An Introduction to Propane, A Natural Refrigerant with Near-Zero GWP

by Paul Johnson, G&D’s Director of Technology and R&D

The refrigeration industry has been turned on its head recently with new and upcoming  refrigerant regulations. For the last thirty years, we’ve navigated the tightening of environmental  regulations – first focused on reducing a refrigerant’s ozone depletion potential (ODP); and now  focused on reducing the refrigerant’s global warming potential (GWP). This constant  progression, incrementally reducing the impact our chillers may have on the environment if a  leak were to occur, has pushed our industry to improve the technology we use, and lessen our  environmental impact. 

Twenty years ago, when we were in the process of moving away from the old industry standard,  R22, we tried to predict which refrigerant would ultimately win out. Which refrigerant had the  potential to be “tomorrow proof”? Would it be some new refrigerant we’d never heard of? Or a  natural refrigerant?  

At the time, we discussed refrigerants such as ammonia, CO2, and R290 (Propane). All of these  are natural refrigerants, each with their own pros and cons. While the team at G&D Chillers  agreed that propane was the best fit for our industry, and we discussed how we could make it a  reality, it was not feasible at the time. We’ve discussed it from time to time ever since and each  time came to the same conclusion; R290 is the right refrigerant, but now is not the right time. 

Twenty years ago, the environmental regulations focused on ODP and efficiency, then ODP  took a back seat. Now GWP is the primary concern. With the advent of new low GWP  refrigerant blends, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals have begun to contaminate the world’s aquifers and find their way into the foods we eat and even the air we  breathe. Watching the European markets, we believe that high efficiency and the elimination of  PFAS chemicals will be the primary concerns in the foreseeable future and lead to regulations  mandating the use of natural refrigerants. With the newest planned cuts to the allowable GWP,  and with the only refrigerants capable of meeting the new standards being flammable, high  PFAS refrigerants, we decided the time had finally come to make the leap and develop the  chiller technology to safely use R290! 

Leading the shift to propane in the brewing industry is New Belgium Brewing. As a certified B  Corporation since 2012, New Belgium’s commitment to social and environmental accountability  starts at the foundation of its corporate structure. New Belgium follows a leading climate action  plan, a scalable philanthropy model, vocal advocacy in the policy arena, and a long tradition of  using its brand to mobilize customers in support of the world’s most pressing movements for  change. 

Andy Collins, New Belgium’s Carbon Neutral Engineer, helped the brewery research and  implement its first transition to using propane as a natural refrigerant to help achieve the 

company’s goal to certify all brands as Carbon Neutral by 2030 and deliver on New  Belgium’s climate action plan validated by the Science Based Target initiative. 

“We’re really happy to work with a partner like G&D Chillers who was willing to build a propane based chiller with low-to-no GWP and help us significantly reduce the amount of HFCs used in  our refrigeration systems,” says Collins. “We’re excited to implement G&D’s new Elite 290  chilling technology and continue our progress toward our goal to become carbon neutral by  2030.” 

There are many reasons R290 is the best refrigerant for our application. It has a GWP near  zero; the latest testing preliminarily shows it at less than one. It is proven and reliable; one of the  earliest vapor compression refrigerants. It has a record of safety; we’ve piped it into our homes  to light on fire, and allowed the untrained attendants at the local gas station to refill our  barbeque tanks for the last hundred years. It has no glide; all the refrigerant evaporates at a  single predictable temperature at a given pressure, rather than over a range of temperatures  with different components of the refrigerant evaporating at different temperatures. It uses the  standard (familiar) vapor compression refrigeration cycle and components; with just a small  amount of safety related training, any refrigeration tech can work on these systems. It’s highly  efficient without any tricks: no need for ejectors, and trans-critical gas coolers or backup chillers  like CO2 might require, just standard refrigeration technology and components. And, unlike  CO2, it works even when it is hot outside, does not rely on mandatory heat reclaim systems for  efficiency, and doesn’t utilize an unfamiliar refrigeration cycle that is completely foreign to most  technicians. 

We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have the ability to see what’s happening in chilling  technology over in Europe. While we are early adopters of R290 in the U.S., as is usually the  case with refrigeration technology, we’re about a decade behind the European market where  R290 is already widely used in large outdoor chillers.  

We are highly confident that R290 is the future of refrigeration in the US. However, there were a  few challenges we had to overcome in the development of this chiller, determining the  applicable US codes to follow, working with the local agencies where our first R290 chiller will  find its home, making it safe even in the event of a leak, designing it to use the smallest  refrigerant charge possible, developing new service and maintenance procedures, and adding  new programmed safety mechanisms.  

We’re excited to see our first R290 chiller exceeding our expectations of performance as we put  it through its paces here in Oregon! In the end, this project serves as a roadmap for the future  and paves the way for a tomorrow-proof chiller. 

Stay tuned for more information about our new line of Elite 290 propane chillers, which will be  on display at the Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas April 21-24, 2024 at Booth #626.  To learn more product info about the NEW Elite 290 line, click here!