Trends in the industrial refrigeration market

The main application areas of industrial refrigeration are petrochemicals, large-scale food processing, beer production, and biopharmaceuticals.

At present, compressors used in the industrial refrigeration industry mainly use open screw compressors, and ammonia refrigerants are often used. According to preliminary statistics of the industry online, the sales volume of open screw compressors in 2017 was 5,300 units, and the average annual compound growth rate in 2013-2017 was -3.5%, of which ammonia refrigeration screw compressors fell 5.5% annually. Equipment manufacturing enterprises are highly concentrated, among which domestic enterprises such as icebergs, ice wheels and snowmen have a market share of more than 70%; foreign companies such as York and GEA also have certain markets.

In the market, the chemical industry is the main application field of industrial refrigeration. During the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” period, it has reached a peak rapidly; when the market is gradually saturated, due to several “ammonia” leakage explosions during the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period The huge impact, coupled with the tightening of funds brought about by the new economic normal, reduced the start of projects, and the use of ammonia refrigerants in industrial refrigeration has also begun to decline.

Ammonia, as a natural working fluid, has high refrigeration efficiency, and its advantages in terms of environmental protection and energy efficiency are extremely obvious compared with fluorine refrigeration. Several investigations of ammonia leakage accidents have found that the inferior or cold operation of ammonia storage equipment is the main cause of accidents and should not be cause of accidents. Of course, the safety aspect of the ammonia refrigeration system must be paid enough attention. In the ammonia refrigeration system, the reduction of ammonia charge, the strict control of design, material selection and construction, and the effective supervision of the overall operation of the system can ensure ammonia refrigeration. The system operates safely and reliably.

In the past two years, all enterprises have been accelerating the promotion of natural refrigerants. Ammonia and carbon dioxide have become the mainstream choices for the future. The situation of “ammonia change” has been alleviated, but for safety and other considerations, the relevant units are ammonia. There are many restrictions on the use of refrigerants. At present, ammonia refrigeration projects are generally located in suburban areas where there are fewer residents. The overall refrigeration industry “ammonia conversion to fluorine” is continuing. The ammonia in large industrial refrigeration projects is decreasing, we expect the future. This situation will not change much in a short time.