Food Processing - June 2008 - (Page 61)

Sponsored by: mro q&a is a monthly problem-solving column for maintenance, repair and operational issues. mro q&a What to do when r-22 is phased out? Welcome to mro q&a, a series of monthly columns addressing maintenance, repair and operational issues in food plants. We’ve assembled a panel of plant operations experts to answer any question you have on plant-floor issues. To pose a question, go to www.FoodProcessing.com/ClarionKC. This month’s question was answered by Douglas Stricker, senior project leader at hixson (www.hixson-inc.com), an architecture and engineering firm (513-241-1230). When is it likely that r-22 and hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants will be phased out? Then what will we do? The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is a 1987 international treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To comply with the timetable, U.S. production of Class I chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants was halted in 1996. CFCs are considered the most damaging of ozone depleting substances (ODS), which may impact the climate. One alternative was Class II hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants such as R-22. Because these refrigerants allowed companies, in most cases, to retrofit existing CFC equipment, this option initially was less expensive than replacement of equipment. TiP oF The monTh Did you know that all greases are not compatible with each other? mixing two incompatible greases can result in very unpredictable results. Be sure to contact a lubricant expert before changing greases. Yet it was not a perfect solution. Just like CFCs, R-22 and HCFCs are ozone-depleters. Because of this, no new HCFC equipment is being produced. Plus, a 65 percent reduction in production of these refrigerants is mandated by Jan. 1, 2010. While the complete phase-out of all HCFC refrigerants is scheduled to occur in 2030, a date that may seem far off, it is still something that needs to be reckoned with. In addition, current discussion at the federal level may speed up the phaseout to 2020. Plant owners and managers need to consider: • Available alternatives and how they will work in your plant. • Age and service history of existing equipment and the difficulty of retrofitting, servicing and maintaining that equipment over time. Those considerations should help determine whether you need to replace merely the refrigerant or the piece of equipment. There are several non-ODS alternatives. foodprocessing.com • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are an approved replacement for both CFCs and HCFCs for a retrofit and are not scheduled to be phased out at this time. However, while considered to be non-ODS, these refrigerants may impact the climate and therefore may be phased out sometime in the future. Should this happen, the same issues affecting HCFC refrigerants will occur for HFCs, such as decreased capacity and efficiency, along with an inability to obtain spare parts for equipment. For retrofits, some HFC options include: R-407c, R-417, R-422a, R-422d and R-507. Some of the HFC options for new equipment include: R-134a, R404a, and R410a. • Non-ODS alternatives. Ammonia R-717 is the main option. Since it doesn’t impact climate, there is little danger that it will be phased out soon. At the same time, ammonia is toxic and flammable, and facilities that use it may need to adhere to OSHA’s Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard (29 CFR 1910.119). When considering conversion, a goal should be to limit the number of different refrigerants used on site while maintaining equipment performance and capacity levels. Each replacement refrigerant poses different operating issues, such as capacity reduction, higher operating pressures and temperature glide. If consideration is given to convert existing equipment, it is important to consider the current operating conditions of the equipment. If the existing systems were well maintained, they can be operated to the end of their expected service lives using the appropriate replacement refrigerants. In reviewing existing equipment and considering the move away from Class II refrigerants, two big issues to consider are the probability of future leaks and age of the equipment. Because non-ODS refrigerants operate at higher pressures, a system that has been susceptible to leaks in the past will have a higher leak rate than new equipment. more on the web There is a much longer discussion of this subject on the web-based story, including considerations on when equipment replacement is best. To read it all or to pose a question for answering online or in this column, go to www.FoodProcessing.com/ClarionKC. This column is sponsored by Clarion lubricating oils and greases. June 2008 food processing • 61 http://www.FoodProcessing.com/ClarionKC http://www.FoodProcessing.com/ClarionKC http://www.hixson-inc.com http://www.FoodProcessing.com/ClarionKC http://foodprocessing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Food Processing - June 2008

Food Processing - June 2008 Editor's Plate NewsBites Show Report The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Consumer Taste Test A Bevy of New CEOs Ingredients Packaging Plant Operations MRO Q&A New Supplier Products Toops Scoops Contents

Food Processing - June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.