LATEST REFRIGERATION EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY USING NATURAL REFRIGERANTS

Energy efficiency and decarbonisation are key aspects in refrigerated warehouses that make up the cold chain. In refrigeration with vapour compression cycles applying refrigerants, carbon dioxide (CO2) and ammonia (NH3) have historically been used as working fluids in the refrigeration cycle, followed by the later invention of synthetic fluids such as CFC, HCFC and HFC gases, and recent HFO gases, which have been accepted due in part to its user-friendly properties, such as non-flammability, mild flammability and odourlessness. Various observations related to the environmental effects of synthetic refrigerants and their decomposition products related to ozone depletion, global warming and pollution are globally recorded. Therefore, the transfer to apply natural refrigerants has been re-evaluated in the recent years. This article describes the latest technologies for refrigeration equipment applying natural refrigerants, including technical improvements aimed to increase the energy efficiency.