Ammonia

Climate-conscious shoppers may buy local food and try to cut packaging waste, but those efforts could be negated by potent greenhouse gases leaking from supermarket fridges.

Nuclear power is one way of sustainably producing ammonia, Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have modeled how much it would cost to use more environmentally friendly methods that emit less carbon to produce ammonia, finding nuclear-powered and renewable ammonia (NH₃) production to be feasible, despite costs still being high.

In the light of the worldwide phase-down of high GWP refrigerants, Dave Richards, UK head of sales at refrigerant supplier Climalife, looks at the various options available for HVAC chillers.

In both technical and non-technical literature, fluorine-containing (HFC) refrigerants are increasingly referred to as ‘chemical’ or ‘synthetic’ refrigerants in contrast to the so-called ‘natural’ refrigerants. Generally ‘chemical’ is now seen by some as being ‘bad’ and is contrasted with ‘natural’, which implies ‘good’.

Mexican cold-storage operator Frialsa is leading its country’s adoption of NH₃ /CO₂ systems that are safer and 15%-20% more energy efficient than conventional ammonia equipment.

A developed society cannot function without refrigeration. At home, in food production and storage (e.g. frozen foods, yogurt, and or coffee), in the production processes of the automotive or chemical-pharmaceutical industry, or for air conditioning – wherever you look, “cooling” is essential. Industrially generated “coldness” is a central pillar of modern life. In Germany, 14 % of the primary energy consumed is used for cooling purposes. Negative influences on the environment can be reduced by using natural refrigerants.

The decision as to which refrigerant should be used in a refrigerating or air-conditioning system is based on the major criteria of safety, costs and environment protection. But against the background of constantly increasing energy prices, the energy consumption of a system also plays an increasingly important role. Ideally, the chosen refrigerant should have excellent thermodynamic properties, high chemical stability and good physical characteristics. Furthermore, it should have no or only a negligible impact on the environment, while also being inexpensive and available worldwide.

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) currently operates a 117,000-square foot commissary in San Antonio, Texas. The store is located in the community service area of the Lackland Air Force Base and is surrounded by other retail stores, banks, schools, and housing.

Climate change, greenhouse effect and global warming – scarcely any other issue is so omnipresent and so controversially discussed in the 21st century. Those who are convinced in doubting that climate change is man-made refer to various eras in the history of our planet where the earth has heated up or cooled down drastically even without any contribution on our part. In future too, they see climate change as the result of natural causes, including among others a changed ellipsoid orbit of the earth around the sun.

Kysor/Warren, a division and brand of global refrigeration equipment maker Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration, is optimistic that deployment of natural refrigerant technologies will expand in the U.S., but the company admits there are some obstacles to overcome.

Fluorocarbon refrigerants are synthetic chemicals which usually have a high global warming potential, and some still have the potential to cause damage to the ozone layer as well if released to the atmosphere.