Ammonia vs. Freon” Which is Better for Your Cold Storage?

When you’re faced with the decision of either using Ammonia or Freon in your refrigeration system, you aren’t alone. Many facility operators face this problem and don’t know what to do. 

While there are pros and cons to both, in this article the comparison of Ammonia and Freon Gas technology and the benefits of Freon Gas Technology will be discussed and you’ll be able to make a more educated decision for your facility.

With the old refrigeration systems, Ammonia was the coolant of choice. It was cheap and easy to handle and the technology was fairly straightforward. 

Today the market is flooded with a number of alternative cooling agents. It can be a difficult decision to change to new technology. Technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it is not uncommon to see energy efficiencies of 20% or more. 

Unfortunately, this often means that the old equipment has to be replaced. However, by carefully weighing all the options, it may pay off in the long run to make the change.

This article covers the following:

1. Introduction
2. Basics of Ammonia and Freon Gas 
3. Comparison of Ammonia and Freon Gas Technology
4. Major Challenges with Ammonia Gas Technology
5. Advantages of Freon Gas Technology

Ammonia is a common refrigerant in large commercial units. It’s often used in large systems because it is cheap and easy to install. Despite its effectiveness, it can be hazardous and flammable. Ammonia (NH3 to science geeks like us) is naturally occurring and makes a great refrigerant.

That’s why it is important to use it safely and only as it’s intended. The good news is that it is quickly replaced by Freon and other safer alternatives. 

The Freon gas, also known as Halocarbon, was developed as a refrigerant in the 1930s. It is a colorless, odorless, noncombustible, noncorrosive gas with low toxicity. 

Due to their low surface tension, low viscosity, and low boiling temperatures, Freons are extremely important refrigerants. They are extremely inert and stable compounds.

There are two types of halocarbons: ethane- and methane-based ones. 

1. Methanes are no longer used in industrial settings due to ozone depletion concerns. (The commonly used halomethane R-12 underwent a phase-out as part of the Montreal Protocol in 1995. In a similar vein, the production of R-22 will end shortly). 
2. Modern processing plants frequently use halocarbon systems based on ethane.

1. Cost:

Freon: If a load of a refrigeration system is less than 100 tonnes (1.2 million Btu/h), a halocarbon system is almost certainly required. Halocarbon (Freon) may, of course, also be employed in much bigger systems, and many people opt to do so for a variety of reasons.

Most halocarbons have the advantage of smaller, less expensive compressors and lower compression energy at low food freezing temperatures (-30F to -45F).

Additionally, installing a Freon system is typically less expensive than installing an Ammonia system for several applications, which has a significant impact on project budgets.

Ammonia: The least expensive refrigerant is Ammonia. R22 costs roughly 2.5 times as much per kg as Ammonia, whereas R134a costs about 7.0 times as much. 

The operating costs for sizable cold storage are 20–30% cheaper with Ammonia than with R22. Additionally, since Ammonia has a lower density than halocarbons, a system can be charged with half as much material.

2. Product, and Temperature Requirements:

Freon: Medical freezers and environmental chambers that keep temperature-sensitive samples, specimens, and medications are protected by very low-temperature (VLT) refrigeration systems, which are dependable and effective.

This refrigerant is effective for applications needing very low temperatures (VLT)—below -40 to -73 °C (-40 to -150 °F)—in environmental chambers and medical freezers.

Ammonia: Ammonia has long been utilized in places like slaughterhouses, dairies, breweries, petrochemical facilities, and anywhere that needs a lot of cooling. 

Although Ammonia is a possible choice for bakeries that employ spiral freezers, bakeries normally don’t have such substantial cooling needs.

For a blast freezer with a temperature below -20°F, earlier, the general perception was utilizing Ammonia instead of freon might make more sense. However, this perception has changed with evolving technologies of Freon Gas systems wherein it has been now well adapted for blast freezer applications. 

3. Efficiency: 

Freon: However, a halocarbon refrigeration system with a good design can rival Ammonia systems and potentially surpass them in terms of productivity by up to 25%. 

This is why having a system customized to your needs by an experienced team like Aquamech is crucial.

Ammonia: It requires moving fewer pounds of refrigerant to accomplish the same amount of work. 

Because it requires less horsepower to transfer the refrigerant mass, an Ammonia system will be less expensive to run.

4. Usage:

Freon: This refrigeration gas technology is critical in supermarket display cases, food storage, and processing, ice machines, the pharmaceutical industry, etc. 

Ammonia: It is used as a stabilizer, neutralizer, and source of nitrogen. Ammonia is also employed in waste and wastewater treatment, cold storage, rubber, pulp, and paper, as well as the food and beverage sectors. Additionally, it is employed in the production of medications.

5. Maintenance:

Freon: It is easy to maintain as well-trained heating and air conditioning contractors can do it independently. 

Ammonia: When it comes to keeping your own Ammonia system in pristine condition, you have to know what you’re doing. If you’re not a certified technician and you’re not very familiar with the system, you really should hire one to take care of it for you. 

You could keep things up and running with a small system on your own. However, if it’s a large system, you should find a company that has a network of technicians who are certified and can be on call in case of a problem. 

If you’re an hour and a half away from a service center, then you may not want to go with an Ammonia-based system. If you do have a leak, you will have to report it to the proper government agencies.

Ammonia is a colorless gas with a sharp, pungent odor. Its strong odor warns people of the danger of the gas. The gas is not dangerous, but it’s a strong base that reacts with acids, even in small amounts, to produce toxic or flammable gases.

Ammonia has a level of flammability in the air but has resulted in explosions under very specific conditions involving Ammonia concentration in air, relative humidity, and temperature.

Although Ammonia is non-toxic at low concentrations, the smell of Ammonia may cause breathing problems in small children.

The main drawback of using Ammonia as a refrigerant is its toxicity. While the legal and regulatory system does not ban its use as a refrigerant, other systems, such as Freon-based CFC-free gases, are much safer and are less likely to cause a lawsuit. 

In addition to requiring operators with specialized training, they are subject to stricter regulation than Freon systems. Process safety management (PSM) programs are required for facilities that store more than 10,000 lb of Ammonia on-site.

Most Freon systems employ hermetic or semi-hermetic compressors and air-cooled/ water-cooled condensing, while some do use open-drive compressors and evaporative condensers.

The hermetic or semi-hermetic compressor rejects the majority of the motor heat to the refrigeration system while the open-drive system motor rejects the motor heat to the atmosphere. Alternatively, motor heat can also be transferred to the water cooling system. 

Conclusion:

There is a need to move from Ammonia to freon with a cause.

It is becoming more and more common to see the use of freon in cold storage than it is to see those old canisters of Ammonia and for good reason. 

Freon is a man-made refrigerant that was developed as an alternative to both sulfur dioxide & Ammonia and you can find an endless supply of them.

Both air-cooled and evaporative condenser systems can benefit from freon as a substitute. Small- to medium-sized Freon systems usually benefit from lower initial costs.

Freon may end up being the ideal option for food, pharmaceutical, chemical, dairy, etc., applications.

The degree to which each refrigerant contributes to global warming is another crucial point. The newer refrigerants that eventually will phase out the R-22 Freon are relatively harmless to the atmosphere.

Aquamech has been in the field of walk-in cold rooms and cold storage using environment-friendly Freon gas systems since 2006. We have the expertise to design cold storage solutions from 100 Sq ft to 200000 Sq ft and more.

Feel free to contact our design head Navdeep Singh Sethi if you’d like more information about our services and bacteria avoidance in the purification systems or email us at sales@aquamech.co.in.