International. After establishing that carbon dioxide would be its standard refrigerant for new beverage coolers, vending machines and fountain equipment, Coca-Cola Company announced it will open the door for hydrocarbon refrigerants for small refrigeration equipment, said Antoine Azar, director of the company's global program.
Azar, who made the announcement recently at a conference called ATMOsphere America in Chicago, defined small equipment to units of 300 liters volume or less, which represents about 10% of his equipment. "Everything above 300 liters should still be CO2," he said. Below 300 you can go with CO2 or hydrocarbons [propane or isobutane]."
The decision would be made locally by the company's bottlers. Coca-Cola will no longer allow the R134a to be used in its smaller units.
The reason for the move, Azar said, is the difficulty of using CO2 compressors in small equipment. "We have a lot of certified equipment of 150-300 liters with CO2; the problem is that the cost is 10%-12% higher," he explained. "Below 150, the problem is the availability of the compressor, looking for a size that suits them."
Coca-Cola has strengthened its safety requirements for equipment using hydrocarbons. The load limitation is 50 g; heat exchangers should be in a bucket to reduce the risk of leakage; all electronic components must be spark-free; and condenser fans should remain on in case of leaks.
