Refrigerated transport specialist Thermo King has developed a new product range promising a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions.
Bill Roxby, trailer marketing manager at the firm, said: “One of the less obvious sources of CO2 is the refrigeration equipment used in the transport of temperature-sensitive foodstuffs.
“Our research and development team was tasked with producing a new trailer unit which would deliver reduced fuel consumption, and therefore reduced CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of the product.
“With a diesel-driven unit, 99 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions go out through the exhaust, so we looked at ways of minimising emissions while the unit was running to provide the greatest savings,” he added.
The SLX range, in comparison to the preceding SL range, can operate at reduced engine speeds without any loss in performance, according to Thermo King. The size of the condenser coil has doubled, giving a quieter unit that uses significantly less fuel, and therefore emits less CO2.
The firm’s choice of drive system was critical, to avoid unnecessary energy conversion phases and thus efficiency losses. The system chosen was a proven direct drive from engine to compressor, and belt drive from engine to air delivery system. Efficiency losses in such a system are less than five per cent, compared with losses in the region of 25 per cent in systems using an electrically driven compressor and fans.
Further savings can be made by the unit’s cycle sentry system, which stops the engine when refrigeration is not needed.
Roxby said: “We started off by looking at our assembly process in terms of CO2 emissions. By calculating the quantities of each type of fuel used, we worked out that 200.2kg of CO2 were emitted per unit during the assembly process.
“Compare this to the savings that can be made during the course of a year - in a typical operation of 2,000 engine hours, the SLX can deliver over 2,000kg of reduction in CO2 emissions when compared with the SL. This saving is ten times more than the total emitted during the assembly process.”
The SLX uses R-404A as a refrigerant, a chlorine-free chemical without depleting effects on the ozone layer. But strict safeguards are in place to prevent the gas from getting into the atmosphere.
Thermo King dealers are also able to provide training and advice to customers on how to minimise fuel consumption, and reduce the environmental impact of their operation.
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