So far, two supermarket locations have adopted a new carbon dioxide-based cascade refrigeration system that is said to help limit the use of HCFC refrigerants.
A new College Park, Ga., location of Food Lion is using the new refrigeration system, which uses CO2 as a secondary refrigerant, Supermarket News reports. Food Lion plans a second location using the system in December in Columbia, S.C. The system was provided by Kysor Warren.
Food Lion is using new CO2 refrigeration units to help it gain Energy Star status for its stores, according to a press release (PDF). Food Lion is one of the nation's largest partners in the EPA Green Chill program, which encourages energy savings and emissions reduction in store chillers.
A Price Chopper location in Schenectady, N.Y., was the first to receive such a system, according to a press release (PDF).
Secondary loop CO2 systems are manufactured by Hill Phoenix, which only recently received EPA approval to use CO2 as a replacement for hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) in retail refrigeration.
The system replaces the ozone-depleting refrigerants R-22, R-507A and R-404A with CO2. The above ozone-depleting refrigerants are widely used in retail refrigeration units.
Such refrigerants are known to leak up to 20-25 percent of their charge annually, according to Hill Phoenix, while CO2 is not as prone to leakage. Additionally, use of CO2 as a secondary refrigerant means that the HCFC charge can be reduced 60-90 percent.
