International.
New research concluded that R32 is an "unlikely" alternative to ammonia for industrial refrigeration – giving ammonia a good track record of safety, efficiency, ease of maintenance and reliability, following the lack of widely available R32 industrial equipment.
Using R32 instead of ammonia comes at an efficiency cost , said Dr. Andy Pearson of Star Refrigeration in the UK. The pressure required for R32 is much higher (+60%) than for ammonia. This would result "in a need for increased design pressures on the plant side."
Ammonia is not highly flammable. In fact, as long as current safety standards are met, their flammability is unlikely to pose a problem in terms of refrigeration. "Both compounds are flammable, and both are classified as A2L (low flammability)," Pearson says.
Users of refrigerants classified as A2L by ASHRAE must comply with regulations on safety checking and risk assessment in the countries in which they are used. Both ammonia and R32 are toxic chemicals and can only be used for refrigeration if certain safety measures are respected. The problem with the R32, Pearson says, is that very little is known about how to accurately prevent and run security checks.
Despite the similarities between the two refrigerants, R32 is much more expensive than ammonia, says Pearson, who adds that R32 is an f-gas, which despite having a GWP lower than R410A nonetheless damages the climate. As the European Union, Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and Australia confirm the timetable for phasing out HFCs, "this is sure to reduce costs even further," Pearson says. "It seems unlikely that R32 will be seen as a good alternative to ammonia."
