LUVE High-efficiency heat exchangers for CO2 V2

In the refrigeration industry, the utilization of CO 2 fluid is becoming more and more popular as a radical solution to eliminate the greenhouse effect caused by halogenated hydrocarbons in the HFC category. The GWP (Global Warming Potential) of CO 2 is in fact very low compared to HFCs (1 against several thousands); also, CO 2 does not present any problems of toxicity, flammability nor of impact on the ozone layer. CO 2 is significantly different from all the traditional HFCs (R404A, R507, …) and it poses particular problems for heat exchanger designers; in addition, the appropriate choice of heat exchanger technology is fundamentally important in the realization of high efficiency CO 2 plants. The real challenge is to design plant with an efficiency level equal to or higher than current HFC plants. There is a serious risk that the use of CO 2 may not be entirely good, regarding greenhouse effect mitigation. Even though the direct contribution is practically zero, the indirect effect would be increased if the CO 2 refrigeration cycles were less efficient than traditional ones, due to larger electricity consumption bringing about larger emissions of CO 2 and of other pollutants from THE NATURAL REFRIGERANTS CO2 , the preferred solution. WHAT CAN LU-VE OFFER? Today LU-VE can state that it has the highest technical level and greatest experience in this particular field. Numerous unit coolers and gas coolers have been installed in different countries in recent years. High performance heat exchangers Reliable performance and know-how (laboratory testing plant) Experience in trans-critical: installations running for more than 10 YEARS power stations, consuming more fossil fuels. For this reason, it is always worth bearing in mind that the technical solutions used to improve the environmental aspects cannot disregard the achievement of elevated thermodynamic efficiency. The appropriate choice of heat exchanger technology is a fundamental condition for obtaining COP values from CO 2 cycles allowing for a real reduction of the greenhouse effect. For these reasons, a specific project between LU-VE, Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan) and some important customers was carried out in order to define the ideal product configuration to get the best out of the specific characteristics of this refrigerant and to obtain interesting benefits from it. Over time, LU-VE has in fact developed a line of products specifically for CO 2 unit coolers and, in an even more daring project, for sophisticated gas coolers which in transcritical CO 2 plants substitute traditional condensers in HFC installations.