Mexican commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturer FB Industrial is highlighting its propane (R290) chillers for medium-temperature (MT) refrigeration applications, particularly in high-ambient climates where CO2 (R744) systems can face performance challenges.
Gildardo Yañez, Manager of Training and Applications at FB Industrial, spoke with NaturalRefrigerants.com about the company’s work with propane at IIAR 2026, held March 15–18 in San Antonio, Texas. FB Industrial launched its Ecoflex line of indirect propane chillers in early 2025. The company also manufactures ammonia (R717) and CO2 (R744) industrial refrigeration systems.
“Everybody is presenting ammonia or CO2 solutions,” Yañez said. “Our proposal is to use R290 for MT applications and pair it with CO2 in a cascade system ‒ combining efficient MT performance with highly efficient low-temperature [LT] freezing.”
Technology uptake: “We are starting to see sales for R290 chillers in Latin America,” Yañez said, who noted that end users in the region are willing to try new technologies as they work to comply with the phase out of HFCs mandated by the Kigali Amendment.
- In LATAM self-contained refrigerators commonly use hydrocarbon refrigerants, while large industrial plants rely on ammonia or CO2. However, HFCs still dominate medium-sized commercial and industrial systems. FB Industrial’s R290 chiller fills this gap, particularly in MT applications, Yañez said.
- Early R290 chiller adopters in LATAM include Mexico and Colombia, while Brazil has propane-based water-loop systems in commercial applications, according to Yañez.
- Pilot projects in Colombia have shown the efficiency of propane in MT applications. “We have R290 chillers with 5kg of charge meeting MT loads in stores and 25HP [equipment] in cold storage warehouses with R290 charges up to 25kg,” said Edwin Dickson, of the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, during a presentation, at ATMO LATAM 2025. The event, hosted by ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, was held February 19‒20 in Mexico City.
Some deployments: Over the past year, FB Industrial has delivered roughly 10 R290 chiller projects, including standalone MT units and R290/CO2 cascade systems. Yañez provided details for two projects:
- A Mexican distribution center installed two R290 chillers. With a total charge of 60kg of R290, the system provides 120TR (422kW) of MT capacity.
- A meat processing plant in Mexico City installed a R290/CO2 cascade system with a total cooling capacity of 577,000BTU (48.1TR/169kW) and an R290 charge of 40kg.
Ecoflex details: The design keeps the refrigerant outside the facility by using a circulating glycol/water mixture.
- The R290 line offers an 8‒85TR (28‒299kW) capacity range for high-temperature applications up to 50°F (10°C) and a 5‒50TR (17‒176kW) range for medium-temperature applications down to 10°F (−12.2°C).
- Depending on the model, the R290 charge ranges from 4 to 17kg in a single factory-installed circuit, with a 70kg total maximum per unit.
- By using R290 for subcooling, “we enable subcritical CO2 operation for LT applications even in high-temperature conditions,” Yañez explained.
Quotable: “With hydrocarbons you don’t have high pressures or the fear that the system will stop working because of high [ambient] heat,” Yañez said. “We need to inform engineers that R290 is a safe technology.”
“We need to inform engineers that R290 is a safe technology.”
Gildardo Yañez, Manager of Training and Applications at FB Industrial
