to show leadership: the company took the first uncertain but courageous step away from commonplace R404A systems by opening its first cascade R134a/CO₂ store. However, the time has come to give serious consideration towards very low HFC or HFC-free systems. Woolworths has taken another bold step to pilot two promising technologies in 2017. Specifically a low-HFC WaterLoop store in Collings Square, Melbourne and a HFC-free transcritical CO₂ system at Colebee in Sydney.

AJ Baker & Sons: Transcritical CO₂ and Australian supermarkets - A reality by Michael Baker

The major drivers for transcritical CO₂ are to reduce/eliminate the need for HFC refrigerants, reduce the overall GWP of systems and to provide energy savings to the supermarket owner. The paper will outline the high-level system design, the different methods of controlling gas cooler outlet temperature, operational observations of energy efficiency, and the road ahead.

Major achievements have seen the steady development of gas cooler outlet temperature control move from an HFC sub-cooler through to a hydrocarbon sub-cooler, with some projects now solely relying on adiabatic high-pressure water atomisation or evaporative cooling. Critical to the success of transcritical CO₂ systems are the advances in the display cases that are the front end of the system. Optimising evaporator coil design and the use of doors on multi-deck cabinets provide the necessary platform to realise these increases in energy savings.

MHI Australia: Introduction of commercial CO₂ heat pump in Australia - Case study from North Queensland

The presentation will cover the new design at a five-star hotel resort located in tropical North Qld. The existing system consisting of a bank of 27 heat pumps with R134a refrigerant and a bank of five LPG instantaneous gas water heaters has been replaced by Q-ton CO₂ technology, comprised of four x Q-ton units with ten thousand litres in storage tanks. The discussion will cover a combination of factors that have had a dramatic effect on the resort's operating costs, not only in the short-term but for decades to come.

Mayekawa Australia: Natural refrigerant NH₃/CO₂ cascade freeze dry application in New Zealand presented by Martin Millow