All refrigeration dryers from Kaeser Compressors will now use new, environmentally-friendly refrigerants by the end of 2019, as a result of legislation changes across Europe and Australia.
Enforced in 2015, the European F-gas regulation EU 517/2014 aims to minimise the emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) as well as phase-down the sale of HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons). This has impacted air compressor manufacturers and operators as F-gases are used as refrigerants in refrigeration dryers, which are now being withdrawn from the market.
Kaeser Compressors will now include the R-531A refrigerant across all its refrigeration dryers and is supporting all customers to “convert their systems to a more environmentally-friendly alternative.”
In Australia, the transition to low-GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants is part of the Australian HFC phase-down, which commenced in January 2018 as part of an international commitment to the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
The HFC phase-down will significantly reduce the amount of high-GWP refrigerants in Australia by gradually reducing the import quota from 100 per cent in 2018 to 15 per cent by the end of 2036.
Kaeser Compressors says the new refrigerant will “also future-proof for [the refrigeration dryer's] entire service life when it comes to applicable refrigerant legislation. Moreover, they are exceptionally efficient, require minimal maintenance and are easy and quick to service.”
