'Energy Efficiency Doubled, Size Halved'... Development of Eco-Friendly Ultra-Low Temperature Freezer
Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Applicable to COVID-19 Vaccine Transport and Semiconductor Industry
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] As the need for ultra-low temperature cold chains is increasing for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and others, a freezer has been developed that is more than twice as energy-efficient as existing models and less than half the size of the equipment.
On the 30th, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials announced that it has developed a Stirling freezer, a core technology of the ultra-low temperature cold chain. This ultra-low temperature refrigeration technology using the Stirling Cycle has more than twice the energy efficiency of conventional vapor-compression refrigeration technology, allows precise temperature control, and can reduce the volume of the device to less than half. Another major advantage is that it uses helium (He) as a refrigerant, making it an eco-friendly technology.
The Stirling freezer operates on the principle of pumping heat by repeating compression and expansion processes as two pistons move. Using this technology, ultra-low temperature cold chains, which have recently attracted attention as a technology for transporting COVID-19 vaccines, can be built more efficiently. It is also gaining interest as an ultra-low temperature cooling technology expected to be in demand in the future due to the advancement of the semiconductor and display industries.
Compared to conventional vapor-compression refrigerators, which connect several components such as compressors, heat exchangers, expanders, and oil separators with piping, the Stirling freezer can be miniaturized into a single unit. It allows continuous operation control and has a much wider temperature control range. It uses helium (He) as a refrigerant instead of refrigerant gases that adversely affect global warming. Helium has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 0. It is an absolutely eco-friendly refrigerant that surpasses the Low GWP refrigerants currently being actively considered for application in the refrigeration field.
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Park Sung-je, head of the Energy Machinery Research Division at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, said, “The ultra-low temperature Stirling freezer will expand the application range of Stirling freezers and serve as a foundation to explore the creation of new industrial fields,” adding, “We will do our best in additional research and development such as scaling up cooling capacity for ultra-low temperature chillers used in the bioindustry as well as semiconductor production processes.”
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