The world of cold chain is a merry-go-round. Trends keep coming back. It started with ammonia and CO2 two centuries ago, went into other refrigerants during the last 50 years, and has come full circle now, back to where it started. It is clear that the developed world is now looking at natural refrigerants. The main reason is that local laws now require it. The developing world has a little more time to start looking at them, as their laws still do not require it. We will be discussing this more and more over the next few months and maybe years, till the time a definite global policy comes up. The cold chain in India is seeing good activity in the North, South and West. We expect to see good growth in the eastern region also
soon. In the meanwhile, we shall discuss some important events of the past few months. RefCon organised by ISHRAE Pune Chapter and ACREX in Mumbai were the two main events, apart from international events like the IIAR Annual Conference in Orlando, USA.

RefCon 2016
As a last minute challenge, RefCon was entrusted to ISHRAE Pune since Chennai was reeling under the impact of floods. ISHRAE Pune had to organize the event in a matter of two and a half months, and it turned out to be a huge success. The event was co-organised by ASHRAE Pune with organizations like GCCA, IIAR and others supporting it. Almost 130 delegates attended. A catalogue show was held along with the main event, which made a signifi cant impact. The topics covered included controls, design aspects, CO2-ammonia cascade systems, de-superheaters, energy efficiency and panel discussion on current topics like screw vs reciprocating compressors.
 

ACREX 2016
ACREX featured a refrigeration and cold chain pavilion, which housed the stalls of a large number of companies from various cold chain sectors. However, some companies wished to be a part of the larger hall to target HVAC audience as well. ACREX also featured workshops on cold chain topics, and events by some cold chain companies during the evening hours. The next ACREX will be important, especially from the refrigeration and cold chain pavilion perspective. Since ACREX has been covered in detail in the January- February 2016 issue of the Journal, we are not covering it here in detail.
 

IIAR
As mentioned in an earlier issue in this column, IIAR Western India Chapter has been chartered. Harshal Surange attended the IIAR Annual Conference in Orlando and presented the plans for the newly formed chapter. There was a lot of excitement as it is IIAR’s first chapter outside the American continents. The conference was a medium sized show, not as large as ACREX in terms of scale; however, it was interesting to see the emerging new technologies. This was the kind of show with a defi ning character showcasing the latest in the field. From ammonia scroll compressors to packaged ammonia chillers with CO2 brine as the output, it was all there. The technologies you had been wondering why they did not exist were there to see. IIAR has a significant presence in US government circles and the new IIAR 2 norms are slated to be used as they are by the US government for ammonia related matters. IIAR 2 serves as an essential guide for the safe design and operation of ammonia refrigeration systems. It is the regulatory document of ammonia refrigeration and collates best practice information in industrial ammonia refrigeration
from practitioners across the world. As mentioned by a Board member, it is, at the very least, the most comprehensive publication
on ammonia refrigeration design safety available today.

Safety in ammonia is one of the primary concerns of the industry and we need to utilize such documents to enhance the safety and reliability levels of ammonia in our industry. While currently there is no hurry to phase out HFCs from India, the process may get expedited over a period of time. The way forward, hence, is to move towards natural refrigerants like ammonia, CO2 and propane. Now, with a standing committee on Refrigeration in place at ISHRAE chaired by Harshal Surange, we expect ISHRAE’s level of engagement with the refrigeration and cold chain industry to increase.
Arvind Surange has been appointed as Co-chair of the National Committee on Application of Non-conventional Energy Sources in Cold Chain Infrastructure under the aegis of NCCD, the umbrella body of the cold chain industry in the country.