Dorin: 'CO₂ growing fast in industrial market'

CO₂ transcritical technology is poised to take off in industrial applications within the next 3-5 years, Giovanni Dorin, marketing manager at Italian compressor manufacturer Officine Mario Dorin, told R744.com at last week’s Chillventa tradeshow in Nuremberg, Germany.

“We’re ready to ride that wave,” said Giovanni, pledging to continue to invest in R&D on CO₂.

Dorin sees CO₂ making greater inroads into industrial HVAC&R applications as larger capacity compressors hit the market capable of delivering energy and cost savings, Giovanni argued in an exclusive interview with this website.

“We’re continuing our research and development of CO₂ applications,” he said.

Asked how the market for CO₂-based HVAC&R technologies had changed since the last Chillventa in 2016, Dorin said, “component availability and access to technology is more widespread,” making the economic case for adopting CO₂ systems more compelling for end users such as supermarkets.

New compressor ranges for CO₂

Giacomo Pisano, sales manager at Dorin, told R744.com about the compressors on show in Nuremberg.

From its CDS-7 range of subcritical compressors, Dorin was exhibiting its largest ever CO₂ subcritical compressor for up to 90 HP, designed for low-temperature, low-pressure industrial applications. “This compressor delivers up to approximately 160 kW at an evaporating temperature of -40°C,” said Pisano.

The Italian multinational has also developed a new range of six-cylinder CO₂ transcritical compressors, the CD600 Series. Among the models in this series is “the largest transcritical compressor on the market, with motor power of up to 160 HP and displacement of up to 80m³/h, and a refrigeration capacity at -10°C evaporating temperature of up to 160 kW,” Pisano said.

This year, Dorin is celebrating its 100^th anniversary. Founded as a manufacturer of machine tools and air compressors and repairer of motor vehicle engines in 1918, Officine Mario Dorin began producing open-type compressors for refrigeration systems in 1932.

In 1952, Dorin began making semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors for air conditioning and refrigeration. It has been working with natural refrigerant CO₂ since 1998.