Carrier Refrigeration

Edward Goh Director of Marketing Global Container Refrigeration In September scientists declared that Earth's protective ozone layer is showing signs of recovery thanks to the phase out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) once widely used in refrigerants and aerosols. This shows that human-driven changes can be meaningful to the environment. For its part, Carrier has been an industry leader in environmental stewardship for decades. Carrier's advances in sustainable air conditioning and refrigeration are well known. In the shipping industry, of course, Carrier led the industry's conversion to non-ozone depleting refrigerants with the introduction of its first R 134a unit in 1993. By filling customer needs for more sustainable solutions, Carrier has helped make a difference. Today's concerns revolve around greenhouse gases, those chemicals with the ability to trap heat and raise atmospheric temperatures. Governments and environmentalists are seeking ways to reduce emissions and use of substances with high global warming potential (GWP). That includes hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the refrigerant alternatives that replaced ozone-depleting CFCs. Among container refrigeration system manufacturers, Carrier Transicold is the only one to offer an alternative to synthetic refrigerant systems: the NaturaLINE™ unit, using the natural refrigerant carbon dioxide (CO2) with a GWP of 1. The refrigerant choice for this application was very measured and is discussed more completely in the following article. The engineering required to create a natural refrigerant system with energy efficiencies rivaling the best synthetic-based systems is innovative indeed; however, the use of CO2 as a refrigerant is not new. Grocery shoppers throughout Europe have benefited from CO2 systems for a decade. Almost two-thirds of large supermarkets in northern and Western Europe now use natural refrigerants in their stores, where more than 40 percent of the average store's energy consumption is from refrigeration. In a recent survey, supermarket executives rated the use of energy-efficient and low-GWP refrigerants as the most important environmental feature to increase a store's energy efficiency. Retailers also agreed that natural refrigerants can outperform traditional HFC systems in terms of efficiency and performance, suggesting respondents believe the technology makes business sense, regardless of incentives. If natural refrigerant success on land is a harbinger, container shipping executives may soon be saying the same of CO2. Making a Difference on Land, Sea and in the Air Why CO2 Makes Sense for Shipping The increasing need for more sustainable refrigeration solutions that reduce the potential for global warming has created a groundswell of interest in alternative refrigerants for container shipping. For its part, Carrier Transicold saw this need coming many years ago and committed its refrigeration system engineering teams to pursue development of the next-generation system for container refrigeration. "The nature of Carrier's business and the challenges faced by our customers compel us to explore many possibilities before committing to a refrigerant for a particular application," said Edward Goh, director, marketing, Global Container Refrigeration, Carrier Transicold. After evaluating the full range of possibilities, the natural refrigerant carbon dioxide (CO 2) was selected for the new- generation container refrigeration system known as the NaturaLINE unit. In addition to excellent heat transfer properties, CO 2 has a global warming potential of only 1, which is 1,430 and 3,920 times less than the two hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants currently in use for container refrigeration. By using CO 2 as a refrigerant, the NaturaLINE unit eliminates the risk of emissions of synthetic refrigerants with high global warming potential. From a global warming perspective, CO 2 recycled from the atmosphere is environmentally neutral – in the event of a leak, it simply returns to the atmosphere. Carrier's NaturaLINE unit includes a variety of engineering innovations that enable it to provide exceptional energy efficiency. Reduced energy use also contributes to sustainability and GWP In designing the NaturaLINE container refrigeration system, Carrier engineers addressed similar challenges met in developing the CO2OLtec ® system, used safely and efficiently in more than 1,000 supermarkets across Europe. 2

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