IIR Document Shows Potential of CO2 as a Refrigerant
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With the phasing out of older refrigerants now in full swing across Europe, scientists are looking for new and more effective refrigerants that can be used in everything from industrial cooling to refrigerated trailer hire. How ironic that they are now looking at a substance we have taken for granted for a while: carbon dioxide. However, things are changing. A new report from the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) shines a new and brighter spotlight on CO2 as a refrigerant.
Despite the new interest in CO2, it has been used as a refrigerant in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia for decades. It is just that it has been overlooked because other chemicals have proven to be more efficient. That is changing, thanks to newer CO2-based refrigerants and more efficient compressors doing a better job today than in the past. All of this is highlighted in the IIR report authored by industry expert Dr A.B. Pearson.
Cooling with CO2
Cooling refrigerated spaces with CO2 may seem strange given that carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring trace gas that we typically take for granted. The science behind it is based on a process of compressing and expanding the gas in order to transfer heat.
When CO2 is quickly compressed, it absorbs a tremendous amount of heat. The same is true in the other direction. As it quickly expands, it releases that heat. This process of compression and expansion can be used to cool interior spaces by forcing the gas through a compressor, a heat exchanger, and a line of tubing.
Fully expanded CO2 gas is forced into a compressor built into the interior of a refrigeration unit, quickly absorbing heat as it moves through the compressor and tubing. It then flows to a heat exchanger located on the exterior of the unit. There it expands, releases the heat, and continues moving through the system on its way back to the compressor.
CO2 Is One Option
Carbon dioxide is but one option as a refrigerant of choice in the future. We may one day see it extensively used for the types of equipment we rent, including all refrigerated trailers and walk-in freezers. Until technology catches up however, we will continue to use the trusted equipment we now provide to our customers throughout London, the Thames Valley, and beyond.
Icecool Trailers is a leading provider of temporary, portable refrigeration for numerous industries. Our clients include restaurants, caterers, event planners, educational institutions, healthcare organisations, technology companies, and more. They have been coming to us from more than 20 years because they know Icecool Trailers can be trusted.
We provide top-of-the-range equipment maintained by our in-house staff of trained technicians. Those technicians are available for repair and maintenance service 24 hours a day. Furthermore, we pride ourselves on providing emergency refrigeration service in two hours, within our Greater London service area, and on the same day at most other locations.
We hope you will consider Icecool Trailers for all of your portable refrigeration needs. We offer affordable refrigerated trailer hire along with freezer trailers, walk-in cold rooms, and walk-in freezers.
Sources:
1.RAC Magazine – http://www.racplus.com/news/usa-focus/iir-releases-technical-guide-on-co2-as-a-refrigerant/8678403.article?blocktitle=USA-FOCUS&contentID=11629
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