Natural ammonia Azanefreezer package comes to US market

Star Refrigeration, one of Europe’s leading independent contractors of industrial cooling and heating systems, has launched a new subsidiary—Azane Inc—to manufacture its climate-friendly and high-performance low-charge ammonia freezers for the US market.
Azane Inc has been launched to provide a natural solution for the US cooling industry, which is currently affected by the prospect of the upcoming R22 phaseout and potential HFC phase-down. The company specializes in low-charge packaged ammonia refrigeration systems, including the energy-efficient, air-cooled Azanefreezer (a companion to the Azanechiller) that is designed for use in freezer warehouses.
Essentially an ammonia condensing unit, the Azanefreezer is a complete refrigeration package housed in one unit with two separate ceiling mounted coolers arranged for reverse cycle defrost. This unit contains two screw compressors, designed for industrial installations and located for easy maintenance access. Its low-pressure receiver offers efficient operation and allows for a low charge of ammonia. The enhanced aluminium evaporator design provides better performance from the lowest amount of ammonia, without the need for any pumps as found in traditional ammonia systems.
Use of low-charge, natural refrigerant ammonia—a zero-GWP (global warming potential) and non-ozone-depleting substance—should safeguard Azanefreezer from future environmental legislation. The system has a life cycle of 25-plus years at maximum operational performance. It also uses reverse cycle defrost—currently the only system to offer this, according to Azane—which defrosts more efficiently.
Derek Hamilton, Azane’s US business development manager, said, “All Azanefreezer components have been selected to minimize the risk of refrigerant leakage, reduce refrigerant charge, simplify maintenance, and prolong plant life expectancy. The Azanefreezer has been installed in public warehouses across Europe for over 20 years due to the phaseout of R22. It is a fully tested and proven technology which has now been made available to US customers to aid the transition from ozone-depleting refrigerants by 2020.”
The ammonia packaged unit has been specifically designed to operate with as little as one-tenth of the charge of a traditional refrigeration system.
To find out more, access www.azane-inc.com/.