Opteon XP40™

©

Refrigerant (R-449A)EROSKI Bilbondo Supermarket
Retrofits Refrigeration Systems toOpteon™ XP40 to Comply With New
European F-Gas Regulation

Background

EROSKI has a sales network of 1,897 stores,
including hypermarkets, supermarkets, petrolstations, optics, travel agencies and sport shops,
as well as a staff of 33,832 workers in Spain.
Since its beginning, EROSKI has carried out
many social initiatives, most of them related tothe promotion of healthy lifestyles, consumer
education, environmental protection andsolidarity.

The new European F-GasRegulation, which came into effectin January of 2015, requires a yearly
reduction in HFCs to cut F-gas emissions by
two-thirds by 2030 compared to 2014 levels.
The introduction of this regulation led EROSKI
to make the decision to retrofit its supermarket
refrigeration systems to a low global warming
potential (GWP) refrigerant alternative.

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Refrigerants

Foto: © Iparfrio

The 37,000 m2 supermarket, located in Basauri,Vizcaya, was considered to be the pilot centre for
EROSKI’s project launch to retrofit its old R-404A
refrigeration systems to Opteon™ XP40 (R-449A)
from Chemours.
Compared to the previously used R-404A,
Opteon™ XP40 has a 65% lower GWP and allows
up to 12% reduction in energy consumption. Due toits high GWP, R-404A is imposed with high taxes inSpain. Retrofitting to Opteon™ XP40 not only allows
EROSKI to reduce their environmental impact, butalso to save money due to lower taxes and energy
consumption.

Opteon™ XP40 Refrigerant

Opteon™ XP40, the company’s flagship low GWP
refrigerant, is a low GWP hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO)based refrigerant. It was developed to replace

R-404A/R-507A in positive displacement, direct
expansion (DX) low- and medium-temperaturesystems.
It can be used for both retrofit of existing R-404A/
R-507A equipment, as well as a suitable replacement
option in new equipment. Opteon™ XP40 offers
improved energy efficiency and environmental
properties versus R-404A/R-507A*, with an AR5
GWP of 1,282 (vs. 3,943 for R-404A). Opteon™ XP40
refrigerant also has a zero ozone depletion potential(ODP).
Opteon™ XP40 Properties
ASHRAE NumberR-449ALubricant

POE

Boiling Point-46.0 °C (-50.7 °F)

Safety Classification

A1

Temperature Glide~4 K (~7 °R)* GWP value is given in accordance with the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). With respect to the EU 517/2014 (F-Gas) Regulation, theIPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) is valid, which gives GWP values of R-404A = 3,922 and Opteon™ XP40 = 1,397.

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Refrigerants

Overview of Refrigeration System andConversion to Opteon™ XP40EROSKI enlisted Iparhotz/Iparfrio, a Spanish
refrigeration installation and service company, andKimikal, the official Spanish distributor of Opteon™,
to help with the retrofit.
The retrofit was conducted on the medium- and lowtemperature systems. The DX medium-temperature(MT) system consisted of five newly installed Bitzer
screw compressors HSK6461-60 40P, whereas
the DX low-temperature (LT) system was comprisedof four newly installed Bitzer screw compressors
HSN5363-30 40P.
The retrofit was completed in a single night after
operating hours, in order to not disrupt the centre’scommercial activity. Adjustments were made thenext day to ensure that the proper settings were inplace to provide optimum system performance.

Foto: © Iparfrio

The tables below provide operational data measured
at similar ambient conditions for the system prior to,as well as after, the retrofit.

Table 1: Comparison of DX MT system parameters before and after retrofit
Compressor

5 Bitzer screw compressors HSK6461-60 40P

Condenser

Discharge (FRIMETAL CFN 371 and ERSAIRE ECA08P9P08-B4)
Oil (FRIMETAL CFN113 and ERSAIRE ECA 08P7L03A)
R-404A

R-449A

Discharge pressure

15.6 bar15.0 bar

Suction pressure

3.0 bar

2.5 barSuction temperature-14 °C (7 °F)-14 °C (7 °F)

Discharge temperature

76 °C (169 °F)

81 °C (178 °F)

No returns

No returns

Oil level

Returns situation

Okay

Okay

Refrigerant level

Okay

Okay

Oil temperature

38 °C (100 °F)

40 °C (104 °F)

Table 2: Comparison of DX LT system parameters before and after retrofitCompressor

4 Bitzer screw compressors HSN5363-30 40P

Condenser

Discharge (FRIMETAL CFN-345)
Oil (FRIMETAL CFN113)

Discharge pressure
Suction pressure

R-404A

R-449A

17.0 bar

15.4 bar

1 bar

0.6 barSuction temperature-3 °C (27 °F)-8 °C (18 °F)

Discharge temperature

66 °C (151 °F)

76 °C (169 °F)

No returns

No returns

Okay

OkayReturns situation
Oil level
Refrigerant level

Okay

Okay

Oil temperature

38 °C (100 °F)

40 °C (104 °F)

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Conclusion

EROSKI expects to see the benefits of improved
energy efficiency when they compare energy use
to the previous system in the coming months.
“Environmental consciousness is a key value for ourcompany,” said Esther Arando, Maintenance Managerfor EROSKI. “The combined low GWP and energy
efficiency of Opteon™ XP40 allowed us to not only
retrofit our R-404A systems with a more sustainablerefrigerant, but to improve performance as well.”“The ease of the retrofit from a technical aspect wasimpressive,” said Eugenio Poso, Technical Support
for Iparhotz/Iparfrio. “Our goal is to never disrupt thebusiness of our customers, and the ability to retrofit

Refrigerants

overnight played a big part in the success of theinstallation.” Emilio Paradela, Kimikal Commercial
Director, added that he “found Opteon™ XP40 tobe the best solution for commercial refrigeration,
because of the ease of the retrofit and its energy
efficiency performance in both old and new systems.”
The success of the EROSKI Bilbondo supermarket
retrofit has encouraged other customers of Iparhotz/
Iparfrio to begin to make the change to Opteon™.
Over the past year, over 150 supermarkets
have worked with Iparhotz/Iparfrio and Kimikal
to transition their refrigeration systems toOpteon™ XP40.

For more information on the Opteon™ family of ­refrigerants or otherrefrigerants from Chemours, visit opteon.com

The information set forth herein is furnished free of charge and based on technical data that Chemours believes to be reliable. It is intended for use by persons having technical skill, at theirown risk. Because conditions of use are outside our control, Chemours makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and assumes no liability in connection with any use of this information.
Nothing herein is to be taken as a license to operate under, or a recommendation to infringe, any patents or patent applications.
© 2016 The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Opteon™ and any associated logos are trademarks or copyrights of The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Chemours™ and the Chemours Logo aretrademarks of The Chemours Company.
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