FORUM

Application of CO2 (R744) Refrigerant in

Industrial Cold Storage Refrigeration Plant
DR Michael Bellstedt, Ph.D.Eng, MIEAust, MAIRAH, MSAIRAC;
DR Frank Elefsen Ph.D. Eng. MAIRAH Ass. Member IIR; Stefan S.
Jensen, B. Sc. Eng. MIE Aust, MAIRAH

ABSTRACT

This paper describes four single st age CO2 ( R7 4 4 ) vapour compression ref rigerat ion syst ems servicing t wo
medium sized f reezer st ores locat ed in a food processing facilit y sit uat ed in Brisbane, Aust ralia. The
processes which lead t o t he select ion of carbon dioxide as a ref rigerant as well as t he select ion of
condensing medium are det ailed. I n addit ion, t he general plant design concept , plant cont rol, aut omat ic
def rost met hod, pract ical issues relat ing t o t he inst allat ion and pract ical dif f icult ies encount ered during
commissioning are described in det ail. An assessment of t he long t erm reliabilit y of t he R7 4 4 syst ems is
made and f ut ure applicat ions of R7 4 4 as a ref rigerant are discussed.

1 .0 GENERAL BACKGROUND - WHY CO2 ? sig nific antly hig her than the o rig inal natural refrigerants, i. e.
Ammo nia ( R717) , Carbo n Dio xide ( R744) , Sulphur Dio xide
Prio r to 1930, the refrigerants mo st c o mmo nly in use were the
( R764) and hydro c arbo ns suc h as Pro pane ( R290) , refer to
natural refrigerants Ammo nia, Carbo n Dio xide and Sulphur
Table 1. Therefo re, emissio n o f these refrigerant to the
Dio xide as well as hydro c arbo ns suc h as Ethane and Pro pane
atmo sphere c o ntributes g reatly and dispro po rtio nately to the
( natural = o c c urring in nature) . Also in use at the time were
g lo bal warming pheno meno n, whic h has been widely repo rted
the flammable c hemic al refrigerants, Methyl Chlo ride and Ethyl
in the media.
Chlo ride.

Due to the level o f tec hno lo g y available at the time, bo th

with reg ard to mec hanic al desig n and c o ntro l systems, the Ref rigerant GWP ODP At mospheric
relative to xic ity, flammability and hig h pressures asso c iated ( 1 0 0 years, ( relat ive lif e ( years)
with these refrigerants po sed g reat pro blems to desig n relat ive t o t o R1 1 )
eng ineers and o perato rs, and ac c idents and injuries were CO2 )
c o mmo n.
R1 1 3, 800 1 50
During the 1930s the so - c alled “ safety refrigerants” were
R1 2 8, 100 1 102
intro duc ed, primarily Chlo ro fluo ro c arbo ns ( CFCs) suc h as R11,
R12 and R13, and Hydro c hlo ro fluo ro c arbo ns ( HCFCs) suc h as R1 3 b1 5, 400 10 65
R22 and R502. These refrigerants displac ed all the o ld
R2 2 1, 500 0. 055 13. 3
refrigerants in virtually all applic atio ns, o ther than sec to rs o f
industrial refrigeratio n, where Ammo nia and so me R2 3 12, 000 0 260
Hydro c arbo ns remained in use due to their superio r
R1 3 4 a 1, 300 0 13. 6
c harac teristic s.
R7 1 7
Then the disastro us effec t o f the CFCs and HCFCs o n the
- Ammonia 0 0 -
o zo ne layer was disc o vered during the 1970s, leading to the
phase- o ut o f all CFCs by the 1990s, fo llo wed by the phase- o ut R7 4 4 - CO2 1 0 -
o f HCFCs in the early 2000’s.
R2 9 0
The c hemic al alternatives intro duc ed by the c hemic al industry - Propane 3 0 -
fo r the CFC and HCFC refrigerants are vario us
Hydro fluo ro c arbo ns ( HFCs) and their blends, suc h as R134a,
R507, R404a, R407c and R410a. While the HFC refrigerants
do no t direc tly damage the o zo ne layer, they are synthetic Table 1 . GWP and ODP for various ref rigerant s [ 1 ]
g reenho use g ases ( SGGs) with hig h Glo bal Warming Po tential, and [ 2 ]
hig her than so me o f the CFCs and HCFCs they replac e, and

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In additio n, the HFCs have a number o f drawbac ks that fac ility is the first o f its kind in Australia with the flexibility
c o mplic ate their applic atio n and render the systems less to satisfy airline demands fo r frequent menu c hanges. The
reliable and mo re c o stly to maintain than c o mparable CFC o r fac ility has been c o nstruc ted to wo rlds best prac tic e.
HCFC systems. These drawbac ks inc lude hig h c o st o f bo th
The fac ility c o nsists o f a number o f temperature c o ntro lled
refrigerant and spec ial o ils, the hyg ro sc o pic nature o f these
areas c o mprising lo ading bays, dry waste ro o m, raw materials
spec ial o ils, diffic ulties asso c iated with applic atio n to flo o ded
c hillers, raw materials c o ld sto re, preparatio n areas,
systems, reduc ed effic ienc y ( COP) c o mpared to CFC o r HFCF
pro c essing ro o ms, pac kag ing areas, finished pro duc t c o ld
systems, hig h disc harge pressures and dec reased c hemic al
sto re and o ffic es.
stability.
The temperatures spec ified during desig n ranged fro m <- 30º C
The justific atio n fo r the return to the o rig inal natural
in the in- line spiral freezer thro ug h to 25º C in the o ffic es and
refrigerants is therefo re g reat. These refrigerants are c heap,
so me thermal pro c essing areas. The majo r o bjec tives during
do no t damage the enviro nment, and are tec hnic ally exc ellent
the desig n develo pment, with reg ard to the refrigeratio n and
in their range o f applic atio n. Mo dern desig n tec hniques and
air c o nditio ning systems were:
equipment have dramatic ally reduc ed the risks asso c iated with
the use o f these fluids, and it o nly remains to demo nstrate to • Hig h energ y effic ienc y at all times, even during weekend
the industry that these refrigerants c an be safely and c o st turn- do wn.
effec tively applied in o rder to ac hieve an extensive reduc tio n • Hig hest deg ree o f enviro nmental c o mpatibility and
in the use o f fluo ro c arbo ns. eliminatio n o f fluo ro c arbo ns fro m the fac ility
• Hig hest po ssible level o f redundanc y and reliability
The natural refrigerants that merit extensive re- evaluatio n and
• Maintenanc e o f ro o m temperature and pressurisatio n to
re- intro duc tio n are Ammo nia ( R717) , Carbo n Dio xide ( R744) ,
ensure hig hest levels o f hyg iene.
Hydro c arbo ns and Water. Ammo nia remains in widespread
• Ease o f future expansio n
use, and the applic atio n thereo f to areas suc h as c o mmerc ial
Ac c eptable c apital c o st
refrigeratio n and air c o nditio ning , partic ularly as alternative
to the still widely used R22, is g ro wing . 3 .0 GENERAL DESCRI PTI ON OF OVERALL PLANT
DESI GN CONCEPT
The applic atio n o f CO2 is unlikely to enc o unter many barriers,
as mo dern equipment c an effec tively c o pe with the hig h An heat lo ad analysis was c o nduc ted to determine the lo ad
pressures, and the refrigerant as suc h is muc h less hazardo us distributio n and duratio n. This analysis revealed that there
than even a fluo ro c arbo n as it remains safe and benig n even was a g reat disparity between the peak daytime desig n lo ads
in the event o f a fire. and weekend desig n lo ads. Furthermo re several lo ads were
stro ng ly pro c ess dependent and seaso nal. Henc e the
The majo r drawbac ks o f CO2 are the lo w c ritic al temperature
requirement fo r a system c apable o f o perating effic iently at
( 31. 1º C and the hig h o perating pressures. These pro perties
part lo ad and at >90% turndo wn o n weekends bec ame c lear.
render CO2 less useful as a refrigerant in a sing le stage
system, as this wo uld require ineffic ient trans- c ritic al Enviro nmental c o nsideratio ns dic tated the use o f a c entral
o peratio n. Therefo re CO is best used as the lo w stage
2 ammo nia plant lo c ated in the plant ro o m to servic e all the
refrigerant in a c asc ade system, suc h that the c o ndensing abo ve lo ads inc luding o ffic e air c o nditio ning . In o rder to
temperature o f CO remains suffic iently lo w to limit the
2 ac hieve a system with effic ient turndo wn even at the abo ve
pressures to manageable mag nitudes. Under these c o nditio ns c o nditio ns, a system with 2 identic al variable c o mpressio n
CO refrigeratio n systems exhibit superb effic ienc y and very
2 ratio sc rew c o mpresso rs ( o ne hig h stage and o ne lo w stage)
c o mpac t plant desig n is po ssible fo r a g iven refrigeratio n and 3 hig h stage rec ipro c ating c o mpresso rs was selec ted.
c apac ity. As a rule, c o mpresso r and suc tio n line dimensio ns
Chilled water ( +1. 5º C) and pro pylene g lyc o l / water ( - 8º C)
reduc e to 1/ 6th o r 1/ 8th o f the c o mparable R717 o r
retic ulatio n systems were installed within the c eiling spac e to
Fluo ro c arbo n equipment size, thereby saving equipment c o st.
pro vide fo r the hig h and medium temperature lo ads in the
The fac ility desc ribed herein is the first mo dern- day Carbo n fac ility. The g ravity flo o ded welded c assette plate heat
Dio xide refrigeratio n system in Australia and as suc h exc hangers fo r these lo o ps were lo c ated within the c eiling
represents bo th a breakthro ug h and a landmark in Australian spac e and emplo yed inno vative c yc lo nic separato r desig ns fo r
refrigeratio n histo ry. liquid/ vapo ur separatio n to ensure minimum mass and
minimum refrigerant c harges.
2 .0 GENERAL DESCRI PTI ON OF THE
APPLI CATI ON/ FACI LI TY An initial desig n c o nc ept invo lved the use o f a 2- stage
ammo nia plant with the lo w stage serving bo th the spiral
Snap Fresh, a who lly o wned Qantas subsidiary, was
freezer and the 2 c o ld sto res. This idea was rejec ted and the
established to c entrally manufac ture hig h quality meals fro m
two - stage ammo nia plant limited to the spiral freezer fo r the
a g reenfield site in So utheast Queensland. The Snap Fresh
fo llo wing reaso ns:

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• The 2 c o ld sto res are lo c ated at o ppo site ends o f a large

building and use o f ammo nia ( either pumped o r dry
expansio n) wo uld have implied extensive presenc e o f
ammo nia pipe lines in the c eiling spac e,

• In the interests o f o perato r safety, the c o nsulting eng ineer

wished to avo id the use o f ammo nia inside sto rage ro o ms,
where the units c o uld po ssibly be damaged by fo rk lift
truc ks. Adequate spac e fo r pentho use units was no t
available.

• The lo w stage c o mpresso r wo uld o perate at lo w c apac ity

( <30% ) and henc e lo w effic ienc y, fo r mo re than 82% o f
the time

Therefo re in the interests o f ac hieving hig hest po ssible plant

effic ienc y, it was dec ided to selec t dedic ated CO2 ( R744)
c o ndensing units with direc t expansio n fan c o il units
arranged as two separate refrigeratio n c irc uits per c o ld sto re
to ac hieve adequate redundanc y ( i. e. a to tal o f fo ur ( 4) suc h
c irc uits) . Altho ug h these units c o uld have been supplied as
air c o o led o r liquid c o o led units using R404a, this wo uld have
c o mpro mised the o bjec tive o f ac hieving a fac ility that is
largely fluo ro c arbo n free. Sinc e c o ld g lyc o l/ water at - 8º C is
available in the c eiling spac e at all times to serve the vario us
o ther refrigerated areas, the c o nc ept o f using a CO2 system
with g lyc o l as c o ndensing medium was generated.
4 .0 R7 4 4 SYSTEM DESI GN CONCEPT
Desig n o f CO2 systems is generally straig htfo rward and fo r the
mo st part like HCFC and HFC systems, but the thermo physic al
and thermo dynamic pro perties o f CO2 have to be taken into
ac c o unt.
The CO2 systems meet the c o o ling demand in two c o ld sto res
at a ro o m temperature o f - 20º C. To ensure reaso nable
redundanc y, eac h c o ld sto re is equipped with two identic al
CO2 units eac h with a c o o ling c apac ity o f 14 kW. The system
layo ut o f eac h o f the fo ur CO2 units is sho wn in Fig ure 1.
The desig n spec ific atio ns o f eac h unit are:
Co o ling c apac ity : 14 kW
Evapo rating temperature : - 28º C
Co ndensing temperature : 0º C
The finned air c o o ler is o f the Lu- Ve Co ntardo dry expansio n
type with elec tric defro st. The c o mpresso r is a Do rin TCS 340H
with a swept vo lume o f 7 m 3 / h. The c o ndenser is a Swep type
B26x60 brazed plate heat exc hanger desig ned fo r hig h
pressure o peratio n. All c o mpo nents o n the hig h pressure side
are rated fo r 40 bar wo rking pressure. On the lo w- pressure
side o f the system all c o mpo nents are rated fo r 35 bar
wo rking pressure.
Fig. 1 . CO2 syst ems at Snap Fresh
Pressure relief valves are mo unted where there is a risk o f
iso lating a sec tio n o f the CO2 system either manually o r
auto matic ally. To minimise the risk o f CO2 leakage thro ug h the
relief valves in the event o f a po wer o r brine supply failure,
the rec eiver is lo c ated in the c o ld sto re. This will prevent the
pressure in the CO2 system fro m exc eeding a saturatio n
pressure c o rrespo nding to the ro o m temperature level.
5 .0 DEFROST METHOD AND PLANT CONTROL CONCEPT
The o peratio n o f the system is c o ntro lled direc tly by the ro o m
temperature. When the ro o m temperature senso r is belo w the
temperature set po int, the so leno id valve in the liquid line
c lo ses and the system c yc les o ff o n the pump- o ut pressure
switc h. When the ro o m temperature senso r is abo ve the
temperature set po int the so leno id valve in the liquid line
o pens and the evapo rato r c o mmenc es filling . When the
suc tio n pressure reac hes the set po int o f the pump- o ut
switc h, the c o mpresso r starts and the c o o ling o f the ro o m will
c o ntinue until the ro o m temperature reac hes the temperature
set po int.
The two systems in eac h ro o m are defro sted stag gered ( o ne
c o il at a time) 4 times per day c o ntro lled by a timer func tio n
in the c entral PLC. The defro st is c arried o ut by means o f
elec tric heaters in the c o il and the tray. The defro st sig nal
initiates the pump do wn sequenc e desc ribed abo ve and the
defro st heaters are switc hed o n fo r a perio d o f 20 minutes. If,
during defro st, the suc tio n pressure rises and reac hes the set
po int o f the pump- o ut pressure switc h, the c o mpresso r starts
and o perates until it is sto pped ag ain by the pump- o ut
pressure switc h. This ensures the evapo rato r pressure is
maintained belo w the set po int o f the relief valves during
defro st.

6 .0 PRACTI CAL I SSUES RELATI NG TO THE R7 4 4

I NSTALLATI ON

If CO2 in liquid fo rm is expanded into a spac e with a pressure

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AIRAH – June 2002 27

 FORUM
less than appro ximately 5. 5 bar, then the liquid will so lidify
and fo rm what is c o mmo nly kno wn as dry ic e. At saturated
o perating pressures belo w appro ximately 5. 5 bar within the
refrigeratio n system, the same will o c c ur i. e. the refrigerant
will so lidify. Evapo rating temperatures belo w appro ximately -
55˚C are henc e no t po ssible. The wo rking fluid will so lidify
and the plant will sto p.
These pro perties are unusual when c o mparing with
c o nventio nal refrigerants and they g ive rise to the fo llo wing
spec ial prac tic al desig n c o nsideratio ns:
• Ho w is the refrigerant prevented fro m esc aping
thro ug h the safety relief valves during sho rter system
standstills c aused by po wer failure, lo ss o f c o ndensing
medium o r system faults?
• Where are the safety relief valves fro m the system to
be po sitio ned in o rder to ensure that no dry ic e is
fo rmed in the safety valve o utlet, sho uld the relief
valve lift?
• Where are the refrigeratio n system c o mpo nents
suitable fo r desig n pressures o f 45 bar and test
pressures o f 67 bar to be so urc ed?
In mo dern times the applic atio n o f CO2 is relatively no vel.
The availability o f suitable standard system c o mpo nents is
therefo re relatively po o r. With inc reasing system desig n
pressures, the availability o f standard refrigeratio n
c o mpo nents g radually bec o mes very sc arc e. The desig ner is
therefo re fo rc ed to desig n and manufac ture c usto m
eng ineered pressure vessels and so urc e o ther c o mpo nents
fro m suppliers o f hydraulic, petro c hemic al, general industrial
and g as liquefac tio n equipment.
Fo r vario us prac tic al reaso ns inc luding servic e ac c ess, the
R744 c o ndensing units were mo unted in the c eiling c avity o f
the fac ility direc tly adjac ent to the freezer sto res,
refer Fig . 2.
Fig. 2 . R7 4 4 ( CO2 ) Condensing Unit inst alled in
ceiling cavit y
28 THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AIRAH – June 2002
The two elec tric ally ac tuated liquid line shut- o ff valves are
visible in the bo tto m rig ht hand c o rner. These feature a three
sec o nd o pening / c lo sing time to prevent liquid hammer at the
expansio n devic e lo c ated at the air c o o ler. The two liquid
rec eivers are lo c ated behind the sliding do o r to the rig ht o f
the shut- o ff valves. The air c o o lers are installed in the c o ld
sto re as sho wn in fig . 3. Due to limited spac e in the c eiling
c avity abo ve the c o ld sto re, it was no t po ssible to install the
refrigerant pipe lines in any o ther lo c atio n than expo sed
within the refrigerated spac e.
Fig. 3 . Finned air cooler suit able for R7 4 4 ( CO2 )
ref rigerant and inst alled in t he cold st ore
The temperature senso r used fo r ro o m temperature c o ntro l
and mo nito ring is visible upstream o f the induc ed draug ht air
c o o ler. The air c o o lers are standard c o pper/ aluminium air
c o o lers with mo dified c irc uiting fo r R744 o peratio n. In
additio n, they are fac to ry pressure tested at elevated test
pressure to suit the system desig n pressure o n the evapo rato r
side.
7 .0 CHARGI NG AND COMMI SSI ONI NG - PRACTI CAL
ASPECTS
Refrigeratio n systems using R744 must be tho ro ug hly
evac uated like o ther HFC/ HCFC refrigeratio n systems. Standard
filter/ driers fo r R744 and suitable fo r the desig n o perating
pressures required here are available. Ho wever, the system
o perating pressures are generally very c lo se to the limits o f
the pressure range being o ffered by reputable suppliers.
Charg ing the R744 system like a no rmal HFC/ HCFC system is
no t readily po ssible. With HFC/ HCFC and o ther systems it is
c o mmo n prac tic e to c harge liquid into the liquid line upo n
c o mpletio n o f the evac uatio n i. e. when the plant is still under
vac uum. This is no t po ssible with an R744 system bec ause dry
ic e wo uld fo rm internally at the c harg ing po int when the
system pressure is less than ~5. 5 bar.
It is therefo re nec essary to inc rease the system pressure to a
 FORUM

level >5. 5 bar using CO2 g as befo re it is po ssible to c harge 9 .0 MI SCELLANEOUS PRACTI CAL DI FFI CULTI ES
liquid into the liquid line upstream o f the expansio n valve. ENCOUNTERED
Liquid line sig ht g lasses are no t c o mmerc ially available fo r
The systems are all fitted with an o il separato r do wnstream o f
the pressures in questio n. Determining the c o rrec t system
the c o mpresso r. As in any o ther similar refrigeratio n system,
c harge by o bserving vapo ur bubbles o r lac k thereo f in the
the o il separated in the separato r must be returned to the
sig ht g lass is henc e no t po ssible. The c o rrec t system c harge
c o mpresso r. The devic e usually applied is a hig h pressure flo at
must therefo re be determined by weig hing . Observing the
valve fitted to the o il separato r. The hig h pressure flo at valve
fro st line o n the rec eiver during no rmal o peratio n is also
o pens when the o il level in the separato r rises and then
helpful - the no rmal temperature o f the liquid in the rec eiver
passes o il to the c o mpresso r sump.
is belo w 0˚C.
Due to the system desig n pressure o f 45 bar, it was no t
In prac tic e it was fo und that an iso latio n valve in the
readily po ssible to o btain a suitable hig h pressure flo at valve
equalizing line between the c o mpresso r disc harge line and the
fo r the o il return line. Initial trials with a no rmal sto p valve
to p o f the rec eiver was helpful in preventing exc essive
fitted at the o il o utlet fro m the separato r were no t suc c essful.
c o mpresso r disc harge pressures - partic ularly during c harg ing .
It was impo ssible to determine a c o rrec t valve setting and
Care was taken during the installatio n that the c o ndenser was
c o nstant manual adjustment was nec essary to maintain an o il
situated at a hig her level than the rec eiver to ensure liquid
level in the c o mpresso r at all times. The fac t that the
drainage by g ravity. Oc c asio nally during c harg ing the
pressure differential ac ro ss the valve c hanged c o nstantly
c o mpresso r disc harge pressure was elevated - presumably
during temperature pull- do wn in the c o ld sto re made c o rrec t
c aused by a relatively warm rec eiver and henc e liquid
valve setting mo re diffic ult to determine.
ac c umulating in the c o ndenser. In these situatio ns, o pening
and/ o r c lo sing the equalizing line was a helpful remedy. The no rmal sto p valve was then replac ed with a needle valve.
The flo w c o effic ient o f the needle valve was determined o n
Lo ss o f c o ndenser c o o lant, plant sto ppages, po wer failures
the basis o f an assumed o il c arry- o ver fro m the c o mpresso r o f
and o ther faults all have the po tential to c ause elevated
appro ximately 300 ppm. The diffic ulty here is o f c o urse taking
pressures within the R744 plant. During plant standstill and
into ac c o unt the g as expansio n whic h o c c urs in the o il return
witho ut c o o lant c irc ulating in the c o ndenser, the system
valve. Refrigerant c o ntained in the o il leaving the separato r
pressure will rapidly inc rease beyo nd the safety valve setting
will expand in the needle valve and this expansio n inc reases
and the R744 c harge will be lo st g radually. To c o unter this
the nec essary flo w c o effic ient o f the valve. In additio n, no
pro blem, the system must either be fitted with an expansio n
data in relatio n to ac tual o il c arry- o ver fro m the c o mpresso r
vessel o f adequate c apac ity to sto re the c harge in g as fo rm at
were available fro m the c o mpresso r manufac turer, so this
reaso nable pressure o r the rec eiver must be kept c o o l at all
sec o nd valve was also fo und to be unsuitable due to
times. In this c ase the rec eiver is kept c o o l by means o f the
inadequate c apac ity c ausing g radual lo ss o f o il fro m the
c o ld sto re featuring substantial thermal buffer c apac ity.
c o mpresso r.
8 .0 PERFORMANCE TRENDS, PRACTI CAL LONG TERM
A larger needle valve was then fitted. By this time the c o ld
OPERATI ON
sto re temperatures had been reduc ed to the desig n
Fig . 4 sho ws a g raph o f a typic al system o perating c yc le temperature o f - 20˚C and an appro priate valve setting was
inc o rpo rating temperature c o ntro l at the set po int, auto matic determined quite easily and has been fo und to be satisfac to ry
elec tric defro st and temperature pull- do wn fo llo wing the sinc e.
defro st. As sho wn o n the g raph, the c o mpresso r c yc le s o n/ o ff
The thermo static expansio n valves used were manufac tured
during defro st in respo nse to a suc tio n pressure sig nal.
spec ific ally fo r the applic atio n by Danfo ss, No rdbo rg ,
Denmark. They are o f the c o nventio nal mec hanic al type with
external pressure equalisatio n. Initially, the intentio n was to
emplo y elec tro nic expansio n valves. These were, ho wever,
substituted ag ainst mec hanic al valves fo r g reater system
simplic ity. During c o mmissio ning when the c o ld sto re
temperature was g radually reduc ed o ver a 12 day perio d, the
mec hanic al expansio n valves required frequent superheat
adjustment. This was to be expec ted and wo uld have been
less labo ur intensive had elec tro nic expansio n valves been
emplo yed.

Appro ximately 3 to 4 weeks after hando ver o f the plant, a

c o mpresso r failed. The fault appeared to be o f elec tric al
nature. The c urrent drawn by the individual mo to r winding s
Fig. 4 . Graph describing t ypical R7 4 4 syst em varied by a fac to r o f appro ximately three c ausing o verheating
operat ing cycle o f the mo to r and subsequent thermisto r pro tec tio n fault. The

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AIRAH – June 2002 29

 FORUM

c o mpresso r was replac ed and the faulty c o mpresso r repaired system desig n pressure o f 45 bar, whic h in turn was dic tated
by the manufac turer under warranty. by the desig n temperature fo r the g lyc o l lo o p servic ing the
remainder o f the fo o d pro c essing fac ility.
1 0 .0 ASSESSMENT OF R7 4 4 SYSTEM RELI ABI LI TY
These first Australian R744 installatio ns o pen up vast new
Making allo wanc es fo r the relative no velty o f this installatio n,
po ssibilities in terms o f pro viding safer, mo re energ y effic ient
the lo ng term reliability o f R744 systems o f a similar desig n
and mo re enviro nmentally friendly refrigeratio n plants. In
c o nc ept is c o nsidered ac c eptable and at the same le vel as
situatio ns where system leaks fro m lo w temperature ammo nia
c o nventio nal refrigeratio n plants emplo ying HFC/ HCFC
refrigeratio n systems may c ause a risk to o c c upants and/ o r
refrigerants.
pro duc ts, CO2 o r R744 presents an alternative whic h is
During c o mmissio ning and during the first three mo nths o f ac c eptable fro m a tec hnic al as well as a c o mmerc ial po int o f
o peratio n, the main diffic ulties enc o untered with these view. The o wner o f the fo o d pro c essing fac ility being servic ed
installatio ns were o ne c o mpresso r failure ( elec tric al) , o il by these no vel R744 systems is to be c o ng ratulated fo r the
differential pressure switc h failures, three system leaks, o ne initiative and visio n displayed when taking the dec isio n in
hig h pressure safety switc h failure and sealing pro blems with favo ur o f an enviro nmentally friendly natural refrigerant as
the mo to rised liquid line shut- o ff valves. The majo rity o f o ppo sed to c o nventio nal HFC/ HCFC fluids.
faults related to no vel applic atio ns o f c o mpo nents at the limit
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
o f the applic atio n ranges o r po ssibly o utside. Had standard
R744 c o mpo nents fo r standard R744 systems been available, The valuable assistanc e o f Mr. Jan Bijsterbo sc h, General
the number o f faults wo uld have been less. Manager and Peter Franklin, Chief Eng ineer bo th o f Snap Fresh
Pty. Ltd. Queensland during the preparatio n o f this paper is
1 1 .0 FUTURE APPLI CATI ONS
ac kno wledged with thanks.
CO2 refrigerant is antic ipated to find ec o no mic and effic ient
REFERENCES
applic atio n in the fo llo wing areas:
1. IPCC Wo rking Gro up repo rt, 2001
• Medium and large Co ld Sto rage systems, as alternative to
R22 and R717 2. IPCC Wo rking Gro up repo rt 1995
• Supermarket freezer display c abinets, as alternative to
R404a
• Lo w temperature blast, spiral, belt and tunnel freezers, as Dr Mic hael Bellstedt is Direc to r o f Minus40 Pty. Ltd. Sydney,
alternative to R717 Dr Frank Elefsen is Manag ing Direc to r o f Danish Tec hno lo g ic al
Institute Pty. Ltd. Brisbane and Stefan S. Jensen is Manag ing
Large end- users in the fo o d industry, like Nestle and Unilever,
Direc to r o f Sc antec Refrigeratio n Tec hno lo g ies Pty. Ltd.
have already dec lared their intentio n to use CO2 in future lo w
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
temperature applic atio ns due to bo th ec o no mic and
enviro nmental reaso ns. So me very large applic atio ns ( up to
16MW o f c o o ling c apac ity) are c urrently being planned and
built in Euro pe and the USA. CO2 is ac c epted as an
AIRAH Mini-
ec o no mic ally viable so lutio n fo r lo w temperature applic atio ns
and the number o f new installatio ns will g ro w rapidly in the
Conferences
near future.

In the supermarket sec to r the use o f CO2 in freezer c abinets

and c o ld ro o ms is standard in new supermarket applic atio ns in
Denmark to day. This tec hno lo g y has develo ped very rapidly in
the last two years into an ec o no mic ally c o mpetitive so lutio n
ac c epted by bo th supermarkets and installers.
1 2 .0 CONCLUSI ON
Call for Papers
W e are c alling fo r expressio ns o f interest in presenting
papers at the AIRAH series o f mini- c o nferenc es
being run thro ug ho ut the year. 50 wo rd Expressio ns o f
Interest are invited fo r the fo llo wing mini- c o nferenc es:
• Indo o r Air Quality - Aug 22- 23, ACT
• Indo o r Air Quality - Sept 19- 20, QLD

Co nsidering the fac t that these R744 refrigeratio n plants are • Energ y - No v 14- 15, NSW

the first in mo dern times to servic e a c o mmerc ial c o ld sto rage Fo r mo re info rmatio n abo ut c lo sing dates and mini-
applic atio n, the prac tic al pro blems experienc ed during c o nferenc e details, please c o ntac t Heather White at the

c o mmissio ning and c o mmerc ial o peratio n have been less than AIRAH Offic e:

antic ipated at the o utset. As previo usly indic ated, identifying PHONE: ( 03) 9614 8868 o r
EMAIL: educ atio n@ airah. o rg . au
suitable system c o mpo nents during the desig n phase was
diffic ult. This was, ho wever, a direc t result o f the required

30 THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AIRAH – June 2002