No. 42

NewsletterNewsletterInternational Institute of RefrigerationApri l 2010

Refrigeration for SustainableDevelopment

23rd International Congress ofRefrigeration

Every 4 years, theInternational Institute ofRefrigeration holds acongress, each time in a dif-ferent country. These

milestone events bring together resear-chers and industrial stakeholders workingin all refrigeration applications and tech-nologies, in all parts of the world. Thelatest Congress was held in Beijing, China,in 2007 and attracted over 1300 partici-pants. The next Congress will take placein Prague, Czech Republic, on August 21-26, 2011. The following one will be held inYokohama, Japan, in 2015.It’s now time to get ready for the PragueCongress. The call for papers has justbeen launched, and it’s not too late tosponsor the Congress, and ensure thatyour company will be showcased duringthe event.By taking part in the Congress, you willnot only be able to exchange knowledgeon the latest scientific and technical deve-lopments with experts in all fields andfrom all continents and to glean newideas, you will also be able to visit one ofthe most beautiful cities in Europe that isalso a UNESCO World Heritage site andis easy to reachfrom all partsof the world.

This greatopportunity isnot to be mis-sed, and the IIR is ensuring maximumattendance by avoiding the scheduling ofother IIR events within a 6-month timeframe spanning the period before andafter the Congress.

Mark the date in your diary, prepare apaper, your booth, your attendance… andkeep abreast of the latest news concer-ning the Congress thanks to theCongress Web site www.icr2011.orgor via the link on the IIR’s Web site:www.iifiir.org

Didier CoulombDirector of the IIR

I IR focusCambridge conference provided a valuableinsight into a broad range of approaches, suchas: insulation, optimizing expenses by saving andrecovering various types of energy sourcesthroughout the cold chain, new cooling pro-cesses, the carbon footprint, refrigerants, moni-toring and control of temperature distributionvariations over time in real situations in the enti-re cold chain (cooling and pre-cooling, ware-houses, transport, retail, display cabinets...),packaging (the effect on temperature and mois-ture), storage conditions in consumers’ homes,surface and core temperatures of products,microbiology and food safety and quality, super-cooling of food, pharmaceutical uses…Experimental studies are required in order toexplore complex real-life situations and thepapers covered experimental results to a greatextent.Modelling and predictive tools also were shownto be important, as reflected by the broad ran-ge of fields covered: air circulation and frosting,cooling of foodstuffs, energy efficiency of super-markets, display cabinets, optimization of sys-tems comprising several types of cooling andheating equipment…The IIR intends to hold other successful eventsin this new series. It will also launch new actions:with the FAO and other international organi-zations, with the European Commission; moreo-ver, the IIR is in charge of communicating theresults of FRISBEE, a European research projecton the cold chain.Find out more about the conference:www.icccuk2010.com and purchase the fullproceedings CD-ROM: www.iifiir.org

The 1st IIR Conferenceon Sustainability andthe Cold Chain held in

Cambridge, UK, on March 29-31, 2010 attrac-ted over 150 participants from 22 countries.Academia, public and corporate researchcentres, public agencies and administrations,and the private sector were represented. Thisseamlessly organized event embodied the firstin what is to become a series. For many years, the IIR has responded to gro-wing awareness of environmental issues andtrends in energy costs by holding series ofconferences on specific themes with a viewto enhancing knowledge and technology thatcontribute to the mitigation of environmen-tal impacts and to reducing the energyconsumption of refrigeration equipment. Giventhat the production and transport of food-stuffs definitely have a larger carbon footprintthan refrigeration in the food supply chain,reduction in post-harvest losses is also a majorconcern; preservation of foodstuffs is of cour-se the primary aim of the cold chain, and aworsening in global food security serves as areminder of this essential fact. Thus, the laun-ching of this new series of IIR events occur-red at a time when food, economic andenvironmental issues are in the forefront.The main aim of the cold chain is to preser-ve wholesome, high-quality products for aslong as possible. It begins as soon as possiblefollowing harvest, slaughter or processing (pro-cessed food, health products), and ends withthe consumer. Also, as stated by Robert Heapduring his opening presentation, the first thingto do is to reduce the need for artificial coolingthrough insulation, free cooling, etc… Thus,many aspects have to be taken into account.So, thanks to over 80 papers, lively discussions,3 short courses and 3 technical tours, the

échanger sur des développements scienti-fiques et techniques nouveaux avec desspécialistes de tous les continents et detous les domaines et puiser des idées nou-velles, c’est aussi profiter d’un cadre excep-tionnel, dans une des plus belles villesd’Europe, inscrite au patrimoine mondialde l’UNESCO et commodément reliée aumonde entier. C’est une occasion unique àne pas manquer et c’est la raison pourlaquelle l’IIF n’organisera pas de conféren-ce dans les six mois entourant le Congrès.

Bloquez la date sur votre agenda, préparezvos communications, vos stands, vos partici-pations… et bien sûr consultez désormaisrégulièrement le site du congrès :www.icr2011.org directement ouvia le site de l’IIF : www.iifiir.org

Didier CoulombDirecteur de l’IIF

Le froid pour le développementdurable

23e Congrès Internationaldu Froid

L’Institut International du Froid organisetous les quatre ans, dans un pays différent,un Congrès qui rassemble chercheurs etindustriels du monde entier, œuvrant danstous les types d’usage et de technologies dufroid. Le dernier s’est tenu à Pékin (Chine)en 2007 et a compté plus de 1300 parti-cipants. Le prochain se tiendra à Prague(République tchèque) du 21 au 26 août2011. Le suivant aura lieu à Yokohama(Japon) en 2015.Il est temps maintenant de se préparer auCongrès de Prague. L’appel à communica-tions vient de paraître. Il est encore tempsde parrainer le congrès, pour placer votreentreprise au cœur de l’événement.Participer au Congrès, c’est non seulement

I IR events

ters, pursuant to "F-gas" Regulation commit-ments. EU production of F-gases was 41 647tonnes in 2008 (vs 58 037 tonnes in 2007).EU sales – i.e. the amounts of F-gases placedon the EU market for the first time – were94 043 tonnes in 2008 (250.41 MtCO2-eq)vs 93 126 tonnes in 2007. EU sales in the refri-geration and air-conditioning sector were 64176 tonnes (144.57 MtCO2-eq) in 2008 vs64 600 tonnes in 2007. More:

FiguresThe European Commission recently

published data on fluorinated gases“F-gases” obtained from the reports submit-ted by EU producers, importers and expor-

In the news

cutting-edge event in the series!www.brire.com/thermag4thermag4@brire.com huangjh@brire.cm

The 9th IIR Conference onPhase-Change Materials andSlurries for Refrigeration andAir Conditioning will be held

on September 29-October 1, 2010 in Sofia,Bulgaria. Keep updated and check out dead-lines: www.iceslurry.orgoffice@iceslurry.org

BriefsIIR statutory meetings

The Management Committee of the IIR, thePublications Sub-Committee and the restric-ted Science and Technology Council met inPrague, Czech Republic, on February 22-24,2010 and prepared the 23rd InternationalCongress of Refrigeration with the CzechOrganizers.

New IIR publicationsGuide to

R e f r i g e r a t e dTransport : this newedition is a greatlyextended and fullyupdated version ofthe first edition publi-shed in 1995 andenables readers tocome to grips withthe latest technology

and trends. This book provides all necessarybasic information on the transport of per-ishable foodstuffs, regardless of the mode oftransport - land (road and rail), sea or air. Itdeals in particular with containers and mul-timodal transport. Packed with figures, tablesand illustrations, it completes the IIR's alrea-dy well-known series of publications on topicssuch as frozen food, energy, ammonia, ice slur-ries and cold storage. The English version hasjust been published (price: 40 €). A Frenchversion is to be published in the future.www.iifiir.org/en/details.php?id=1176

Properties ofS e c o n d a r yWorking Fluids*for IndirectS y s t e m s( * S e c o n d a r yRefrigerants orCoolants, HeatTransfer Fluids) : thisexpanded 2nd edi-tion responds torising use of secondary refrigerant systemsused in many applications. It comprises com-

prehensive data on a number of aqueous solu-tions of ethylene and propylene glycol, etha-nol, glycerol, ammonia, chlorides andpotassium salts. An entire chapter is devotedto: freezing point, density, specific heat, ther-mal conductivity, viscosity, boiling point, vapourpressure, surface tension and specific conduc-tance. Vital issues such as toxicity, the envi-ronmental impact and corrosion are covered.Charts make it possible to compare com-mercial products and to perform compari-sons of fluids with respect to energytransport, pressure drop and heat transfer.An entire chapter is devoted to carbon dioxi-de and another chapter deals with ice slurry.Dozens of tables and charts enable readersto obtain data on 14 working fluids.English version only: 40 €. www.iifiir.org/en/details.php?id=1177

News from IIR membersIn 2009, Bitzer Brazil inaugurated the first

CO2Technology & Training Centre for Northand South America. Installed in Sao Paulo, thecentre provides training covering safety, desi-gn, installation, commissioning, servicing andmaintenance. Bitzer Australia has also contri-buted to the development of the CO2 cour-se by providing valuable learning material,refrigeration equipment and technical infor-mation. www.r744.com

Mayekawa has supplied 6 Pascal Air unitsto Fukazawa Reizo’s refrigerated fish ware-house in Yaizu, Japan. The Pascal Air units werelaunched recently and comprise a turbo-typeexpander, a compressor, a primary cooler anda heat recovery heat exchanger. The systemcirculates ultra-low temperature (-60 to -120°C) air as refrigerant, achieves 25% higherefficiency compared with classic vapour-com-pression systems, and reduces CO2 emissionsby up to 50%. Mayekawa intends to marketthe system for semiconductor and medicaland pharmaceutical production manufactu-ring premises. JARN, February 25, 2010. Viewa video: www.mayekawa.com/products/01/

Tecumseh has won the French GoldenDecibel Award for its second-generationSilensys condensation units. The ConseilNational du Bruit (the French national orga-nization dealing with noise issues) presentedthis award in recognition of the noise abate-ment (7 to 12 decibels) achieved by theSilensys range which has other advantages:the models are optimized in terms of ener-gy consumption; have refrigeration capacitiesranging from 700 to 33 800 W and operateat high ambient temperatures (43°C).www.tecumseh-europe.fr

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/fluor/pdf/statistics.pdf

The draft Inventory of USGreenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks:1990-2008 is now available for public com-ment. This report indicates that in 2008,total US greenhouse gas emissions were6946.1 Tg CO2-eq. Overall, total US emis-sions have risen by 14% from 1990 to 2008.

International eventsThe 13th European Cold Chain

Logistics Program held in Amsterdam, theNetherlands, on February 8-9, 2010 attrac-ted 120 participants from 22 countries, and20 presentations were given. www.gcca.org

The 2010 International Symposiumon Next-Generation Air Conditioningand Refrigeration Technology tookplace in Tokyo, Japan, on February 17-19,2010, and attracted 750 participants from13 countries. Obtain the proceedings com-prising 78 papers: http://2010nextacr.com

The ASHRAE Winter meeting took pla-ce in Orlando, Florida, USA, on January 23-27, 2010. The director of the IIR attended thisevent as usual, along with numerous associa-te societies.

The 9th International Specialized ExhibitionCryogen-Expo will be held in Moscow onNovember 9-11, 2010 by Mir-Expo under theauspices of the IIR, the International Academyof Refrigeration and the Ukrainian Associationof Industrial Gas Manufacturers, UA-SIGMA.For full details: www.cryogen-expo.com

Conference updateThe 2nd IIR Workshop on Refrigerant

Charge Reduction in RefrigeratingSystems will be held in Stockholm, Sweden,on June 16-17, 2010. Key themes include: desi-gn of low-refrigerant charge systems; ther-modynamics in compact heat exchangers;design of innovative plants and components;and economic and environmental facets. Thisevent will overlap with an IIR-co-sponsoredevent, Sustainable Refrigeration and HeatPump Technology, enabling participants toattend both events. Register now to keepabreast with this fast-changing technology ! www.imst.upv.es/iir-rcr2010iir.rcr.2010@gmail.comhelene.macchi@cemagref.fr

The 4th InternationalConference on MagneticRefrigeration at RoomTemperature (Thermag IV)

is to take place in Baotou, China, on August23-27, 2010. Don’t miss this fourth

However, emissions decreased by 2.9%from 2007 to 2008. It also presents emis-sions of HFCs and PFCs as ozone-depletingsubstance (ODS) substitutes by the end-usesector. Refrigeration and air-conditioningsector emissions represented 101.7 TgCO2-eq in 2008 vs 99.3 in 2007, 61.7 in2000 and 19.8 in 1995.More: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html

EU electricity consumptionA report issued by the EuropeanCommission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC)shows that energy efficiency measures –such as labelling and minimum energy effi-ciency standards –together with nationalpolicies and incentives are contributing tostabilize electricity consumption in theEuropean Union (EU). For the first time since 1990, final electrici-ty consumption decreased in EU house-holds from 806.5 TWh in 2006 to 800.7TWh in 2007. Cold appliances (refrigera-tors and freezers) have contributed to thisdecrease since the energy efficiency indexof cold appliances sales improved conti-nuously between 1993 and 2007, reaching aremarkable 44% energy improvement over14 years. In 2007, cold appliances were thesecond largest electricity consumer in EUhouseholds (122.0 TWh; 15.3%) represen-ting around 191 million refrigerators and 84million freezers. Electric heating was the lar-gest consumer (18.8%) while air conditio-ning was the 12th largest consumer (17.0TWh; 2.1%). In the tertiary sector, the electricityconsumption was almost constant in 2007(760.4 TWh) in comparison with 2006(757.3 TWh). Whilst indoor lighting in com-mercial buildings was in 2007 the largestelectricity consumer (21.6%), commercialrefrigeration was 4th (65.8 TWh; 8.7%) andair conditioning was 10th (21.6 TWh; 2.8%).http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_091130_newsrelease_electricity_en.pdf

In its January 2010 report, the USDepartment of Agriculture mentions thatthe general refrigerated storage capaci-ty in the US totaled 107 million gross m3

in October 2009, an increase of 14% fromOctober 2007. Usable refrigerated space ingeneral storage facilities was 88 million m3.Apple and pear storage totaled 18 milliongross m3, down 8% from October 2007. http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CapaRefrWa/CapaRefrWa-01-28-2010.pdf

Trends: compressorsGlobal compressor sales

JARN has published an extensive overviewof compressor markets in 2009. On thewhole, the compressor market has sufferedfrom the decrease in the air-conditioningmarket (-2.9% compared with 2008). Salesof rotary compressors reached 6.3 million

in November 2009, up 92%compared with November2008. Most AC compressorsare rotary, however scrollcompressors are penetratingthe market, thanks to theincrease in sales of VRF units:13 million scroll compressorswere sold in 2009, i.e. anincrease of 5% compared

with 2008. The market for scroll compres-sors in refrigeration is also growing. Screwcompressors are mainly used in medium-and high-capacity AC systems (2/3rds ofthem are for AC systems) and China isincreasingly the fastest growing market andlargest production base in the world.Centrifugal compressors, exclusively usedfor chiller applications, are dominated by USmanufacturers. Expanding demand in Asiahas caused rapid growth in the sector overrecent years. However in Japan, domesticsales of centrifugal compressors havedecreased considerably, dropping to 400units in 2009. Reciprocating compressorsare still widely used in both air conditioningand refrigeration. Despite their decrease inthe AC market, they are still the mainstreamcompressor on the refrigeration market,domestic refrigeration included.

Compressors and refrigerantsRecent trends in refrigerants are outlined inthe JARN overview: R410A is graduallyincreasing in rotary compressors, which tra-ditionally use R22. Most scroll compressorsfor air-conditioning units also still use R22even though the use of natural refrigerantsis gradually growing, or R404A, e.g. for free-zing or refrigeration, and R410A, in the US.The main refrigerant in the centrifugal seg-ment is R134a (70% of manufactured com-pressors) even though a few manufacturersstill produce R123 units and some, such asEbara, produce R245fa units. A variety ofrefrigerants is used in reciprocating com-pressors: for household refrigerator com-pressors, 90-95% units manufactured inEurope use hydrocarbon refrigerants, while90% of the units produced in the US useR134a. The commercial refrigeration marketis still dominated by R134a and R404A eventhough the use of natural refrigerants suchas HCs and CO2 is gradually increasing.JARN, February 25, 2010

BriefsFrozen vegetables more nutritious

than fresh?According to a study conducted by theInstitute of Food Research (UK) on behalfof frozen food giant Birds Eye, frozen vege-tables can be more nutritious than suppo-sedly fresh supermarket produce. Fresh vegetables can lose up to 45% ofimportant nutrients by the time they reachthe dinner table. 80% of shoppers believethe fresh vegetables sold in supermarketsare less than 4 days old. In fact, they can beup to 9 days old when they arrive at thesupermarket, and remain on the shelf for afurther 4 days. Including the time thesevegetables are stored at home before beingeaten, these “fresh” items can be over 16days old. The study found that green beanscan lose on average 45% of nutrients over atime interval of 11-15 days from field toplate, broccoli and cauliflower 25% (6-16days), garden peas 15% (8-10 days), and car-rots 10% (9-10 days). By contrast, produce frozen close to thepoint of harvest maintains a higher level ofmany vitamins and nutrients. The keynutrients the vegetables contain are vitaminC and glucosinates, which are said to blockthe development of cancer. www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1255606/Why-frozen-vegetables-fre-sher-fresh.html#ixzz0jfx2gsWy

Fridges used as monitoring toolsSensor-equipped domestic refrigerators arefound to be a useful means of improving andprotecting the well-being of senior citizensliving on their own. Thanks to CarlstonUniversity’s TAFETA Smart Systems forHealth, residents in Ottawa CommunityHousing senior’s building are testing a“smart talking fridge” with sensors capableof reminding them when a fridge door hasbeen left open too long for instance. Moreimportantly, the sensors can send warningsignals to external monitoring staff if thedoor hasn’t been used for too long or in thecase of any other irregular patterns. Thegoal of the programme is to develop smarttechnologies to help seniors live in theirown homes and after collecting data for acouple of weeks, other tests will be conduc-ted with sensors on mats, beds andcouches. Other studies have also shownthat refrigerator use was a valid indicationof the eating habits of elderly people. Thelate Dr Charles-Henri Rapin, a French geria-trist, had published an article in July 2008, InFrigo Veritas, encouraging such practices.The study showed that out of 13 seniorowners of “empty” fridges, 5 were hospita-lized within the following month. www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/01/21/12562531.html w w w . l e m o n d e . f r / a u j o u r d - h u i /article/2009/12/15/la-denutrition-un-m a l - q u i - g u e t t e - l e s - p e r s o n n e s -agees_1280913_3238.html

The Earth’s ozone hole is slowly men-ding: this is considered a big victory forenvironmental policy makers. But in a newreport, scientists say there is a downside: itsrepair may contribute to global warming. Asit happens, the hole led to the formation ofmoist, brighter-than-usual clouds that shiel-ded the Antarctic region from the warminginduced by greenhouse gas emissions overthe last two decades, Leeds scientists repor-ted in a recent issue of GeophysicalResearch Letters. According to this publica-tion, the recovery of the hole will reversethis shielding effect and accelerate warmingin certain parts of the SouthernHemisphere. New York Times, January 10, 2010

The Air-Conditioning and RefrigerationTechnology Institute (ARTI) has opened bid-ding for a new research project to establisha standardized methodology to calculatethe Life Cycle Climate Performance(LCCP) for stationary heating, ventilation,air-conditioning and refrigerating equip-ment. LCCP is a concept that identifies allglobal warming impacts due to the use of aproduct throughout its lifetime, includingboth the direct effect of refrigerants andblowing agent emissions from the productand the indirect effect of CO2 emissionsrelated to the energy consumption of theproduct. The results will provide a basis forengineers and policy makers to make decisionson alternative competing technologies.www.ahrinet.org/ARI/util/showdoc.aspx?doc=1747

The UNEP HCFC phase-out and mobileair-conditioning project has two compo-nents:- "JumpStart" project to encourage develo-ping countries to expedite their compliance

Danfoss Performer scroll compressor

with the HCFC phase-out obligations andto adopt environmentally friendly alterna-tives to HCFCs.- Reducing car emissions in China andIndia's Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) sec-tor: next generation MAC technology sup-port. The project runs over 2009-2010 and isfunded by the European Commission. www.unep.fr/ozonaction/topics/hcfc_jumpstart.htm

Out of the ordinaryA group of New Zealand scientists has

developed a new therapeutic to help cancerpatients recover from chemotherapy.Development of the ice cream, namedReCharge, began 8 years ago with the for-mation of LactoPharma, a collaborativeresearch venture between the University ofAuckland, the New Zealand government,and the country’s largest dairy company,Fonterra Ltd. One milk protein in particular,lactoferrin, has been shown to inhibittumour growth, promote intestinal cellgrowth, and regulate immune response inthe intestine. The scientists reasoned itcould thus help patients receiving chemo-therapy, which can damage normal cells thatmultiply quickly, such as infection-fightingneutrophils, and intestinal cells. A lipid frac-tion found in milk exerts similar effects. Thescientists worked with Fonterra to create 6tons of strawberry-flavoured ReCharge.They then made a placebo ice cream withthe same taste, colour, and calorie count.ReCharge started its Phase II clinical trial inOctober 2009, in which 200 prechemothe-rapy cancer patients ate 100 g of ReChargeor the placebo ice cream each day. Freezingensures that the bioactive ingredientsremain stable. w w w . t h e - s c i e n t i s t . c o m /article/display/57167/#ixzz0jr9mhjWA

A cat has survived despite being trappedfor at least a month in a frozen food ware-house which operates at -33°C. Frosty, asthe cat has been appropriately named, hadlost one ear and vets had to amputate hisother ear and his tail after the rescue.Warehouse staff had been unable to catchthe cat despite a number of sightings, butnow he is in the safe hands of Leicester’sAnimal Centre.www.animalfriends.org

Optical refrigerationA team in New Mexico University has

created the first-ever optical cryocoolerthat could be applied to airborne and spa-

ceborne sensors. It uses optical refrigera-tion which could enable miniaturization, analternative to bulky mechanical cryocoo-lers.The principle underlying optical refrigerationmay sound paradoxical: to lower the tempe-rature by shining laser light on it. But thematerials used are highly fluorescent: afterthe laser radiation the heat is carried awayfrom the material via the fluorescence. Theearliest experiments at Los Alamos, NewMexico, back in 1995, led to about 1 degreecooling. Thanks to subsequent improvements,an absolute temperature of 208 K (–65°C)was reached. But more recent improvementsled to a new milestone of 155 K (-118°C).Several factors contributed to this success,such as the use of extremely pure materialsand a better insight into the physics of lumi-nescent crystals. Pure crystals containingytterbium ions were used for example.Ytterbium is an element from a group knownas the rare earths that are extremely efficientin their fluorescence essential for optical refri-geration. Further developments may lead toapplications in cooling superconducting elec-tronics, infrared and gamma-ray sensors. Manyother applications requiring miniaturizedcryocoolers could benefit from this techno-logy.An alternative recent development of lasercooling (initially proposed in 1978 by resear-chers from New York and Helsinki) was deve-loped in the University of Bonn. It impliedchanging the orbit of electrons thanks to laserlight. In order to stay on a higher orbit, theelectrons required thermal energy.Researchers from Bonn then heated a mix-ture of argon gas with traces of rubidium to350°C at a pressure of 230 bars. Under tho-se conditions, the gas mixture cooled downby almost 70°C within several seconds. It ishoped this technology could ultimately leadto the creation of mini fridges. www.physorg.com

Refrigeration’s contribution to CCS

Led by IFP (France), the European resear-ch project Cocate – which brings together8 other research and industrial partnersworldwide for a budget of 4.5 million € –tackles the problems of rolling out a sharedtransportation infrastructure capable ofconnecting geological storage sites withvarious medium size CO2-emitting indus-trial facilities located within close geogra-phical proximity. While major industrial faci-lities can be fitted with their own CO2 cap-ture and transport installations, this doesnot apply to units that emit less CO2 andfor which the investment required would beuneconomic. They must pool the CO2 cap-ture and transportation systems in order tocut costs and to make carbon captureand storage (CCS) an affordable techno-logy. The Le Havre region and the Port ofRotterdam have been selected as test sitesfor the research work. The transportationinfrastructure being considered includestwo types of network: a local low-pressurenetwork to collect the flue gases emitted byvarious Le Havre industrial companies andtransport it to various capture centres; anda high-pressure network to transport thecaptured CO2 to the Port of Rotterdam, forstorage in depleted North Sea oil and gasfields.Regarding CO2 transport, various scenarios

using refrigeration technologies will beconsidered: pipeline transport (CO2 insupercritical state above 74 bars) or trans-port by ship (CO2 transported in refrigera-ted liquid form [-50°C, 7 bar or -30°C, 15bar]). Refrigeration, which is also used inCO2 capture technologies (seeNewsletterof the IIR No. 35), is to play animportant role in CCS which, according toIPCC, could "contribute 15–55% to thecumulative climate change mitigation effortworldwide until 2100".www.ifp.com/actualites/communiques-de-presse/lancement-du-projet-euro-peen-cocate www.ipcc.ch/pdf/special-reports/srccs/srccs_wholereport.pdf

Cryogenics applicationsCryogenic system to recover volati-

le organic compounds In 2007, in France alone 12 000 tonnes ofvolatile organic compounds (VOCs) werereleased from service stations, i.e. 1% of allsuch emissions in France. VOCs from servi-ce stations are detrimental to health and theenvironment and increasingly regulated.Covaltech, a small company based in Lyons,France, addressed this problem with the sup-port of the Institut Français du Petrole (IFP)and designed a system recovering the vapourthanks to cryogenic temperatures (-40°C),condensing them into liquid form beforeapplying a process separating water from thepetrol per se which can then be re-used. Thus2.7-3.5 l/1000 l are recovered, which allowsfor pay off the 40 000 € cost of the systemover 36 months, according to the company.The other major advantage is that proces-sing takes place on site and operates duringfilling of the station tanks and of the cars asthe nozzles are equipped with pumps. Thecomplete device comprises an electric cryo-genic unit outside the stations’ dangerouslyflammable zones and a gas-condensation unitequipped with heat exchangers. The deviceobtained the 2nd prize for innovations lin-ked to the oil industry in 2007 and 5 servi-ce stations have already acquired it. www.ademe.fr/htdocs/publications/lettre/av33/entreprises.htm

India is developing semi-cryogenic pro-pulsion technology using kerosene as a pro-pellant to enhance its capability to launchsatellites in the 6-tonne class. The technolo-gy utilizes liquid oxygen and aviation-gradekerosene instead of liquid hydrogen for cryo-genic propulsion. The new technology willbring down costs compared with cryogenictechnology. Semi-cryogenic propulsion willenable India's GSLV rockets to launch 6-ton-ne satellites, instead of the currently launched2.2-tonne models. www.aerospace-technology.com/news/news71138.html

Spar Netherlands is implementing CO2refrigerated transport unitsThe contract was awarded following a suc-cessful testing period during which ThermoKing’s innovative CryoTech CO2 cooling unitswere tested for operational and environmen-tal performance. Spar has already begun usingthe innovative technology and expects that by2012, 80% and by 2015 100% of its trailers willhave adopted CryoTech refrigeration techno-logy. The ground-breaking CryoTech CT-15cryogenic trailer units use recycled liquid CO2as a coolant in an open loop system to achie-

Courtesy of LactoPharma

Technology

ve a significant reduc-tion in emissions andimproved performancecompared to diesel. Thenew units will achievesavings of 160 000 l ofdiesel per year, i.e. aCO2 emissions reduc-tion of about 427 000kg (equivalent to theemissions of 90 cars).www.thermoking.com http://grocerytrader.co.uk

CO2 supermarketsDesigned as Tesco’s first zero-carbon

store, the new store at Ramsey,Cambridgeshire, UK, is completely HFC-free. The supermarket is hence using naturalrefrigerants CO2 and hydrocarbons throu-ghout its refrigerators, freezers, heating,ventilation and air-conditioning systems inthe store and petrol kiosk. The transcritical CO2 system was suppliedby Star Refrigeration. Tesco and Star estima-te that standardization of the system willsave 22% on the rollout costs.At a side event during the 1st IIRInternational Conference on Sustainabilityand the Cold Chain held in Cambridge inMarch 2010, interested delegates were ableto examine the CO2 system at a zero car-bon supermarket.The system offers many benefits, including:servicing can be carried out without decan-ting any refrigerant; compressors are fullyprotected against expansion valve failure;the system will run on reduced charge inthe event of exceeding design pressure; 10%energy savings from compressors running athigher suction.www.r744.com

Sainsbury’s has doubled the size of itssupermarket in Durham, UK, and has cutenergy consumption by 10%. The store willbe “carbon negative” thanks to a number ortechnologies including ground-breakingCO2 refrigeration technology and on-siterenewable power generation. The energy efficiency features and rene-wable energy generation will enable thecarbon footprint of the store to be neutra-lized within a mere 2 years. This is the firstSainsbury’s extension to use CO2 refrigera-tion, and the chain’s CEO has announcedthe company’s intention to switch to CO2refrigeration in all stores by 2030. By 2019,new legislation is expected to ensure thatall new commercial developments in theUK will have to be zero carbon.www.r744.com

CAREL and the French hypermarketchain Carrefour have joined forces todevelop the first subcritical CO2 plant in asupermarket in Turkey. The Istanbul installa-tion uses a cascade system that supplies thelow-temperature units with R744. To fur-ther enhance energy savings, CAREL imple-mented floating suction pressure for allcompressor racks as well as showcase anti-sweat modulation relay, heat recovery onthe compressor rack and a smart/skipdefrost function. www.r744.com

BriefsChip cooling innovations

IBM researchers demonstrated a prototype

that integrates a com-puter chip coolingsystem into 3-dimen-sional stacks by pipingwater directly between each layer in a chipstack. These so-called 3D chip stacks, whichtake chips and memory devices that tradi-tionally sit side-by-side on a silicone waferand instead stacks them on top of one ano-ther, presents a very promising approach toenhancing chip performance beyond its pre-dicted limits. 3D chip stacks would have anaggregated heat dissipation of about 1 kW,10 times greater than the heat generated bya hotplate, within an area of just 4 cm2 anda thickness of only 1 mm. Each layer alsoposes an additional barrier to heat removal,which is vital to electronic efficiency. IBMresearchers piped water into cooling struc-tures as thin as a human hair (50 microns)between the individual chip layers in orderto remove the heat at the source. Theywere able to demonstrate a cooling perfor-mance of up to 180 W/cm2 per layer with atypical footprint of 4 cm2. Climate ControlNews, March 2010

Thermoacoustics for air conditioningThe Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), isdeveloping a new form of refrigeration forcooling at room temperature, based onthermoacoustics, which was previously usedonly for cryogenic temperatures. The tech-nology PARC developed is claimed todouble the efficiency of the best currentresidential and commercial air-conditioningand refrigeration systems.The principle uses the temperature oscilla-tions present in sound waves. In this case,gases are inserted into a tube filled withmesh membranes called regenerators. Asound wave passing through the devicecauses a low-pressure/low-temperatu-re/high-pressure/high-temperature gradientto form. Heat exchangers at each end reco-ver the thermal energy which can then beexploited. This novel acoustic power-reco-very technique is claimed to achieve a COPof 9, i.e. more than double that of the bestcurrent compression systems. PARCintends to present a full-scale demonstra-tion unit within a year. According to PARC,this technology could reduce powerconsumption required for cooling in theUSA by 13%.www.environmental-expert.com

Thermal storage in public buildingsin CaliforniaEnergy storage equipment is to be installedin 28 city buildings and 250 local businessesas part of a partnership between GlendaleWater & Power and Ice Energy. The USD4.25 million programme will install 1.5 MWof energy storage and marks the initial rol-lout of the ice storage company’s 53 MWproject with members of the SouthernCalifornia Public Power Authority. The ener-gy storage capacity will have the potentialto shift 64 GWh of electrical consumption.Under the initial phase of the programme,conventional air-conditioning units at 28Glendale city facilities will be replaced withnewer thermal-storage equipped units. Inaddition, the programme will fund the ins-tallation of similar systems for over 250local businesses. www.ice-energy.com

Smart fridges helping to cool theplanet ?Over 3000 npower customers are takingpart in first large-scale UK trial of smart

grid enabled fridges. The trial will run throu-ghout 2010 and is designed to assess theeffectiveness of smart fridge technologycapable of cutting power use from fridgefreezers during periods of peak demand.Announced on the same day as the govern-ment released a major new study into theviability of smart grid technologies, the trialwill see customers supplied with dynamicdemand fridges and fridge freezers for free.This is said to be the world’s first residen-tial test of the technology. The fridges aredesigned to automatically modify theirpower consumption in response to second-by-second changes in the balance betweensupply and demand on the grid. The trial isbeing run by npower, the white goodsmanufacturer Indesit and smart grid tech-nology specialist RLtec. "Smart fridges"could reduce the UK's CO2 emissions by 2million tonnes and cut grid balancing costsby GBP 220 m a year. The companies claimthat the fridges' performance will not beaffected by the technology as the appliancesare never completely switched off. Instead,each fridge acts like a battery that storesexcess power it does not need and thenallows the grid to draw on it at times ofpeak demand. Each fridge will be monitoredin real time by a data collection system,which will feed back to researchers. www.businessgreen.com/2254341

Purdue University will create a USD23.5 million Center for HighPerformance Buildings to design systemsfor future structures that are more environ-mentally and user friendly, energy efficient,and safe. The project is funded by the USCommerce Department's National Instituteof Standards and Technology (NIST) andprivate donors. In the USA, buildings are responsible forroughly 40% of energy use, 71% of electrici-ty consumption and 38% of CO2 emissions.Americans typically spend more than 90%of their time indoors, while 20 to 30% ofoccupants have health problems related toindoor environments, according to a pro-ject report prepared by Purdue and NIST.The economic impact related to health andlost productivity caused by poor indoorenvironments is estimated to be about USD200 billion per year in the US. A special feature of the new facility will bea "living laboratory," a working office wingdesigned with replaceable modular ele-ments related to communications, electro-nic controls and equipment; moveable walls,doors and windows; a reconfigurable airdistribution and lighting system; and instru-mentation to monitor systems and occu-pants. A "perception-based engineering" lab in thenew building will be able to simulate a widespan of building environments. Lighting,acoustic environment, air quality, tempera-ture, humidity, airflow and vibration will becontrolled independently. www.purdue.edu

Cool jobCooling Burj Dubai, the world’s tallestbuilding is not without its challenges. Thehuge cooling plant designed by ETA M&E’sdistrict cooling division supplies chilledwater for the Burj Dubai, Dubai Mall andtwo 5-star hotels. Inside the Burj Dubai,there are heat exchangers at three differentelevations with independent primary andsecondary chilled water pump sets for deli-vering the chilled water and circulating it

I IR AgendaIIR conferences

IIR-co-sponsored conferences2010

Antalya – Turkey - May 9-12Clima 2010 - 10th REHVA World CongressBurcak Melekoglu: info@clima2010.orghttp://www.clima2010.org/Commissions: B2, E1, E2

Tokyo – Japan - June 7-95th Asian Conference on Refrigeration and AirConditioning - ACRA 2010Prof. Masafumi Katsuta: acra2010@jsrae.or.jpProf. Noburu Kagawa: kagawa@nda.ac.jphttp://www.jsrae.or.jp/acra2010/index.html Commissions: B2, E1 with A1, B1, C2, E2

Stockholm – Sweden - June 13-16Sustainable Refrigeration and Heat Pump TechnologyBjörn Palm: info@sustainablerefrigeration.orgFax: +46 8 20 4161 http://www.sustainablerefrigeration.orgCommissions: B1, B2, E2

West Lafayette – United States - July 12-1513th International Refrigeration and AirConditioning Conference at PurdueVirginia (Ginny) Freeman: herlconf@ecn.purdue.eduFax: +1 (765) 494-0787 https://engineering.purdue.edu/Herrick/EventsCommissions: B1, B2, E1, E2

West Lafayette – United States - July 12-1520th International Compressor EngineeringConference at PurdueVirginia (Ginny) Freeman: herlconf@ecn.purdue.eduFax: +1 (765) 494-0787 https://engineering.purdue.edu/Herrick/EventsCommissions: B1, B2, E1

West Lafayette – United States - July 12-151st International High-Performance & GreenBuildings Conference at PurdueVirginia (Ginny) Freeman: herlconf@ecn.purdue.eduFax: +1 (765) 4940567http://www.engineering.purdue.edu/Herrick/eventsCommissions: B1, B2, E1,E2

Shanghai, – China - August 24-279th International Conference on SustainableEnergy Technologies (SET 2010)Secretariat: secretariat@set2010.orghttp://www.set2010.orgCommissions: B1, B2 with E1,E2

Opatija, – Croatia - October 19-22International Congress on Energy and theEnvironment 2010 + Heat Transfer in Components& Systems for Sustainable Energy TechnologiesProf. Bernard Frankovic: hsse@riteh.hrFax: +385 51651506http://www.hsse.hrCommissions: B1, B2, C2, E1,E2

Full agenda: www.iifiir.org

International Institute of RefrigerationInstitut International du Froid177, bd Malesherbes - 75017 Paris, FranceTel.: 33 (0)1 42 27 32 35 - Fax: 33 (0)1 47 63 17 98 E-mail: iif-iir@iifiir.orgWeb site: www.iifiir.orgThe Newsletter of the IIR is a quarterly publication of the IIRManaging Editor: Didier CoulombEditor: Jean-Luc DupontEditorial assistants: Susan Phalippou Mitchell,Gerard Vidal, Cornelia Keizer, Thomas MichineauGraphic Design: Arobase Communication

2011 April

14-16OhridMacedonia (FYROM)

Ammonia Refrigeration Technology

Prof. Risto Ciconkov: ristoci@ukim.edu.mkhttp://www.mf.edu.mk

IIR ConferenceB1, B2, D1

August21-26

PragueCzech Republic

23�� IIR International Congress ofRefrigeration: Refrigeration for SustainableDevelopment

Ladislas Cervinka: icaris@icaris.czhttp://www.icr2011.org

IIR CongressAll Commissions

2010

April 26-29

BratislavaSlovak Republic

Cryogenics 2010

Romana Kocova: Romana@icaris.czVaclav Chrz: Vaclav.Chrz@chart-ind.comFax: +420 266 312 113 http://www.icaris.cz/conf/Cryogenics2010

IIR ConferenceA1, A2, C1

June 16-17

StockholmSweden

2nd IIR Workshop on Refrigerant ChargeReduction in Refrigerating Systems

Björn Palm: iir.rcr.2010@gmail.comHélène Macchi Tejeda: helene.macchi@cemagref.frFax: +46 8 20 4161 - http://www.imst.upv.es/iir-rcr2010

IIR WorkshopB1, B2, D1, D2, E1, E2

through air-handling and fan coil units instal-led on different floors to achieve air condi-tioning. The chillers installed on the 155thand 159th floors are said to be the highestair-cooled chillers in the world. Accordingto ETA M&E, the tou-ghest challenge inmeeting the coolingrequirements is toensure that the chilledwater piping networkinside is capable ofwithstanding extraor-dinarily high hydraulicpressures, besides thecompatibility of pumpsets and other specialheavy-duty accesso-ries. http://gulfnews.com/news

Opening in 2011, the Qatar NationalConvention Centre(QNCC) boasts iconicdesign and cutting edgefacilities in a world-firstgreen-technology venue.QNCC is the first of itskind being built to thegold certification of USGreen Building Council’sLeadership in Energy andEnvironment Design(LEED). With 40 000 m²

of exhibition space, conference facilities forup to 4000 delegates and banquet facilities

for 10 000, the QNCC will be a new globalhub for events. Technology includes a solararray providing 12.5% of the centre’s power,RFID used to identify delegates who speak,a management system that precisely controlsair conditioning, lighting and power use, withsystems turned on and off automaticallyaccording to room use.www.qatarconvention.com/home.aspx www.oryxinflightmagazine.com/middle-east/qatar-nat ional-convent ion-centre.html

Refrigerated windmill provides drin-king waterA windmill equipped with a small coolingsystem produces up to 200 litres of drinkingwater/day. Collecting moisture from windwas already applied in Chile for instance,but by adding the small cooling device, itwas possible for Marc Parent, the founderof Eole Water, a company based in theSouth of France, to increase the output toup to 200 litres daily according to windspeed and temperature.The windmill simply uses collectors situatedin the blades to collect the moisture contai-ned in the air which is then condensedthanks to the cooling device. The system isa small prototype but a larger mill would beexpected to provide up to 1000 litres ofdrinking water/day, enough for a 25-personcommunity. Like all windmills, it also produces electrici-ty, i.e. 25% more than the amount it needsto operate; it exerts virtually no environ-

mental impact and the water collecting sys-tem may also be operated using solar ener-gy, a generator or the power grid if thewind drops.A portable kit model could provide powerand water to disaster victims. Climapresse, November-December 2009

August 23-27

BaotouChina

4th International Conference on MagneticRefrigeration at Room Temperature (Thermag IV)

Organizers: thermag4@brire.comOrganizers: huangjh@brire.cmFax: +86 472 5152008 - http://www.brire.com/thermag4

IIR ConferenceA1, B2, E2

September29October 01

SofiaBulgaria

9th IIR Conference on Phase-Change Materials andSlurries for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Kostadin Fikiin: agf@tu-sofia.bgLaurence Fournaison: laurence.fournaison@cemagref.frFax: (+359 2) 868 67 19 - http://www.tu-sofia.bg

IIR ConferenceB1, B2, D1

April6-8

PaduaItaly

Sources/Sinks alternative to outside Air forHeat Pump & AC Techniques + Int'l SorptionHeat Pump Conference (ISHPC11)

Renato Lazzarin: info@aicarr.orgFax: +39 02 67479262http://www.aicarr.org

IIR ConferenceE1,E2