We present an interesting success story related to the technological renewal of refrigerants for the conservation of products.
By Chemours
Experts in Natural Milk, Leche San Marcos; have taken a step forward towards sustainability by transitioning to non-ozone-depleting refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP): OpteonTM XP40 (R-449A).
Traditional San Marcos milk comes from Aguascalientes, and with over 50 years of experience is now reaching more cities across the country. In the past year, the company doubled its market share in self-service stores nationwide, gaining prominence as one of the best-selling dairy brands.
As of 2016, the company has completely reinvented itself by implementing a new work philosophy under the mission "We gather the best to grow with you", with the aim of doing things right to bring its heritage and tradition to more families in Mexico. With that, it has also taken a step towards sustainability.
This same year, the company invested more than $40,000 MXP in the purchase of machinery and technology to package its new line of ultra-pasteurized milks "Tetra Brik Edge", a very practical and competitive alternative for consumers, which offers improvements in product packaging, taste, image and duration. In addition, as proof of its journey to gather the best, the company decided to switch to Chemours refrigerants, knowing their advances and options with low GWP and zero damage to the ozone layer.
After our OpteonTM technical team met with Leche San Marcos staff, an initial test was scheduled at the Distribution Center in Aguascalientes (Central Mexico), where the new low-GWP ChemoursTM refrigerant would be made available: OpteonTM XP40 (R-449A) the challenge.
With these actions, San Marcos has positioned itself as a new reference in the food industry, consolidating a sustainable business model and a solid vision of future growth.
Project Overview
The project began with the installation of a commercial refrigeration unit for a cold room used to preserve dairy products at the Aguascalientes Distribution Center.
The condensing unit model is a Bohn 10 HP MBDX100M6C. It has a Copeland Discus semi-hermetic compressor. It also has two evaporators model BMA510, also of the Bohn brand. To select the refrigerant, at first, the team considered installing the new equipment with R-404A, but in the end, decided to use OpteonTMXP40 (R-449 A) because it is a new product of the transnational company ChemoursTM perfectly equipped for the sustainability goals pursued by Leche San Marcos.
OpteonTM XP40 is a non-flammable refrigerant with low GWP, based on the new Hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology, which offers excellent performance and better environmental and energy characteristics.
Table 1.
The new cooling technology replaces R-22 and R-404A in new equipment and modernizations. One of the main benefits is that it does not damage the ozone layer and has a low GWP (65% reduction compared to R-404A). Another important feature was that this refrigerant provides better energy efficiency compared to R-404A in medium temperature applications.
Therefore, the total environmental impact of this equipment will be approximately 50% lower. Importantly, the TWEI was considered to measure this environmental impact. This value is the sum of the direct impact measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent plus the indirect impact of energy consumption.
Conclusion
The system has worked as expected, and Leche San Marcos plans to continue installing new refrigeration equipment with OpteonTM XP40, to improve its distribution centers and continue to provide the excellent quality of its products, improving its environmental leadership by working a cold chain with the least possible impact.
Leche San Marcos, Emerson, Dajor Commercial Refrigeration and Chemours worked as a team to run the equipment with OpteonTM XP40 (R-449A), and together they renewed their commitment to the environment.
Project information
Project year: 2016
Place of installation: San Marcos, Mexico.
Firms involved: Chemours, Emerson, Bohn, Dajor Commercial Refrigeration.
Refrigerant used: OpteonTM XP40 (R-449A)
