Report: Natural Refrigerants to replace HCFCs in developing countries

CO₂ and other natural refrigerants are viable alternatives to ozone-depleting HCFCs in developing countries, a report with contributions from experts around the world suggests. Before its official launch at an international meeting in Bangkok next month, R744.com offers you a copy of this key publication.

Case studies on natural refrigerants, including CO₂, are the focus of a new report from the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) to help developing countries accelerate the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances in refrigeration. The publication provides a comprehensive overview of already available ozone- and climate friendly options and their application range in industrial and commercial refrigeration. Following a thorough analysis of major global policy frameworks ruling the phase-out of HCFCs, the publications gives advice on where and how to use natural fluids, such as CO₂, ammonia or hydrocarbons. Aimed at decision makers in government and the private sector, it provides a summary of market trends and case studies, thereby demonstrating how an early switch from fluorinated gases to natural refrigerants can be safe and economically viable.

Project Motivation & Objectives

The new report is a collection of expert contributions from all around the world. It was launched under the PROKLIMA project, which has provided technical and financial support for developing countries subject to the Montreal and Kyoto Protocol since 1996. With more than 30 articles from government, industry and academia, the final report summarizes the most important aspects of concern to developing countries. Two criteria that could drive the use of natural refrigerants were analysed:

• Economic benefits: As natural refrigerants are seen by many as the only viable long-term replacement for both ozone-depleting and high global warming gases, their early use could avoid lengthy transition periods and leapfrog HFCs in developing countries. Moreover, the GTZ report estimates that emerging economies can minimize foreign currency expenditures on chemical imports, eliminate supply dependencies associated with these imports, and instead concentrate resources on a long-term use of natural refrigerants. This, in turn, would strengthen the national capacity to produce domestic installations and secure jobs.

• Environmental benefits: Helping countries to improve their carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from chemical refrigerants’ production, is the second rationale for the use of natural refrigerants. The report thus gives advice on how developing countries can concentrate their R&D efforts on energy efficiency potentials offered by CO₂ (R744) and other natural gases.

Case studies: CO₂ refrigeration

More than half of all articles on applications working with natural fluids are dedicated to CO₂ only or at least mention it. Already in its introduction to policy initiatives worldwide, the PROKLIMA publication highlights the German carmakers’ decision for CO₂ in future car air conditioning and the announcement of major food retailers to use only R744 as major drivers to influence the worldwide uptake of CO₂ Technology.

Furthermore, the contributions and case studies focusing on the natural refrigerant CO₂, include:

• Refrigeration systems for warm climates using only CO₂ as a working fluid Sergio Girotto, Enex S.r.l., Italy / Silivia Minetto, Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy)
• The first CO₂ supermarket plant in New Zealand (Alexander Cohr Pachai, Johnson Controls, Denmark)
• Overview and outlook for the application of CO₂ in heat pumps (René Rieberer, Graz University of Technology, Austria / Jørn Stene and Petter Nekså, SINTEF Energy Research, Norway)
• Safety of CO₂ in large refrigeration systems (Samer Sawalha, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)
• Design criteria for CO₂ evaporators (Roland Handschuh, Güntner AG, Germany)
• Environmentally friendly refrigeration in the retail trade – Refrigerant R22 soon to be a thing of the past -future ecological alternative can be CO₂ (Reiner Tillner-Roth, Epta Group, Germany)
• Trends and perspectives in supermarket refrigeration (Michael Kauffeld, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany)

Background - GTZ & Proklima

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) is a government-owned corporation for international cooperation with worldwide operations. GTZ’s aim is to shape the political, economic, ecological and social development worldwide through the support of complex development and reform processes, as well as sustainable development. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is its main financing organisation. Its partner organizations include the European Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank. The organisation has more than 10,000 employees in around 130 countries.

PROKLIMA is one of five GTZ programmes helping partner countries to fulfill the requirements of international conventions. With more than 110 projects and a financial volume of over €24 million, PROKLIMA is the most important bilateral partner of the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund.