News

US seeks to end China’s developing country status

The USA is to seek the removal of China from the list of Article 5 developing nations under the Kigali Amendment. Read more

The U.S. ratifies treaty to phase down HFCs, gases trapping 1,000x more heat than CO₂

Nearly six years after the United States helped negotiate it, the Senate has ratified a global climate treaty that would formally phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, industrial chemicals commonly found in air conditioners and refrigerators, insulating foams and pharmaceutical inhalers. Read more

North American sustainable refrigeration council releases refrigerant transition hub to help retailers shift from high global warming refrigerants

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), an environmental nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants in supermarkets, recently announced it published a free refrigerant transition hub to help retailers navigate regulation changes implemented by the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. Enacted in 2020, the AIM Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2036. Read more

Celebrating World Ozone Day around the globe 2022

Marking International Day, Secretary-General Says Montreal Protocol’s Success Protecting Ozone Layer Powerful Example of Multilateralism in Action Read more

Scientists develop new method to assess ozone layer recovery

Researchers have developed a new method for assessing the impacts of ozone-destroying substances that threaten the recovery of the ozone layer. Read more

Global online database ‘Cool Technologies’ seeks examples of R744-based products and installations

A website managed by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace is seeking examples of energy-efficient equipment with natural refrigerants, such as CO₂ (R744), or installations of those products to add to its database, called Cool Technologies. Read more

CTS Research Firm Shows Versatility of CO₂

Functioning prototypes show how CO₂ (R744) can be successfully used in applications such as bottle coolers, refrigerated containers and mobile air-conditioning without increasing costs or compromising on efficiency as compared to HFCs, according to Stefan Elbel, CEO of Creative Thermal Solutions (CTS), the Urbana, Illinois (U.S.), HVAC&R research company. Read more

Working with Refrigerants

After Billy Durant purchased the Guardian Refrigerator Company with his own money in 1918, he incorporated the business into General Motors (GM) and renamed it Frigidaire. By 1929, Frigidaire had sold over one million refrigerators, the only trouble was, the nasty nature of refrigerants like sulfur dioxide, methyl chloride and even ammonia, kept Billy awake at night. Thus, GM created a subsidiary company designed to monitor the exploration of alternative refrigerants. Read more

CTS improves ultra-low-charge ammonia chiller performance with ejector

A two-phase ammonia/NH₃ (R717) recirculating ejector for liquid overfeed systems can improve the capacity and COP of an ultra-low-charge ammonia chiller by 28% and 22%, respectively, according to Stefan Elbel, CEO of Creative Thermal Solutions (CTS), the Urbana, Illinois (U.S.), HVAC&R research company. Read more

Evapco Reports Installation of 100 Low-Charge Ammonia Packaged Units at 25 Sites

Since introducing its Evapcold low-charge ammonia/NH₃ (R717) packaged units in 2016, U.S. OEM Evapco has installed 100 of the units across 25 industrial sites, with each site using between one and 10 units, said Kurt Liebendorfer, Vice President of Evapco. Read more

2022 Ozone2Climate Technology Roadshow and Industry Roundtable convenes in Chongqing, China

The 11^th Ozone2Climate (O2C) Technology Roadshow and Industry Roundtable was jointly organized by the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China(FECO/MEE) and the China Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry Association (CRAA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of the 33^rd International Exhibition for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, Heating and Ventilation, Frozen Food Processing, Packaging and Storage (CRH 2022), one of the three most influential annual exhibitions in the world, and the largest of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region. The event was held in Chongqing, China from 1 – 3 August 2022. Read more

European prosecutor urged to act on black market HFC trade report

Campaigners have called on European authorities to act on undercover investigation into illegal European sales of HFC published last year – citing a lack of action by national bodies. Read more

R290 found to reduce energy consumption of Hoshizaki refrigeration equipment by 11%

By transitioning its lineup of commercial refrigerators and freezers to propane (R290), Georgia (U.S.)-based manufacturer Hoshizaki America has reduced the energy consumption of its equipment by an average of 11%, according to a recent presentation from the company’s Director of Engineering, David Sellers. Read more

Mongolia ratifies Kigali Amendment

The number of countries to have ratified the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants has grown to 137 with the recent addition of Mongolia. Read more

Greater awareness needed on benefits of low-charge ammonia systems in Australia, says Scantec

“Awareness is very important” for the wider adoption of ammonia/NH₃ (R717)-based industrial refrigeration in Australia, said Stefan Jensen, Managing Director at Scantec Refrigeration Technologies, an Australian industrial refrigeration system provider. Read more