Dynatemp Refrigerants Company is happy to celebrate the first annual World Refrigeration Day. We’ve been in the refrigerant industry for over 36 years and we understand the value and importance that refrigeration plays in our everyday lives. Refrigeration keeps our food from rotting as it is shipped across the country. Refrigeration makes it possible to keep vaccines chilled as they are administered across the world, saving innumerable lives. As the founder of World Refrigeration Day, Stephen Gill pointed out, even the rockets that landed on the moon needed to be temperature controlled in order to be successful. Our industry has saved countless lives, provides comfort, and even keeps the taste of beer consistent and delicious through a refrigerated brewing process. Who doesn’t love that?
Here at Dynatemp we plan to celebrate World Refrigeration Day by listening in on many of the discussions the IOR (Institute of Refrigeration) has planned. For more information discussions and events click here.
We are very proud to be a part of the refrigerant industry, but there is still work to do to ensure the U.S. continues to be seen as a leader in the industry worldwide. Over the past couple of years, the U.S. refrigerant industry has been stuck in a regulation stalemate. Starting with SNAP rules 20 and 21 being vacated, followed by very little progress on any federally mandated HFC phase-downs, and coupled with one-off state by state phase-down regulations, many of us are looking for clarity from the current administration on where refrigerant regulations are going. However, one thing remains clear, we must find and adopt technologies that have a lower global warming potential than the refrigerants and technologies that are widely used today. In the near future, we see HFOs and natural refrigerants as the most likely option for the next phase of refrigerants. Both have lower GWP than HFC’s which are the most widely used today. In addition to those options, there are exciting reports of technologies that could lead us in new directions.
One report came from the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) who worked with the U.S. military to identify 12 NEW non/low-flammable refrigerant blends with a low global warming potential. While there is still more research required to find equally efficient non-flammable, low GWP refrigerants this is a step in the right direction.
There was also a report in Science Daily of Japanese researchers creating a new liquid-to-gas phase transition using a graphene. This technology could make the use of natural refrigerants more widely adopted in the future.
Today is a day to celebrate and spread awareness about the incredible accomplishments of the refrigeration industry around the world. And, there are many. But, let’s continue to request a federally mandated HFC phase-down from this administration. Let’s continue to research lower GWP technologies for the future. The refrigeration industry has always advanced the world for the better. Let’s not stop now.