Trends in this sector have constantly evolved. Despite the fact that in Latin America the changing process is slow, there are already important actions.
by ACR Latin America
Industrial refrigeration is a segment that is going through a process of technological change and operation. Nowadays there are refrigerant alternatives that allow the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly processes.
Those processes in our region are still landing, however, the industry is adapting more and more despite the lack of regulations. To learn about trends in this refrigeration segment, we spoke with Roberto Badillo, Sales Manager of the Industrial Refrigeration segment for Danfoss Mexico.
ACR: How do you analyze the overall picture of industrial refrigeration in the regions where the company has a stake?
Roberto Badillo: The industrial refrigeration market in Mexico and in general in Latin America, moves frequently depending on the economic situation of the countries, although there are also political and social aspects that can impact on the volume of investment in this segment. For example, the food consumption habits of societies have had an important change in recent years and this has also influenced the industrial refrigeration market, because on the one hand there are sectors of society that are looking for fresher or organic food, but there is also a growing demand for frozen prepared foods from another sector.
There are also aspects external to the particular situation of a country that influence the industrial refrigeration segment, since there are companies that produce to a large extent or even exclusively for export and in these cases companies may be exempt from the particular situations of the country where they produce; an example of this is the beverage sector in Mexico where growth has been constant in recent years as it is produced not only for the domestic market but also largely for export. Another example of this are some industrial refrigeration companies in Mexico that do business in Central America, the Caribbean, South America and in countries even in other regions of the world, the same happens with refrigeration companies in Central and South America that seek to expand their borders in search of expanding the business.
On the other hand, there are also mega trends that are setting the course for the industrial refrigeration segment and that in some cases can have an effect in Latin American countries, such as the growing interest in reducing food waste that is beginning to be reflected in greater investments in the cold chain. Another mega trend of importance is the search to reduce the use of synthetic refrigerants, which could expand the field of action for industrial refrigeration towards the segment known as heavy commercial refrigeration with applications that use natural refrigerants such as ammonia and CO2.
ACR: What kind of solutions and systems has Danfoss been developing to innovate in industrial refrigeration?
Roberto: Danfoss' focus in this segment is the efficiency, safety and flexibility of the installation components to make it easier for users, installers and designers to handle, select and maintain our products. An example of this is the recently introduced Intelligent Purger System (IPS) which is used for the removal of non-condensable gases from the cooling system that mainly affect the loss of efficiency.
With the new line of gas detectors (GD) we help the end user to improve the safety of their plant by having well monitored any possible refrigerant leakage in their system and taking measures automatically to prevent operational personnel or products from being damaged. Also in something simpler such as the development of weldable components instead of having connections through flanges, which represent a point of risk of leakage, an additional task in preventive maintenance programs and the imminent difficulty for the replacement of components connected through flanges. In systems that work with negative pressure (in ammonia systems these are applications below -33°C), flanges are the main entry point of non-condensable gases into the system, with the aforementioned effects on the efficiency of the system and also on the loss of cooling capacity.
ACR: How much has the implementation of CO2 as a refrigerant for refrigeration projects grown?
Roberto: In Europe it has been a reality for many years, approximately 15% of the new plants that are built use CO2 as a refrigerant, in the United States it is growing significantly and in Latin America it has been slower due mainly to the lack of legislation that regulates the use of toxic refrigerants in a refrigeration system; however, the interest has been growing on the part of end users, but another problem we face is the lack of engineering companies that promote this type of solutions and it is here that Danfoss has worked hard in the information and dissemination of the benefits of using CO2 as a refrigerant contributing our knowledge, experience and research results in which we have always been interested in investing.
The Food Retail sector is now a very active and receptive participant to this type of technology, motivated mainly by the search for energy savings and natural refrigerants, where CO2 used in cascade systems (subcritical) and mostly in transcritical systems represents an excellent alternative to synthetic refrigerants.
ACR: Do you think that in the sector there is still a wide ignorance of these CO2 solutions?
Roberto: I think that there is a need to disseminate co2 solutions and it is the job of our industry as a whole to be able to work to offer customers the certainty and confidence that refrigeration systems that use CO2 as a refrigerant are safe and efficient, in addition to the fact that there are locally trained personnel to be able to serve them in eventualities and needs that may arise.
It is in forums such as Expocarnes and others such as the exhibitions of the IIAR (for its acronym in English International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration) where an ideal window opens for the promotion and information about this type of solutions, even I personally gave a technical presentation on industrial refrigeration systems with CO2 as a refrigerant, I've done it in various forums, including college talks.
ACR: What recommendations should be taken into account for proper food preservation?
Roberto: There are many ways to preserve food beyond low temperatures, in some cases it has to do with altering its flavor or its organoleptic properties, as it can be when making pickles or adding high concentrations of salt or sugar. In the case of low temperatures, it can be preserved by putting food in refrigeration or by freezing it and maintaining the organoleptic and nutritional properties practically the same as those of fresh food. In the case of refrigeration it is important to consider that some of the normal chemical processes of food drop quite a bit when the temperature decreases, but this decrease, which is partly what is sought when keeping cold, is not the same for each food, therefore it is important to consider the appropriate temperature of conservation in refrigeration for each food and make that temperature stay along the cold chain, which is a fundamental process in food preservation.
The relative humidity during storage must also be taken care of, because when this humidity is low, the food is dehydrated and loses weight, which has, of course, a negative economic impact, but also affects the appearance of the products, making for example that the fruits have a dry and rough surface. On the other hand, when relative humidity is high, more favorable conditions are created for microbiological development, especially as the temperature is higher. Controlled atmospheres can also be applied in conjunction with refrigeration for better food preservation results.
As for freezing food, it is very important to make sure that the process is carried out quickly; that is, use temperatures as low as possible (this is typically -40° C) because when freezing is carried out slowly, the number of nuclei, from which ice crystals grow, is lower, which has the consequence that larger ice crystals form and break the cell walls; finally the food loses structure when thawed, in the case of meat this is very noticeable, in addition to losing juice.
ACR: What are the regulations that currently work in Industrial Refrigeration for Latin America?
Roberto: ANSI, ASHRAE, ASME, IIAR.
ACR: What has Danfoss been working on for the future of industrial refrigeration?
Roberto: In offering more complete solutions for our customers, in some cases more specialized, integrating new products in the portfolio of solutions, services and expanding our horizons to terrains that we had not stepped on before, such as moving from electronic controllers dedicated to certain specific applications, to programmable controllers with more openness to integrate complete control of the systems. In addition, at some point, the development of intelligent technology and components capable of feeding the information systems that will control the production processes of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0.
