CO2
Cascade Refrigerant
In installation where CO2 is used as refrigerant, it is either used in subcritical conditions, below 30°C, in cascade with another refrigerant, or in transcritical conditions, above 30°C, as single refrigerant.Advantages of « cascade » (with subcritical CO2) systems:
Cool products or a room down to -50°C , that is possible ! For CO2 triple point is of -54.5°C, CO2 can be used to cool down products or a room down to – 50°C. Use of CO2 in cascade with another refrigerant is especially suitable with applications where products shall be cooled below -30°C. This concept is also relevant for R22 retrofit applications at low temperature.Best energy efficiency: Combination of two compression cycles allows to operate each loop at lower compression rates and to optimise energy efficiency.
Guaranteed hygiene and safety conditions: CO2 is a non toxic, non flammable refrigerant. Moreover it is of food quality grade: in case it gets in contact with food, the products are not damaged and remain suitable for consumption.
Installation cost reduction Thanks to its thermo-physical properties compared to another refrigerant, the required flow rate is lower and the compressor is much smaller than with an HFC.
Safety and environment preservation: the HFC load is limited to the high pressure side of the cascade.
Various applications : Axima Refrigeration has alereadly implemented several installations with this technology for frozen products cold store, coffee freeze drying, seafood products transformation,…
Today, with 5 years experience and about 20 installations in Europe using CO2 as refrigerant, Axima Refrigeration certainly is the ideal partner to look for the most suitable solution for your application and environment. Our department “Service and industrial applications” is at your service to introduce you this technology in more details, organise a visit on a running plant, and provide you our list of references.
