Food Distributor Gears Up for R22 Phase Out with Low Charge Ammonia Azanefreezer
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 02, 2015 -- Azane, the manufacturer of low charge ammonia chillers and condensing units for the US market, is seeing increased interest in replacing old refrigeration plants in temperature controlled warehouses with their low charge ammonia technology.
In 2020, the ozone depleting refrigerant R22 will no longer be manufactured in the US under legislation put into place by the EPA. This means some end users have already begun to consider their options for R22 replacement.
Whilst there are many alternative refrigerants to choose from including HFCs and HFC/HFO blends, ammonia is the most cost-effective alternative in terms of lasting use, sustainability and low operational costs.
Azane’s customers include the foodservice industry where frozen and chilled food products are distributed through national networks of temperature controlled storage facilities. One such customer had an existing ammonia refrigeration plant that required upgrading after nearly forty years of operation.
Derek Hamilton, Business Development Manager for Azane, says: “The customer needed a solution that insured their business against both future environmental legislation and increasing health & safety regulations.”
The Azane solution significantly reduced running and maintenance costs and freed the business of unnecessary regulatory burden.
“Azane provided a solution that delivers on all counts. The Azanefreezer reduced the ammonia refrigerant charge from 11,023 lbs to just 414 lbs, and therefore did not exceed the OSHA's Process Safety Management and EPA RPM threshold limits for ammonia charge.”
“Ammonia is a naturally occurring compound that has zero ozone depleting and zero global warming potential, which ensured that the new refrigeration system is environmentally friendly in terms of both its direct and indirect carbon emissions. Ammonia refrigeration systems are not affected by regulation and therefore offered a futureproof solution.”
The energy efficient design is set to reduce running costs and cut overall greenhouse gas emissions. An Azanefreezer with a 75 TR capacity now supplies cooling to a freezer at the customer’s distribution centre. The air temperature is minus 13 Fahrenheit and cooling is provided via two high efficiency aluminum coil evaporators.
The Azanefreezer is an air-cooled ammonia condensing unit incorporating twin screw compressors and a high efficiency air-cooled condenser. The design incorporates a unique reverse cycle defrost system to ensure a fast and efficient defrost process.
The system comes fully packaged in a compact housing. No plant room is required and site installation time is only a fraction of that required for a central ammonia system.
Most recently, the Azanefreezer and its sister product, Azanechiller, were showcased at the IACSC Conference & Expo in Boca Raton, Florida, where the sustainable solution garnered great interest from warehouse builders and owners alike.
Azane also presented a workshop on low charge ammonia systems at the IIAR conference in San Diego last week.
To find more about Azane systems or to receive an individual mini workshop, please contact azane(at)azane-inc(dot)com.
Astrid Prado, Star Refrigeration, http://www.star-ref.co.uk, 00441413028190, [email protected]
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