GREEN MATTERS
Hydrocarbons mean double gain for green
Low global warming potential and better energy efficiency make hydrocarbons the best option when considering sustainable refrigeration says Jozef Sedliak, research and development manager at Nidec Global Appliance.
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umming up the last 11 years, from 2010 to 2021, the evolution in the mix of Embraco compressors models sold in the world, gradually migrating from hydro- fluorocarbons (HFCs) to natural refrigerants, has allowed
the potential emissions saving of 1,568,025 tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2
e) from being released in the atmosphere.
That is the same as taking off the streets 341,000 cars for a year, according to the online calculator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The calculation considers the migration from the two
main types of HFCs in refrigeration equipment: ■ From R404A, the main refrigerant gas used in commer- cial refrigeration for decades, with a global warming potential (GWP) of 3,920, to R290, with a GWP of 3.
■ From R134a, used in residential refrigeration (with GWP of 1,430), to R600a (GWP of also 3).
The share of Embraco sold compressors running on natural refrigerants (hydrocarbons) has evolved from 40% in 2010 to 57% in the projections for 2021. The change has accelerated pace in the last few years. It was 49% in 2019, meaning an increase of 8 percentage points in two years. The subject of CO2
emissions is being discussed more
intensely this year during the Climate Leaders Summit, in April, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), scheduled to next November. And numbers like the ones above give us a reference of the kind of contribution that the refrigeration industry can promote. This industry is essential to the preservation of food, beverages, medicine, vaccines, lab samples and the list about its importance to mankind goes on and on. It means quality of life, comfort and health. But, on the other hand, it is responsible for approximately 10% of global CO2
emissions, according to some estimates researched by
Birmingham University, in a study about clean cold. The study also says that 'around 20%-25% of CO2
equivalent emissions from the cooling sector are produced by leaks of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant gases (‘F-gases’)'. The other 75% of the cooling sector’s emissions, still according to the same study, comes from energy consumption.
38 June 2021 For a cooler world
The refrigeration industry can help the world to get cooler in two ways: by offering cooling equipment and by offsetting its own impact on the environment. As more people conquer access to cooling, which is good for their health and wellbeing, more we need to work to reduce each refrigeration equipment’s emissions. And we have a goal and a timeline to contribute to: the Paris Agreement’s goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5, compared to pre- industrial levels. To achieve this, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. In addition to that, there are also global and regional treaties and regulations focused exclusively on the reduction of HFCs emissions. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which entered into force in January 2019, invites countries to gradually reduce the use of HFCs until 2047. There is also the F-Gas regulation, in the European Union, which has been gradually limiting the use of HFCs since 2006, having been edited in 2015. It started with residential refrigeration, in the 2000s, making hydrocarbon R600a to be widely adopted in the region. The next round of changes determined by this regulation will come in 2022, when most of the new commercial refrigeration equipment will have to use only refrigerants with GWP lower than 150 from January on, which is less than a year’s distance from now.
Embracing the challenge from two perspectives At Nidec Global Appliance, holder of the refrigeration solutions brand Embraco, we embraced the challenge by the two perspectives: reduction of HFCs and increase in energy efficiency. In that way we can work towards reducing both direct and indirect CO2
emissions. Direct
are the emissions generated by refrigerant leaks or the incorrect final disposal of the compressor and indirect are the emissions generated in the process of producing the energy that will be consumed by refrigeration equipment. From a climate perspective, any saving in energy consumption is very relevant, considering that, in 2016,
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