IIF Lettre N°22

Newsletter
No. 2 2
May 2005
Editorial
Renewal of generations has to take place in all
societies and the ability to attract young people
to certain professions must be a major concern
in companies and public organizations. This is
particularly true in the refrigeration sector, and
of course within the International Institute of
Refrigeration.
This is why the IIR’s Strategic Planning
Committee decided to set up a Task Force on
Young People last year; this group’s task was to
propose various ways of attracting more young
people to the IIR. Eckhard Groll very efficiently
headed this group also comprising David
Tanner, Ruzhu Wang, Felix Ziegler and
myself. The group’s proposals were put to the
Management Committee which adopted the following:
- young people’s prizes to be awarded to persons
under 30 years of age at IIR conferences: these
prizes will entail private membership of the IIR
for 1 year free of charge — prizewinners will
benefit from all IIR member benefits for 1 year ;
- the setting up of a young persons’ membership
fee of 15 euros for private members of the IIR
under 25 years of age;
- lower conference registration fees for students in
general and student members of the IIR in particular;
- the setting up of a junior commission-member
category for all of the IIR’s 10 scientific and technical commissions; each junior commission member
is to have a senior commission-member mentor.
The latter measure, which requires no change to
the statutes of the IIR, should enable the IIR to
renew its expert network (which constitutes a
key asset) more readily.
Other measures promoting the inclusion of
young people within the IIR network may be
decided on at a later date.I hope that these measures
will enable greater numbers of young people to
join the refrigeration sector and enable the IIR
to benefit from their enthusiasm.
Didier Coulomb
Director of the IIR
International Institute of Refrigeration
Institut International du Froid
IIR focus
IIR committee meetings in
Cambridge
The Management Committee of the
IIR met in Cambridge (UK) on March 19,
2005. It was invited by the UK Institute of
Refrigeration and Cambridge Refrigeration
Technology (CRT), thanks to Robert Heap.
The main points discussed during were:
• the findings of the Task Force on Young
People and decisions concerning prices,the
status of young people and the creation of
junior commission members were taken;
• the conclusions of the audit of the
Information Resources Department. The
Management Committee agreed with the
proposals of the Director of the IIR: the
creation of a new Scientific and Technical
Information Department (STID) headed by
Jean-Luc Dupont, merging the former
Information Resources Department and
Jean-Luc Dupont’s former activities (Web
site, Newsletter, publications, links with
commission members…), in order to end
the isolation of the former department and
to better use the potential of it for all the
publications of the IIR; the recruitment of
a refrigeration engineer familiar with information technology in the STID; the review
Le renouvellement des générations est une nécessité dans
toute société et l’attrait pour les jeunes de
certaines professions doit être une préoccupation
constante des entreprises et des organismes publics.
C’est en particulier vrai dans le secteur du froid, et bien
sûr au sein même de l’Institut International du Froid.
Le Comité du Plan Stratégique a de ce fait décidé
l’an dernier la création d’un groupe de travail chargé
de proposer diverses mesures pour attirer davantage
de jeunes dans l’IIF. Eckhard Groll a présidé ce
groupe avec une grande efficacité, avec la participation
de David Tanner, Ruzhu Wang, Felix Ziegler et
moi-même.Les propositions du groupe ont été soumises au
Comité de Direction de l’IIF qui a d’ores et déjà retenu:
- l’incitation à l’attribution de prix aux jeunes de
moins de 30 ans dans les différentes conférences de
l’IIF, consistant notamment en l’octroi du titre de
membre individuel de l’IIF et des services afférents pour
une durée d’un an ;
- la création d’un tarif de 15 euros pour les membres
individuels de moins de 25 ans ;
of the periodicals currently received in order
to develop strategy with respect to them, to
add more economic data on refrigeration and
“grey literature”; to consult a lawyer
specialized in information resources;to move
to an electronic Bulletin at the end of the year;
to renew the computer system.
On March 18, two other meetings took
place: the Publications Sub-Committee
(PSC) meeting and the meeting of the
representatives of the Science and
Technology Council to the Management
Committee (STC-MC).
Mr and Mrs Heap, hosts of the meetings
Main decisions taken by the PSC were:
writing of an IIR guide on energy savings
in refrigeration, revision of the book entitled
Ammonia as a refrigerant (with the objective
of preparing such guides for each natural
refrigerant) and revision of the IIR Guide to
Refrigerated Transport;
- des réductions pour les frais d’inscription aux
conférences de l’IIF pour les étudiants et plus
particulièrement pour les étudiants membres de l’IIF ;
- la création d’un statut de membre junior dans les
10 commissions scientifiques et techniques de l’IIF,
sous le parrainage d’un membre de commission
«senior».
Cette dernière mesure, sans changer les statuts de
l’IIF, devrait lui permettre de renouveler plus
aisément l’ensemble de ses experts qui
constituent la richesse de son réseau.
D’autres mesures dans le même sens pourront
éventuellement être prises ultérieurement. J’espère
qu’elles permettront à davantage de jeunes de
s’impliquer dans nos métiers et de nous faire tous
bénéficier de leur dynamisme.
Didier Coulomb
Directeur de l’IIF
writing of an Informatory Note on
“Magnetic and other alternative refrigerating
concepts” and one on “Air-conditioning design
for sustainable development”.
The members of the STC and PSC will be
IIR events
IIR Conferences: update
An IIR Conference on Latest developments in refrigerated storage, transportation and display of food products
took place in Amman,Jordan,in March 2005.
This first IIR conference in Jordan was a
success: a wide range of papers were
presented,on many different subjects.Almost
50 persons attended the conference, which
was introduced by the President of the
University of Jordan and the Director of the
IIR. The proceedings CD-ROM is available
(see “New IIR publications” below).
surveyed on possible authors for these
publications.
During the STC-MC meeting, several issues
were discussed,notably the role of commission
members, the list of research priorities, the
directory of research laboratories (see “IIR
members benefit from new services”) and
the preparation of the 4-year rolling plans of
the IIR commissions.
cryogenic processes and cryogenic equipment and ICMC’06 will focus on design
materials at cryogenic temperatures,
low-temperature and high-temperature
superconductors, wire technology, material
preparation techniques, properties of
superconductors and material development.
Deadlines: January 31, 2006 for abstracts
and May 30, 2006 for papers.
www.isibrno.cz/CryoPrague2006
[email protected]
The latter 5 organizations and the IIR have
similar status and problems: links with the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which
guarantees compliance with the international
conventions by the different member
countries and gives diplomatic benefits, fiscal
and human resources questions linked with
the diplomatic status, etc.
We decided to exchange of lot of information
about member countries, policies regarding
human resources and the budget and to build
an association. We had a meeting with the
Director of the United Nations and the
intergovernmental organizations in Paris in
February 2005, in order to clarify our
positions. The main advantage of this new
association is probably benchmarking among
us for better efficiency.
ICR 2007
Several types of IIR
medals and awards will
be given out at the 22nd
IIR International Congress
of Refrigeration to be held
in Beijing,China,on August
21-26, 2007. If you are aware of an outstanding person who could be honoured, check
out www.iifiir.org and download the
application forms. Deadline for applications:
February 28, 2006.
IIR Sub-Commissions activities
From left to right: Prof. Mahmoud Hammad,
Mr Didier Coulomb, Prof. Abdel Rahim Huniti,
President of the University of Jordan, Dr Salah
Mawajdeh, Delegate of Jordan to the IIR.
Innovative Equipment and Systems
for Comfort and Food Preservation, an
IIR conference, will be held in Auckland,
New Zealand, on February 16-18, 2006.
Deadlines: June 1, 2005 for abstracts and
September 16,2005 for papers.December 9,
2005: deadline for early bird registration.
Theme 1, Food Preservation (Cold Chain),
will include: weak links in the cold chain;
innovative packaging systems; fault detection
diagnostics; track & trace technology; and
minimum charge systems.Theme 2, Comfort
and Energy, will include: heat pump innovations;phase-change materials;smart buildings;
novel methods of capacity control;standards
issues; microchannel heat exchangers;
minimum charge systems. Common to both
themes:engineering systems for safety;HCFC
retrofit issues; developments to meet Kyoto
obligations; equipment for high-pressure
refrigerants;secondary refrigerant solutions;
alternative refrigeration technologies.
[email protected]
www.iir-irhace2006.org.nz
Prague, Czech Republic, is to host three
cryogenic conferences, Cryoprague 2006,
on July 17-21, 2006: Cryogenics 2006, an IIR
conference,and 2 conferences to be co-sponsored, International Cryogenic Engineering
Conference 21 (ICEC 21), International
Cryogenic Materials Conference (ICMC’06).
Cryogenics 2006 will cover: gas liquefaction,
separation and purification, design of cryogenic equipment,cryogenics in industry,cryogenic technology in medicine and biology.
ICEC 21 will deal with cryogenic technology,
A business meeting of the IIR
Sub-commission D1 Refrigerated
Display Cabinets was held in Orlando, US,
during the 2005 ASHRAE Winter Meeting.
During this meeting,chaired by Sietze van der
Sluis and attended by 11 people, including
Didier Coulomb, several issues were discussed:possibilities for combined research efforts
based on the result of the current IIR research priorities inventory,the “Euro Cold Chain”
project proposed by TU Sofia and 45 posters
and upcoming events.An interesting presentation “Development of US testing standards
for refrigerated display cabinets” was presented
by David Hinde.
The next meeting of Sub-commission D1 will
take place during the IIR Commercial
Refrigeration Conference in Vicenza, Italy,
August 31-31, 2005.
The next meeting of IIR Sub-Commission
D2 CERtification, Testing and quality of
transport Equipment used for perishable
foodstuffs and other temperature-sensitive
materials (CERTE) will be held in Athens,
Greece, on May 25-27, 2005. Contact G.
Johansson: [email protected]
IGO meeting
The IIR is an intergovernmental organization
based in Paris, like of course several agencies
of the United Nations Organization or OECD,
but also like other small specialized organizations:the European and Mediterranean Plant
Protection Organization (EPPO), the
International Centre for Advanced
Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM),
the International Organization of Vine and
Wine (OIV), the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE), the International
Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML).
Australia: enhanced links
The IIR has signed a partnership agreement with AIRAH (Australian Institute of
Refrigeration, Air conditioning & Heating):
www.airah.org.au The aim is to “enhance
the technical standing of each organization
by working co-operatively to improve
refrigeration and air conditioning technologies
and their application.” Among focuses: reciprocal sale of publications, cross-promotion,
co-sponsorship of conferences and other
events and reciprocal consultation on position
statements.AIRAH members will have access
to the restricted version of the IIR’s Fridoc
database – its flagship product.The IIR values
its partnerships and looks forward to ongoing
fruitful relationships with all its partner
organizations.
Dave Tanner and Didier Coulomb signing the agreement
Meetings
Didier Coulomb attended the ASHRAE
Winter Meeting in Orlando (USA) in
February 2005. This important conference
and large exhibition for air-conditioning and
refrigeration engineers, particularly from the
USA,also was the occasion to strengthen the
partnership between ASHRAE and other
organizations, particularly the IIR.
A meeting was held on January 19, 2005,
between EPEE (European Partnership for
Energy and the Environment) represented by
Friedrich Busch, Director General, and the
IIR represented by D. Coulomb and J.L.
Dupont.During this meeting,information was
exchanged on respective activities and
possible co-operation.
The International Workshop Eurofreeze
2005 on Individual Quick Freezing of Foods
was held in Sofia (Bulgaria) on January 13-15,
2005. It was organized by the Refrigeration
Science and Technology Division of the
Technical University of Sofia,with the support
of the European Commission.
Daniel Viard, Deputy Director of the IIR,
participated in the opening session.
Forty participants from 15 countries, mostly
European ones (plus Israel), attended the
workshop and gave 20 presentations.Among
them was Ing. Girolamo Panozzo, President
of Commission D2.The last day focused on
the preparation of an important proposal for
an integrated research programme to be
submitted to the European Commission.
Didier Coulomb and Daniel Viard, Deputy
Director, met Rajendra Shende, Head of
the Energy and OzonAction Branch of the
United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), on April 6, 2005.They particularly
exchanged ideas on the future of refrigerants
regarding the Montreal and the Kyoto
Protocols in order to build new cooperation
between IIR, UNEP and perhaps the
International Energy Agency (IEA).
Briefs
There is now considerable interest in the
IIR in Iran. Mr Manuchehr Mehdizadeh,
who is well-known in the HVAC, chilling and
freezing sectors in Iran, has attracted
considerable interest in the IIR, resulting in
new members representing strategic sectors:
Mr Ali Akbar Eslahchi,Managing Director,Saba
Boroodat Co. (industrial refrigeration),
Mr Mohammad Khonsari,Managing Director,
Tecnokit Co.(home appliances manufacturer),
Mr Hamid Bakshi,Managing Director,Tabadol
Sazan Tehran Co. (manufacturer of industrial
equipment), and Mr Mehdi Ameen, Managing
Director, Beh Sabz Agro-industrial Co. (food
processing).Mr Mehdizadeh is promoting membership of Iran at an IIR-member-country level.
[email protected]
Prof.Clark Bullard,
President of the IIR’s
Commission B2, was
awarded
the
UK
Institute of Refrigeration
(IoR) J & E Hall Gold
Prof. Clark Bullard (left) Medal on February 9,
receiving the J & E Hall 2005 during the IoR’s
Gold Medal from
105th
Dr
Guy
Hundy, prestigious
President of the IoR
Anniversary Dinner
held in London.This award for the most significant practical contribution to refrigeration
is a tribute to Clark Bullard’s wide-ranging
work using simulation models to develop
improved systems for refrigeration and air
conditioning.
IIR members benefit from new
services
Members of the IIR will soon have a new
service available via the Web site of the IIR:
a directory of research organizations
comprising information on 200 laboratories
(worldwide) specialized in one or more
refrigeration fields,full details on contact persons and research fields classified according
to keywords, through an index of countries.
This interactive information tool will be
enriched on an ongoing basis and additional
search options will be added. Check it out
soon via the member area of www.iifiir.org
Please feel free to send your comments and
suggestions or laboratories to be added to
Sylviane Fournier ([email protected]) who
is in charge of this project within the STID.
IIR commission members now have
access to the IIR’s Fridoc database (with
results of searches providing titles, keywords
and authors).This new service was set up on
March 1, 2005, and can be accessed via the
member area of the home page of
www.iifiir.org
New IIR publications
Serving the Needs of Mankind:
a History of Refrigeration
This 40-minute DVD produced for the 21st
IIR International Congress of Refrigeration
held in Washington DC in August 2003
retraces the history of refrigeration from
prehistoric times to today and touches on
future challenges and potential developments.
It provides a comprehensive review of key
developments in refrigeration and air conditioning, describes the achievements of major
pioneers and technological breakthroughs in
a huge range of applications, including food
preservation, transport and storage; domestic refrigeration and comfort; medicine;
animal husbandry; space; cryogenic cooling;
heat pumps; and energy efficiency. Lively
narration, music and colourful images make
it a valuable teaching tool. To order:
www.iifiir.org
or
[email protected]
Price: 27 euros (23 euros for members).
The proceedings of Latest Developments
in Refrigerated Storage,Transportation
and Display of Food Products, an IIR
conference involving Commissions C2, D1
with D2, held in Amman, Jordan, on March
28-30, 2005 comprise 24 papers. within the
overarching themes of refrigerated storage,
display,refrigeration systems and refrigerated
transport. CD-ROM version. To order:
[email protected] or www.iifiir.org Price: 20
euros (15 euros for members).
New IIR members
The IIR welcomes the following new
members:
Corporate members
• Cooltech Applications SAS, Andolsheim,
France
• EPO European Patent Office, Rijswijk,
The Netherlands
• KTH – Royal Institute of Technology,
Stockholm, Sweden
• NTNU Library,Trondheim, Norway
• SINTEF Energy Research, Trondheim,
Norway
• SIS Shanghai Institute of Standardization,
Shanghai, China
• Syndicat National des Fabricants de Produits
Congelés et Surgelés, Paris, France
• Tubitak MRC FSTRI, Gebze Kocaeli,Turkey
• University of Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia
France Institute,Bandar Baru Bangi,Malaysia
Private members
• Mr Mehdi Amin, Iran
• Mr Hamid Bakhshi, Iran
• Mr Lorenzo Bianchi, Italy
• Mr Robert Clements,Australia
• Mr Claudio Fossati, Italy
• Dr Hans-Ulrich Haefner, Germany
• Dr Igor Katkov, USA
• Mr Mohammad Khansani, Iran
• Mr William Little, USA
• Mr Michel Maguet, France
• Mr John Murphy, Ireland
• Mr Minn Thann Phyoe, Singapore
• Mr Rodrigo Salgado Ayala, Mexico
• Dr Carmen Vasile Muller, France
• Mr Ruud van Zutphen,The Netherlands
Junior members
• Mrs Michela Carmignani, Italy
• Dr Huagen Wu, China
• Mr Illan Zemmour, France
In the news
Trends
World
China and Denmark are the world’s major
reefer container manufacturers,and the
refrigerating equipment used in China is generally US technology produced under licence
in China.In 2002,over 80% of all reefer containers produced worldwide were made in
China. The world’s top 3 ports in terms of
containers handled are:Hong Kong,Singapore
and Shanghai and the number of container
ships in operation worldwide had reached
2782 early in 2003, and Germany, with 788
container ships,was first in terms of ownership.
Source: Fruit World, China-South Asia Special,
2004.
US
- Rising demand for commercial refrigeration in the US: it is predicted that demand
will rise 5.5% over the next 3 years, reaching
8.6 billion USD by 2008. Growth is expected
to be strongest in cryogenic equipment,
display cases and beverage cooling cabinets.
Source: RAC, February 2005.
- Central air conditioners and air-source
heat pump sales in the US reached a record
7 401 067 in 2004, this being 8% up on 2003.
A growing housing market and strong
replacement sales are driving expansion.
Source: Koldfax, February 2005.
- The US ice-cream market grew 24% between 1998 and 2003 thanks to new products
and demand driven by children.Manufacturers
are developing products with lower fat and
sugar content. Four manufacturers, Unilever,
Ice Cream Partners, Dreyers Ice Cream and
Blue Bell Creameries, have the lion’s share of
the market. Further growth is predicted,
particularly for novelty and low-calorie,
low-sugar and low-carb products.
www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInfo
rmation/features/BNP_Features_Item/
0,1231,122727,00.html
Europe
- An International Association of Refrigerated
Warehouses (IARW) survey shows that cold
stores in Europe report an upturn in
business.Ammonia plants (96.6% of all plants)
dominate European installations and carbondioxide compressors are gaining ground.
European operators are investing heavily in
computer technology. Quick Frozen Foods
International, July 2004.
- Quick Frozen Foods International (July 2004)
has published reports on quick-frozen food
consumption in Germany and Scandinavia.
Among trends that emerge:hard discounters
such as the German Lidl are expanding fast
in Denmark,per-capita consumption of frozen
food in Germany is now 34.6 kg. In Sweden,
the restaurant trade accounts for 35% of sales
of frozen foods, and the retail sector the
remaining 65% (in Japan and the US, these
trends are reversed). Swedish per-capita
consumption of frozen foods is now 51.4 kg,
probably making Sweden second only to the
UK. Bakery products and chicken are drivers
of the Swedish market (up 13% and 14%
respectively in 2003).
IPCC/TEAP Special Report
The Summary for Policy Makers of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)/ Technology and Economic
Assessment Panel (TEAP) Special Report
“Safeguarding the ozone layer and the global
climate system: issues related to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons
(PFCs)” was released on the IPCC Web site
on April 11,2005 (www.ipcc.ch).The Special
Report “was developed in response to
invitations by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
and the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer to prepare a
balanced scientific, technical and policy
elevant report regarding alternatives to
ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) that affect
the global climate system”. It will be published in mid-2005.The IIR participated in the
reviewing of this Special Report.
Among the information contained in the
18-page Summary for Policy Makers, the
following is noteworthy:
• Options chosen to protect the ozone layer
could influence climate change.Climate change
may also indirectly influence the ozone layer.
The warming effect due to ODSs and the
cooling effect associated with ozone depletion
are two distinct climate forcing mechanisms
that do not simply offset one another.
• Based on the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario developed in the report, the estimated
radiative forcing of HFCs in 2015 is about
0.030 W/m2; it corresponds to about 1.0% of
the estimated radiative forcing of all
well-mixed greenhouse gases (GHGs) in 2015,
with the contribution of ODSs being about
10%.
• In the BAU scenario, direct emissions of
CFCs and HCFCs are together decreasing
from 2.1 (2002) to 1.2 GtCO2-eq/yr (2015)
and emissions of HFCs are increasing from
0.4 (2002) to 1.2 GtCO2-eq/yr (2015).The
projected threefold increase in HFC
emissions is the result of increased application
of HFCs in the refrigeration, stationary
air-conditioning and mobile air-conditioning
sectors, and due to by-product emissions of
HFC-23 from increased HCFC-22 production. Through application of current best
practices and recovery methods, there is a
potential to halve (1.2 GtCO2-eq/yr reduction) the BAU direct emissions from ODSs
and their GHG substitutes by 2015. About
60% of this potential concerns HFC emissions,
30% HCFCs and 10% CFCs.The greatest sectoral emission reduction potentials concern:
commercial refrigeration (34%), HFC-23
by-product (25%),stationary air-conditioning
(17%), mobile air-conditioning (15%).
This summary also stresses the significant
contribution (now and in the coming decades)
to current emissions of ODSs from the banks
of CFCs and HCFCs. In 2002, CFC, HCFC
and HFC banks were about 16, 4 and 1
GtCO2-eq/yr (direct GWP weighted). In
2015, the banks are about 8, 5 and 5 GtCO2eq/yr, respectively, in the BAU scenario.
It also stresses the possibility of significant
reductions in GHG indirect emissions
related to energy consumption but does not
provide estimates of this reduction potential.
Briefs
RAC05 took place in Birmingham, UK, on
March 1-3, 2005 and was highly successful.
For the first time, the IIR was visible at RAC,
thanks to the kind invitation of the UK
Institute of Refrigeration (IoR), who
provided the IIR with a stand within their
stand run by Miriam Rodway (Secretary of
IoR), Oxana Sparshott and Malcolm
Horlick. Susan Phalippou, who is in charge
of promotion at the IIR, ran the IIR’s stand
displaying a range of IIR products,set up many
new contacts and enjoyed seeing a number
of visitors, including Dr Guy Hundy
(President of IoR), Robert Heap (former
President of IoR and President of the IIR’s
Science and Technology Council) and Andy
Pearson (Star Refrigeration).RAC05 attracted
over 180 exhibitors and 5500 visitors. A
highly appreciated innovation was the Service
Engineer Skills Centre providing free practical
training for service engineers. Highlights of
RAC05 seminars were:the F-Gas Regulations
are coming; Head to head — the Future of
HFCs; Eurovent-Cecomaf Environment
Conference; Mandatory Registration of
Refrigerant Handlers; Remote Control
Refrigeration; and Careers in Cooling.
www.ior.org.uk - www.racexhibition.com
Uusikaupunki in Finland was the setting
for the 12th c-dig meeting in April 2005
attended by 55 delegates. Roughly half the
presentations were by Finnish companies,
reflecting the tremendous focus on carbon
dioxide in the region in recent years.
Discussion focused on the recent installation
in Zurich by Linde of a transcritical supermarket system – one which uses solely
carbon dioxide. According to preliminary
figures, the performance meets or exceeds
traditional systems in all but the warmest
weather conditions. The group visited the
Kalaset Oy fish filleting plant. The compact
system there cascades carbon dioxide with
R-404A in one of the blast freezer chambers,
and has given reliable performance throughout its first year of operation.Another visit
was to the Vahterus ring – a 1000-m long
indoor snow track for Nordic skiing.The novel
design of the track which rises and falls by
about 20 m would not have been possible
with any other refrigerant, but the high gas
density and flat temperature characteristics
of carbon dioxide enabled 500-m circuits to be
laid under the snow in small-bore copper tube.
The next c-dig meeting will be held in
September 2005, and will focus on transcritical systems.Further details,and information
about c-dig membership can be found on the
website at www.c-dig.org
During the Industrial Refrigeration
Consensus hosted by Danfoss, held in
December 2004 in Sønderborg, Denmark,
the main following points were reached
through workshop discussions with focus on
the industrial refrigeration issues (thus the
points might not be relevant for other parts
of the general refrigeration business):
• Ammonia will continue as main refrigerant;
work will focus on lower ammonia charges
and tight systems.
• CO2 will be used in low temperature applications; there is no general driver for
transcritical CO2 systems within industrial
refrigeration and heavy investments for transcritical component development will be
needed if demands arise.
• R-723 will not be a significant refrigerant in
industrial refrigeration; HCFCs do not have
a future in industrial refrigeration and HFCs
will be reduced wherever possible.
• Today, initial investment is clearly more
important,but lifetime cost will become more
important; the price of energy is too low to
drive significant work on energy efficiency;
significant problems prevent DX plate heat
exchangers from emerging as a solution to
reduce charge and cost; the need for
innovative pump design i.e. speed, flow,
regulation, head.
Institute of Refrigeration Ireland
launched
In November 1999, a training network for
the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector
in Ireland was established.The principal aim
of the network, Refrigeration Technology
Skillnet,was to develop a programme of practical industry-led training solutions to meet
common training needs across the sector.
This has been achieved and is ongoing. A
second goal was the formation of a new
learning institute for the refrigeration and
air-conditioning profession in Ireland. In
November 2004, over 160 refrigeration and
air conditioning professionals met in Dublin
to celebrate the launch of the Institute of
Refrigeration Ireland (IRI). The overall aims
of IRI include: to promote the general
advancement of refrigeration and air-conditioning applications; to pursue excellence in
the provision of refrigeration products and
services for the community;to provide members with continuing learning opportunities
and a means of exchanging ideas; to provide
members with networking opportunities; to
establish and maintain standards of education, training and conduct; and to speak as
the authoritative voice of the refrigeration
and air conditioning profession in Ireland.For
full information or to become a member:
www.instituteofrefrigerationireland.ie
The 2004 edition of the JARN Directory
is now available. It gives up-to-date information on over 400 Japanese manufacturers,
traders,associations,overseas companies and
industrial statistics such as worldwide sales.
It contains information on 12 countries in
Asia-Oceania,including Australia,China,Korea,
Taiwan and Thailand. Order:
www.jarn.co.jp/JARN_info/directory_ad.htm
All papers presented at DKV’s annual
meeting held in Bremen, Germany, in
November 2004 are now available in
CD-ROM and book form. Full information:
[email protected]
Star Refrigeration,a corporate member
of the IIR, won two ACR News Awards
presented at a ceremony attended by over
400 guests, held in Birmingham, UK, during
RAC05. Star won the Contractor of the Year
Award for companies with a turnover of over
£10 million, and received the Environmental
Initiative Award for its groundbreaking work
in the development of carbon-dioxide
systems. www.star-ref.co.uk
Out of the ordinary
Residents of Harbin, China, are not daunted by their long, cold winters. Instead they
celebrate by holding the Harbin Snow and
Ice Festival.Organized annually since 1985,
the festival draws over a million tourists
every winter.Teams of sculptors from many
parts of the world compete to produce amazing works of art starting with 3 m2 cubes of
ice.At night,lighting turns the sculptures into
a magical display.
Photo: http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38684000/jpg/_38684491_harbin_afp_300.jpg
Technology
Energy savings
Case study on a cool way to cut
energy consumption in the UK food
industry
A collaborative research and development
project led by a mechanical engineering team
from Brunel University,UK,found that supermarkets and food processing plants could cut
their energy costs by over 30% and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 25-50% using
combined heat, refrigeration and power
(CHRP). Refrigeration accounts for around
half of the total energy consumption of supermarkets and potential savings could be significant to the economy, as retail food outlets
account for 5% of total UK energy consumption
and food processing plants for 10%.
The project investigated the use of microturbines and studied how waste heat could
be recovered from the exhaust and fed to an
absorption chiller. The results showed that
an absorption plant would be able to deliver
all the refrigeration needed at a typical large
supermarket, providing chilling in two
temperature ranges:one for frozen products
and one for chilled food. Three to five
micro-turbines would be required at each
store.The units capture heat generated in the
production of electricity and are claimed to
increase overall efficiency from 38-76%.
According to the project team, the technology can be applied to all applications including
supermarkets, cold stores, freeze-drying
plants, etc. As many as 2500 supermarkets
and 1000 refrigerated food process plants
could benefit from the research if CHRP is
used in the future,helping meet efficiency targets
set in the Government’s Energy White Paper
in 2003.A second phase will focus on the design of a low-temperature absorption chiller and
associated heat exchangers, also able to
provide space and water heating for food
processing plants. A mini-supermarket will
also be built at Brunel University to test the
complete system and an application to patent
the technology, which could be launched
commercially in 2007, will be filed.
www.dti.gov.uk/technologyprogramme/
casestudies/energy_consumption.html
Japan:significant improvement of the
energy efficiency of refrigerators
According to JARN, the energy efficiency of
refrigerators in Japan has been continuously
improved:their power consumption has been
reduced to 1/5th of that 10 years ago.This is
in part due to the development of vacuum
heat insulators,which are high efficiency thermal
insulating panels. They are produced by
vacuum-packing materials such as silica powder
and glass wool into a coating material such
as metal laminated film,which has high vacuum
retaining performance. Other contributors
to increasing energy efficiency include the
development of inverter technology capable
of minimizing energy loss by controlling the
compressor speed, and the use of isobutane
(R-600a). Matsushita’s 1A 401-litre and
451-litre series are this year’s No. 1 energy
savers,as their power consumption has been
reduced to 150 kWh/year.For 400-litre refrigerators, power consumption has been
reduced to 150-170 kWh/year. The use of
isobutane in small refrigerators has enabled
Japanese manufacturers to take a big step in
improving the energy efficiency of small refrigerators. JARN,Vol. 36, No. 12, December 25,
2004.
Biological effects of low temperature
In the past couple of decades, the use of
cryosurgery for the treatment of tumours,
i.e. destroying abnormal lesions while
protecting surrounding tissues, has spread.
The biological effects of cryosurgery can be
divided into 2 types: early/direct effects and
delayed effects.M.O.Maiwand recently explained how to maximize the effectiveness of
low-temperature surgery.
The direct effects of low temperature start
at temperatures around –10°C.At this temperature, ice crystal formation is slow as the
cell membranes and contents protect it, but
cell destruction occurs if this temperature is
maintained for sufficient time. With further
cooling, ice crystals start to form, initially in
the extracellular spaces, causing the water in
the cell to withdraw and leading to cell
death. If the temperature is lowered even
more,to around –30°C,ice crystals will form
within the cell. This is usually lethal. Quick
freezing will cause this process,as there is no
time for the water in the cell to withdraw.
Thawing will cause further damage to the cell,
as small ice crystals will cluster together to
form large,more destructive crystals that can
rupture the cell membrane.
The delayed effects, also known as vascular
effects, follow with a brief period of vasoconstriction.Thawing will then cause vasodilatation and increased vascular permeability
leading to oedema and damage causing the
occlusion of small vessels and stopping the
blood supply, inevitably leading to cell death.
Thus, in order to maximize the effectiveness
of cryosurgery, the lowest temperature possible must be used,the tissue must be cooled
as rapidly as possible and thawed as slowly
as possible. More than one freeze-thaw cycle
should be used and the cryosensitivity of the
tissue is important.
Source: M.O. Maiwand: Biological effects of
low temperature, Abstracts from the I.S.C.
Symposium, Corfu, October 2004.
Supermarket news
Tesco has almost completed a 5-year £18million programme to replace all CFCs and
HCFCs used in its stores and is replacing
refrigerating equipment with highly energyefficient systems. Energy consumption has
dropped 30%, this being an annual saving of
2250 tonnes of carbon dioxide per store.
In Thailand,Tesco has opted for solar refrigeration on a huge scale in its Lotus store in
Pathumwan:over half the roof is covered with
photovoltaic (PV) solar energy panels producing 460 kilowatts of power. Even if the
electricity from the PV system is 5-6 times
more expensive than simply plugging into the
public grid, use of solar energy makes it possible to reduce peak demand on the power
grid and an integrated chiller plant equipped
with a sophisticated energy management system ensures lowered energy consumption.
www.tesco.com/everyLittleHelps
http://netmeter.org/en/story/21
Sainsbury’s (UK) has cut the energy bill for
its 456 stores by £4 million (15% of its refrigeration costs and 5% of its total energy
costs), above all by improving the efficiency
of its refrigerating equipment.Separate monitoring of energy consumption for refrigeration,lighting and HVAC,humidity and internal
and external temperature data was performed for each store,then optimization models
were developed and applied. Continuous
monitoring and e-mail alerts are used to reduce electricity consumption.RAC.February 2005
Conferences co-sponsored by the IIR
IIR Agenda
2005
Conferences organized by the IIR
June
15-17
2005
Aug.
30-31
August
31Sept. 2
Sept.
28-30
Yverdon-les-Bains 6th Workshop on Ice Slurries
Switzerland
Michael Kauffeld
Fax: +49 721 925 1843
[email protected]
http://iir.eivd.ch
Vicenza (Padua)
Commercial Refrigeration
Italy
Alberto Cavallini
Fax: +39 02 6747 9262 - [email protected]
http://www.aicarr.it/vicenza2005
Vicenza (Padua)
Thermophysical Properties and Transfer
Italy
Processes of Refrigerants
Alberto Cavallini
Fax: +39 02 6747 9262 - [email protected]
http://www.aicarr.it/vicenza2005
Yverdon-les-Bains 1st International Conference on Magnetic
Switzerland
Refrigeration at Room Temperature
Peter Egolf – [email protected]
Fax: +41 244264477
http://www.thermag.ch
February Auckland
New Zealand
16-18
2006
May
29-31
July
17-21
2007
Sept.
27-29
August
21-26
Innovative Equipment and Systems for
Comfort and Food Preservation
Mike Leggett and Dr Pradeep Bansal
[email protected] and [email protected]
http://www.iir-irhace2006.org.nz
Trondheim
Natural Working Fluids 2006:
Norway
7th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference
Trygve Eikevik – Fax: +47 7359 3950
[email protected]
http://www.energy.sintef.no/arr/GL2006/
Prague
Cryogenics 2006
Czech Republic
Vaclav Chrz - [email protected]
Fax: +420 266312113
http://www.isibrno.cz/cryoprague2006
Casta Papiernicka 6th International Conference on
Slovak Republic
Compressors and Coolants –
Compressors 2006
Peter Tomlein – Fax: +421 2 4564 6971
[email protected] – http://www.isternet.sk/szchkt/
Beijing
China
IIR Workshop
Commissions B2, D1
IIR Conference
Commissions B2, D1
IIR Conference
Commission B1
with B2
IIR Conference
Commissions B2, A1
with E2
IIR Conference
Commissions B2, E1
with C2, D1 and D2
IIR Conference
Commissions B1, B2, E2
with E1
IIR Conference
A1, A2, C1
IIR Conference
Commissions B1, B2
with E1, E2
22nd IIR International Congress of Congress
Refrigeration (ICR2007): Refrigeration All Commissions
creates the Future
Qiu Zhongyue - [email protected]
Fax: +86 10 6843 4679 - http://www.icr2007.org
Briefs
Green towers: big can be green
The Bank of America’s new 1 billion USD
national headquarters in New York will be
the first skyscraper to apply for a LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) platinum rating.It will feature underfloor displacement air ventilation enabling
occupants to adjust the temperature at individual work stations. Freedom Tower, to be
built on the site of the former World Trade
Center, is likely to feature a windfarm on the
roof supplying 20% of the building’s energy
needs. London’s 41-storey “Gherkin” boasts
natural ventilation, maximum use of natural
lighting and computer-controlled blinds
responding to data provided by exterior weather sensors.The Gherkin consumes almost
50% less energy than a conventional tower.
In Australia, cutting-edge buildings now feature sky gardens, solar cells, wind turbines,
fresh-air ventilation and sun shades.
EcoLibrium. February 2005
The European Commission decided in 2001
to fund the e-fruitrace project, aimed at
achieving food security in the EU through an
integrated traceability system based on
Internet technologies. The 200 000 €
project has successfully tested a Europe-wide
Internet-based, customized and integrated
traceability system for the fruit sector, an
economically important sector in the EU (in
1999, fresh fruit production was worth 19
634 million €, representing 7.3% of agricultural production).E-fruitrace software ensures
traceability throughout production,transformation and distribution. Each player in the
chain identifies his purchase of fruit and vegetables and registers that information in the
system. Complete knowledge of the food
eaten by consumers, including health, analysis,inspection of quality registers,origins,species, manipulation, chains, transport, logistics
and marketing,is obtained.E-fruitrace has also
overcome the incompatibility of different platforms used by different actors in different
countries, thus overcoming a basic requirement in terms of traceability at EU legislative level. The result is a standard for fruit
traceability.E-fruitrace can be used with existing traceability solutions — investments
required from agricultural cooperatives,
processors and distributors are thus small
Heraklion, Crete – Greece – May 12-14, 2005
13th Congress of the International Society of
Cryosurgery
Odysseas Zoras, Ms Ann Dudhia
Fax: +30 281 054 2063 – [email protected] or
[email protected] – http://www.med.uog
Commission: C1
Leuven – Belgium – May 29-June 2, 2005
3rd Model-IT 2005 – Applications of Modelling as
an Innovative Technology in the Agri-Food Chain
Bart Nicolai – Fax: +32 16 321996
[email protected] – http://www.model-it-2005.be
Commissions: C2, D1, D2
Las Vegas – USA – May 30-June 2, 2005
8th IEA Heat Pump Conference 2005: Global
Advances in Heat Pump Technology,Applications,
and Markets
Mrs Melissa Lapsa – Fax: +1 865 574 9331
[email protected] – http://www.ornl.gov/hp2005
Commissions: E1, E2 with B1, B2
Montevideo – Uruguay – June 1-3, 2005
CIAR 2005 (VIIIth Congreso Iberoamericano de
Aire Acondicionado, Calefaccion y Refrigeracion)
[email protected] or [email protected]
http://www.ciar2005.com – Commissions: B1, B2, E1, E2
Yverdon-les-Bains – Switzerland – June 15-17
2nd Phase Change Materials and Slurry
Peter Egolf, Osmann Sari – Fax: +41 24 426 4477
[email protected] – http://www.pcmyverdon.com
Commissions: B1, B2, D1
Denver – USA – June 22-24, 2005
International Sorption Heat Pump Conference –
ISHPC2005
Reinhard Radermacher – Fax: +1 301 405 2025
[email protected] – http://www.enme.umd.edu/ceee/ishpc
Commissions: E2 with E1
Dalian – China – July 19-22, 2005
5th International Conference on Compressors and
Refrigeration, 2005
Xueyuan Peng – Fax: +86 29 8266 8724
[email protected] – Commission: B2
London – United Kingdom – September 4-7, 2005
International Conference on Compressors and
their Systems
Madeline Willis – Fax: +44 (0)20 7222 9881
[email protected] – http://www.imeche.org.uk/
Commission: B2
Kuwait City – Kuwait – November 21-23, 2005
3rd International Conference on Energy Research
and Development (ICERD-3)
Dr Walid Chakroun – Fax: +965 4847131 or 4817254
[email protected] – http://www.icerd.org
Commissions: B2, E1, E2
compared with the cost of implementing new
tracking systems.Information can be exchanged
quickly and easily up and down the food chain
and can be used anywhere in the world.
www.efruitrace.com/Principal/public_area.htm
ECSLA Newsletter No. 3, February 10, 2005
International Institute of Refrigeration
Institut International du Froid
177, bd Malesherbes - 75017 Paris (France)
Tel.: 33 (0)1 42 27 32 35 - Fax: 33 (0)1 47 63 17 98
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.iifiir.org
IIR Newsletter is a bimonthly publication of the IIR
Managing Editor: Didier Coulomb
Editor: Jean-Luc Dupont
Editorial assistants: Susan Phalippou Mitchell,
Cornelia Keizer
Graphic Design: Arobase Communication