CO2 becomes the good guy in cooling?

The industrial world is increasingly spurning the use of hydrofluorocarbons in refrigeration and cooling systems, a gas with thousands of times greater global warming potential than CO2.  The emerging R744 refrigerant gas is taking over. The R744 gas – which is pressurised CO2 suited for use as a refrigerant – is now available on the local market from the supplier company BOC. Although using CO2 as a refrigerant alternative isn’t new in Australia, BOC claims to be the first with the R744 product here.

The phase-out of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and later hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) a couple of decades ago around the globe resulted in proliferated use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), but this gas has been found to be as bad as the previous ones in contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted that emissions of HFCs will triple from 0.4 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) in 2002, to 1.2 billion tCO2e in 2015, unless its use is curbed.

CO2 was first used as a refrigerant in the 19th century but it fell out of use by the 1950s because of the development of freons. However, due to its low environmental impact compared to the alternatives, CO2 is regaining popularity with refrigeration system designers.

Chris MacDonald, Applications Engineer from Frigrite Refrigeration – the first company here to supply and install CO2 refrigeration cabinets into supermarkets and cut the businesses’ overall running costs thanks to improved efficiency – said it has “ordered several cylinders as soon as we discovered [the R744 gas] was available here”.

“We have already installed five cascade systems using R744 in NSW. The guaranteed very low moisture content in BOC R744 is a significant advantage. We found liquid withdrawal was another major benefit as commissioning systems could require up to 1 tonne of R744,” MacDonald said.

For more on this story sourced from Environmental Management News go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1003283

Plugging in Electric Cars

UK store Tesco is poised to announce the latest phase of its sustainability push with a commitment to trial electric car-charging points at its store and build what it claims will be the world's first "zero-carbon" supermarket.

Businessgreen.com reported that the new plans were unveiled in a speech by Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy at the London School of Economics.
To view the full article visit Businessgreen.com http://www.businessgreen.com/

Article sourced via the Resource Recovery Forum - www.resourcesnotwaste.org

In another electric car development Toyota said recently that it will lease approximately 500 plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide, some 200 in Japan and others in the US and Europe, from the end of 2009. The vehicles, which are based on its the third-generation Prius, will be able to operate either as electric cars or a conventional hybrid and come equipped with a lithium-ion battery that can be charged via external power sources.

"[Toyota] believes that, in response to the diversification of energy sources, plug-in hybrid vehicles are currently the most suitable environmentally considerate vehicles for widespread use," the company said. The cars will be leased to government ministries, local governments and corporations in Japan, Toyota said.

Story sourced from: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1003180

Ozmotech tackles water and energy innovations

Ozmotech is a privately owned local company that was formed to focus on the emerging environmental technology market. The company offers waste-to-energy technologies and water technologies – including its internationally patented ThermoFuel technology, which is used to convert waste plastic to diesel fuel, and a low-emissions incineration technology called Consumat.

Water technologies it provides include the Probiotic Solutions product, which is a liquid “biostimulant” designed to accelerate the degradation of organic waste; the Bio-Energizer that provides added nutrients and stimulants to microbial activity in wastewater and soil, breaking down oils, fats and sludge; and Micatrol, a product that aids in soil bioremediation by providing nutrient balance, buffering contamination and stimulating existing soil microbes to “aggressively” remediate contaminated soil.

ThermoFuel diesels can be used in any standard diesel engines including trucks, buses, trains, boats, heavy equipment and generators. A ThermoFuel plant can produce up to 22,800 L of fuels from 24 tonnes of waste plastics per day.

The Melbourne-based environmental technology manufacturer aimed to install and commission its ThermoFuel waste plastic-to-diesel systems in Britain and Europe in the near future. The technology uses a pyrolysis chamber, a patented catalytic converter and a series of specially built condensers to produce energy-rich diesel fuel from unsorted waste plastics. Plastics that are unsuitable for other recycling purposes because of an undesirable or contaminated mix of polymers are also suited for recycling using this method.

The company can be contacted for further information through its website  http://www.ozmotech.com.au/. Story sourced from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net  

Sustainability, Quality and Success at 3M

3M’s Paul Narog, environmental operations manager, believes the same philosophies that drive quality also drive sustainability. 

“It’s all about understanding your stakeholder needs, providing real value, and effectively solving problems,” Narog says. “Focusing on the customer, the quality of the product, the associated environmental, health, and safety issues, and the needs of the business to be successful—these are not competing issues but rather are related, and all have to happen for the long-term sustainability of a product.”

To read more about his views go to: http://www.asq.org/

Seedling symbol for green packaging

A seedling-inspired logo to help consumers and councils recognise compostable packaging material has been launched by the Australasian Bioplastics Association. The logo, licensed from the European Bioplastics Association, will appear on certified packaging material in Australia and New Zealand.

To gain certification and qualify to display the logo, a company’s biopolymer materials must undergo a “stringent test regime” carried out by independent accredited laboratories to major global standards. The tests must confirm that the products will have “no negative effect on soil or compost quality”.

ABA members that already have compostable applications in the marketplace and will be applying for certification include BioBag and Plantic, which are producing confectionery trays, Chemiplas, which makes polylactic acid (PLA) trays, and Plastral for use of its “Mater-Bi” in nappies.

ABA aims include to facilitating the market introduction of bioplastics throughout the region. For more on this story go to: http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1002822

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