As per the recent meet in effect of the Montreal Protocol in September 2007, it was decided by the participants that a rigorous rule will be presided over the world which would require each industrial and commercial unit to stop using the harmful refrigerants, such as R22 or HCFC, in their existing as well as new plant systems. Though this rule was agreed upon by major countries, not less than 200 in number, including the United States of America, it was also analysed by industry experts that this can lead to a negative spread out in the aftermarkets of the supplies of these harmful substances in the near future.

According to Nick Nuttall, spokesperson for the United Nations Environmental Program, the result of this ruling can prove really beneficial to all the industrial enterprises and help in maintaining good energy efficiency levels. The accelerated phase-out of such harmful substances would offer potential significant advantages in terms of coping up with the seasonal fluctuations and ozone depletion, agrees Nick.

Not forgetting, even the refrigerant manufacturers are now actively supporting the speed-up in the removal of these substances from their raw materials. One such good example is that of Air Options Ltd. who always make it a point that its products and supplies do not carry any substance that can prove harmful to its ever-growing clientele. Air Options are already in the market with new plant systems free of these dangerous refrigerants. DuPont is another such company that has ensured full support in speeding up the process and would avoid using ozone-depleting gases as largely as possible.

Agrees York/Johnson Control’s Tony Digmanese in his presentation to scientists from different parts of the world at the International Congress of Refrigeration (Beijing), “Shifting refrigerants from HCFCs to HFCs has been designed to protect our environment and climate, save the ozone layer and conserve energy.”

One may also choose retrofillable blends to run on R-22 with an HFC. Many manufacturers have already started using retrofillable blends, such as HFC Blend 417A, HFC Blend FX90, Isceon29, Isceon79 and RS-44, as they provide adequate capacity.

CO2 is in great demand quite recently amongst the manufacturers in Europe, America and Australia. Air Options Ltd, with its roots for almost 15 years in the UK’s air-conditioning and refrigeration industry, offers environmental-friendly refrigeration and air conditioning equipments as well as facility management services across the UK. Air Options Ltd outshines its competitors, by being a recognised installer of Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Daikin, Fujitsu and many more. Many other UK companies are in the process of adopting CO2 as an alternative to R-22 refrigerant as they find it the only best option in the air-conditioning market available with the refrigerant suppliers. In its recent report, Compressed Gas Association affirmed that CO2 is primarily obtained in the HVACR industry from geological reserves or from by-product gas streams.

Countries like the United States are also using CO2 for different purposes, especially as a secondary coolant coupled with an HFC in most of the food service refrigeration or freezing. CO2 is also being applied in industrial and commercial units in their systems along with ammonia in cascade systems. Ammonia is a good option to replace R22, such that it has zero GWP, and can be well used for industrial or central water chillers. One using it should maintain a proper track record in its industrial applications and must also follow all design rules in terms of toxicity and flammability.

CO2 has a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) and superb heat transfer capacity. Such application of CO2 has also been tracked in countries of Europe and in Australia. In Europe, CO2 is being used as a secondary coolant for refrigeration in hot water heating pumps at low temperature systems and for transportation purposes. All automobile manufacturers have already begun with the removal of refrigerants such as HFC-134A in automotive air-conditioning, and have started using CO2 or even an HFC with low GWP. In Europe, a few smaller supermarkets are using only CO2 for transcritical purposes. Many supermarkets in Australia have also been found finishing off with the installation of CO2 in their marts. A few of them are also using R-134A as a primary charge for screwing packs and CO2 as a secondary coolant.

In response to the Montreal Protocol regulation and after the recent meet help in September 2007, the use of refrigerant R22 in new equipments from January 01, 2010 has been completely ruled out. A special rule has been ratified for the use of R22 in existing systems. The use of virgin R22 for maintenance has been completely banned from January 01, 2010, and the use of all R22 for maintenance has been banned to be used in existing plants with effect from January 01, 2015.

Manufacturers are found speeding up their processes in phasing out the R-22 from their equipments and looking out for effective alternate options to replace R-22. Several key alternatives are available with pure fluids and blends. Pure fluids are preferred to blends as they provide better heat transfer and less leakage problems. On the other hand, blends can be better optimised as compared to pure fluids in terms of corresponding performance with R22, to be non-flammable. It also helps if mineral oil can be used for retrofills. CO2 (R-744) is one such HVACR refrigerant that can be a good option for R-22 replacement. It offers various benefits along with the challenges. CO2 has a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) and superb heat transfer capacity. As far as the challenges are concerned thereon, it can be used only with high operating pressures and increases the overall cost efficiency level. In Toto, it is considered as ‘low efficiency of the basic cycle’.

At present CO2 is being used as a secondary coolant for refrigeration in hot water heating pumps at low temperature systems and for transportation purposes. In the European countries, all automobile manufacturers have already begun with the removal of refrigerants such as HFC-134A in automotive air-conditioning, and have started using CO2 or even an HFC with low GWP. In Europe, these two refrigerants are also being developed by many air-conditioning unit suppliers.

Apart from international treaties dealing with the climate and air pollution such as the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Kyoto Protocol are the key protocols that have taken place recently. In December 1998, 167 states and the European Union were parties to the Montreal Protocol. The protocol expands the goals of the 1985 Vienna Convention, requiring state parties “to protect the ozone layer by taking precautionary measures to control equitably total global emissions of substances that deplete it, with the ultimate objective of their elimination.” As currently amended, the Protocol requires the staged phase out of a list of chlorofluorocarbons and halons, and of carbon tetrachloride, by the year 2010, and a phase out of methyl chloroform by 2015. The Kyoto Protocol enacted measures to address global warming issues, targeting the HFCs again. However, the US Government never pay a heed to the Kyoto ruling due to issues that held developed countries such as the United States and Canada as of higher standard as compared to developing countries such as India and China, to impose these regulations upon. Kyoto also failed to address two major pollutants: black soot and tropospheric ozone. Both are proven health hazards. Reducing both would not only address climate change, but also dramatically improve people’s health. That’s why 95 members of the United States Senate expressed a reluctance to endorse such an approach. Presently, Kyoto is taking a legal approach to move into the United States. Various climate change proposals have been developed in Congress to control the production of HFCs in the States, thus levelling up with the Kyoto Protocol after 2020.

At the Conference of Parties meeting at Kyoto, Japan in 1997, the member countries drafted a Protocol to the Convention which would legally bind the developed countries such as the United States and Japan to reduce the amount of their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels during the five-year period between 2008 and 2012. In order for the Kyoto Protocol to come into force it must be ratified or acceded to by: (1) 55 percent of all member countries and (2) the European Union member states and Japan accounting for 55 percent of that group’s carbon dioxide emissions in 1990. If Russia and Canada ratify the Protocol, which they are expected to do, the Protocol will be in force.

The United States, who seems not much in favour of the Kyoto Protocol, is keen on creating the National Climate Change Technology Initiative to strengthen research at universities and national labs, to enhance partnerships in applied research, to develop improved technology for measuring and monitoring gross and net greenhouse gas emissions, and to fund demonstration projects for cutting-edge technologies, such as bio-reactors and fuel cells. The country is building partnerships within the Western Hemisphere and with other like-minded countries. In May 2001, Secretary Powell signed a new CONCAUSA Declaration with the countries of Central America, calling for cooperative efforts on science research, monitoring and measuring of emissions, technology development, and investment in forest conservation. The government will take initiatives to enhance conservation and energy efficiency outlined in my energy plan, to implement the increased use of renewable, natural gas and hydropower that are outlined in the plan, and to increase the generation of safe and clean nuclear power. By increasing conservation and energy efficiency and aggressively using these clean energy technologies, the US economy tends to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by significant amounts in the coming years.

If you are not willing to remove your existing plant but keep it going by opting for refrigerant conversion options available to you that can be easily compatible with your existing plant. To begin with, you must estimate the replacement of R22. Even if you wish, you won’t be able to completely shift to a refrigerant like Ammonia, as your existing system will not be compatible with this refrigerant.

Amongst the available options, you may choose to use any of the three categories of HFC refrigerant. These may include a pure fluid such as R134A; an HFC blend used in new systems such as R407C or R404A; or an HFC ‘Service blend’ custom-designed to be retro-filled into an existing R22 plant.

A few considerations, however, need to be addressed. Most R22 systems run on mineral lubricating oil, but HFC refrigerants can operate only on polyester oil. It is quite time-consuming and expensive to change the oil in existing systems, for which service blends have been designed to reduce this problem. Another important thing to understand is the difference between the usage of a pure fluid or a blend. The existing R22 plant uses a pure fluid, and so evaporation and condensation takes place at a constant temperature.

It would be difficult to choose a conversion using a pure HFC refrigerant, as their properties are not compatible with R22, except HFC R134A, for which the compressor capacity should be increased by 30%, oil and non-metallic components to be changed, resulting into large expenditure. Choosing an HFC blend such as R407C, R404A and R507 in direct expansion systems would be suitable as it is compatible with R22, but requires the change of oil and some seal materials. If you opt for an HFC ‘Service Blend’ such as RS44 and RS52, you need not make changes in oil conversion and can use these blends simply by removing the old refrigerant and refilling with the new one specifically developed for the same. But this needs special care with flooded systems because of the temperature glide demonstrated by these blends

If you are planning to replace your existing R22 plant, you can opt for an HFC refrigerant or you may also use a “natural” alternative; for instance, ammonia or CO2. At present, the F-Gas Regulation doe not consist of any clause that confines the use of HFCs for refrigeration applications. HFCs are only not permitted to be used in car air-conditioning in which the existing refrigerant, HFC 134a, will further be barred from the year 2011. Nevertheless, the F-Gas Regulation will be reassessed by 2011 to determine if stricter restrictions on the usage of HFC would be technically and economically viable. This leads to a threat on the long-term future of HFCs in larger industrial systems.

Therefore, the best option can be chosen on the basis of the size of your cooling plant and the development of refrigerant technology in future. In case of a large plant such as a large cold store, ammonia would be a better option.

Ammonia has emerged out as a popular refrigerant over the last few years, offering zero GWP, and can be well used for industrial or central water chillers. A highly efficient designed ammonia plant can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A small plant should not be replaced with ammonia due to the required safety precautions and HFCs would considerably a better option.

In recent years, CO2 has surfaced as a newly emerged refrigerant, offering low GWP for low temperature plants and MAC. It is widely being used on many food processing and cold storage equipments and is worth to be considered; especially in case of heat recovery to generate process hot water. Nevertheless, ammonia, CO2 or HCs fetch a number of other practical difficulties adding up to the capital cost structure of a plant system, especially if used for small systems.

With the UK Government phasing out all the hazardous substances that have immediate effect on the ozone layer, to protect the ozone layer from its depletion, the recent dangerous substance to have been targeted is the refrigerant gas R22. R22 is also often used as a refrigerant in existing systems used by food and drink manufacturers. Companies using R22 installed in their air-conditioning units. Such companies need to be prepared for the complete ban on its usage and consider most appropriate options in terms of fluids or blends as alternatives to R22 for their existing as well as new plants.

A few considerable options for pure blends are HFC 407C, HFC 410A, HFC 404A, HFC 507 and Care 50. HFC 407C has a good market share for air-conditioners and other industrial applications. It’s quite similar to R22, in that cooling capacity, non-toxic and non-flammable properties, but offers high GWP and is slightly less efficient than R22. It is also not ideal at low evaporating temperatures. HFC 410A has been more recently launched than HFC 407C that is operated at higher pressures and has high cooling capacity with good heat transfer characteristics. It has a high GWP and its design mostly copes up with higher head pressures. HFC 404A and HFC 507 perform very well at low freezing temperatures but not at higher temperatures. While Care 50 offers a blend of propane and ethane suitable for R22 applications and has good energy efficiency level.

Some retrofillable blends are also a good option to replace R22. You may choose any of the blends out of these, viz. HFC Blend 417A, HFC Blend FX90, Isceon29, Isceon79 and RS-44. HFC Blend 417A contains HC 600, which is compatible with mineral and alkyl benzene oils, and has high GWP. HFC Blend FX90 contains dimethyl ether that is well compatible with different oils. Isceon29 can be directly replaced with R22 in DX water chillers. Isceon79 is again a low temperature replacement for HCFC blends with R22. RS-44 is another HFC blend with 2 HC components that offers good oil compatibility with zero flammability.

The future of Hydro-Fluorocarbons (HFCs) suggest that the new F-Gas Regulation do not ban the usage of HFCs, except in air-conditioning of cars, that is, no car shall be allowed to make use of HFCs in their air-conditioning systems. At the same, this Regulation also imposes more constraints to the usage of HFCs, resulting into more cost addition in using HFCs. Besides, there is a political pressure on introducing bans on the HFCs. Therefore, the regulation will be reviewed for its features, and there will be severe restrictions on the usage of HFCs in commercial and industrial systems. Some of the member states already have stricter regulations and a considerable amount of taxation levied on the usage of HFCs.

Some of the new and severe constraints imposed on using HFCs include leakage checks at regular intervals, record keeping, recovery, labelling and employment of trained maintenance staff. The leakage checks will be strictly maintained on all plants consisting of more than 3 kilograms of HFC refrigerants. These checks will be conducted either, once or twice or four times in a year, depending upon the charges declared. A permanent leak sensing equipment will also be required to be placed by the industrial and commercial units on their plant systems. In case of record keeping, it becomes necessary for the end users to keep up-to-date records about all their existing plant systems with HFCs.

HFCs can have some reasonable refrigerant alternatives. Till date, a majority of R22 alternatives have been HFCs. After the new regulation has been enforced on the usage and ban of HFCs completely by the year 2015, it is advisable for the industrial and commercial units and the end users to avoid the usage of HFCs to the maximum to improvise the cost structure and bring about safety. A few key alternatives to HFCs can be using Ammonia in large industrial enterprises as well as for air-conditioning chillers, use of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for industrial purposes, supermarkets and air-conditioning. Hydrocarbons can be used only for small systems.

The future of the refrigeration industry offers excellent opportunities to improve the efficiency levels in refrigeration energy with a potential of about 15% to 25% very common. However, many opportunities are often being ignored by many industrial and commercial units due to relatively poor knowledge amongst the end users and the contractors. Since the time immemorial, there has been a historical focus on bringing lowest capital cost in their plants. The various measures taken to actualise the cost effectiveness have been further divided into three categories. These are heat load reduction, plant design and operation and maintenance.

For heat load reduction, as an end user, the industrial and commercial enterprises should minimise its usage demand for cooling. For instance, they can make use of product free cooling for any chemical plant; pasteuriser optimisation for milk plants; ambient pre-cooling for food plants, fan control for cold storage, and pump control for breweries.

For plant design, it becomes critical for such types of units to get system and component designs accurate. For instance, they should incorporate the use of head pressure control; compressor sizing and sequencing, compressor efficiency; splitting loads at different temperature levels; evaporator and condenser type and size; and cycle options, such as single versus 2-stage cycles.

In the event of operation and maintenance, it can be easier for industrial and commercial units to waste energy through poor operations. For instance, over-cooling of products; condenser problems, such as fouling, non-condensable, fan failure; evaporator problems, such as frosting, oil fouling; expansion valve problems, such as gas by-pass, excessive superheat; and incorrect system pressures, such as suction pressure control, use of back pressure valves. Besides, the metering and regular data analysis is crucial.

In view of the above, it can be concluded that the R22 phase out has been a crucial issue over the last few years, for which several refrigerants are also available. The F-Gas Regulation has imposed new rules on HFC use, and offers incentives to use non-HFC alternatives on new plants. No doubt, energy efficiency offers a win-win opportunity to the end users, that they can save cost and help reduce CO2 emissions.