Chillventa 2024: Tecnac Debuts New Hermetic Oil Separator Rated at up to 130bar

Spain-based OEM Tecnac unveiled a new hermetic oil separator for CO₂ (R744) refrigeration systems at Chillventa 2024 that is rated at 130bar (1,885psi).

“This was saved specifically for Chillventa,” said International Sales Executive Juan Bortone during an interview at the trade show, held October 8–10 in Nuremberg, Germany. “The SAD [hermetic oil separator] is rated at up to 130bar and has a capacity of 17L. Eventually we’ll get to 140bar [2,030psi], and the temperature we’re aiming for is 180ºC [356ºF].”

Bortone said the SAD hermetic oil separator is “designed to handle high-pressure CO₂ applications efficiently” and that units have already been purchased by a “big Denmark-based manufacturer” for use in R744 heat pumps.

“We also made an exclusive design for that client, a 1,000L receiver with a heat exchanger inside of it,” Bortone added.

Founded in 1988, Tecnac designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes components and accessories for the refrigeration and air-conditioning industries, including oil separators and oil receivers for both subcritical and transcritical CO₂ applications. The company also manufactures liquid receivers, suction accumulators and valves for R744 refrigeration, as well as components for ammonia (R717) and propane (R290) refrigeration.

In addition to the new oil separator, Bortone told NaturalRefrigerants.com about the increased interest Tecnac has seen in its CO₂ products from the Americas.

The U.S. market: Bortone said Tecnac has received “several” requests from the U.S. for its CO₂ components from the industrial and commercial sectors. “They want to go into CO₂ in the U.S.,” he said. “This has been a common request at Chillventa.”

• Tecnac has received inquiries about its heat exchangers and oil separators for industrial projects and for compact gas cooler valves “designed for space-constrained systems” in commercial projects.
• Bortone said Tecnac is seeking ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) approval for its industrial products, which it expects to receive before spring 2025.
• The increased adoption of CO₂ has been stimulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Technology Transitions Rule.” The rule, issued under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, established a GWP limit of 150 for many commercial and industrial refrigeration systems, with enforcement beginning in 2025.

Central and South America: Requests for Tecnac’s R744 products have come from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile. Bortone noted that product demand has mirrored the U.S. and said Tecnac has fielded requests from large-scale industrial refrigeration plants as well as commercial inquiries for smaller-scale CO₂ systems. 

• He said commercial CO₂ systems are “gaining popularity” in Central and South America due to their stability and performance.
• “[CO₂ systems] are starting to come up in the industrial and supermarket sectors, especially in Colombia,” said Bortone. “We haven’t received anything from Argentina, but perhaps they’ll follow Chile soon.”
• Chile, which borders Argentina, installed its first transcritical CO₂ refrigeration system in a supermarket back in 2017 in a project lead by the the Ministry of Environment’s Ozone Unit.

CO₂ in South Korea: Tecnac’s high-pressure components, such as its oil separators and heat exchangers, have been the subject of interest from “mainly industrial applications” in South Korea, including cold storage and food processing facilities, according to Bortone.

• U.S.-based manufacturer Copeland announced a collaboration with the South Korea-based commercial refrigeration manufacturer CRK this past summer to develop CO₂ cold chain technologies in a “large-scale government project.”

Quotable: “CO₂ is the future – for us and for everyone,” said Bortone. “We believe that everyone at Chillventa is talking about CO₂ because it’s the strongest alternative [refrigerant] to combat pollution.”