A leading manufacturer of Mediterranean Foods in South Africa – BM Foods – has installed its first CO2 transcritical refrigeration system, in a new Cape Town factory, according to Creamer Media’s Engineering News.
“We are now using 100% environmentally friendly gas and as an added benefit we get free heating for all of our hot water requirements in the factory via a heat exchanger,” Costas Vayanos, CEO of BM Foods, told the media site.
In addition, the Cape Town manufacturing facility is 30% solar-powered, which has reduced the carbon footprint of BM Foods significantly.
“We are highly motivated to be the South African leader in environmentally friendly practices within the food manufacturing industry […] Using the CO2 refrigeration technique brings us one step closer to achieving this goal,” Vayanos said.
Mainstream Refrigeration supplied the CO2 system. Manufacturing director Richard Drinkrow told Engineering News that CO2 is one of the best environmentally friendly alternatives.
“CO2 was the original gas used in the 1930s, which was ousted for more modern gases, but the damage caused by traditional gases and other pollutants to the ozone layer and beyond has resulted in increased global pressure to protect the environment,” Drinkrow said.
“The use of CO2 in refrigeration systems will assist in making small yet impactful improvements to our environment and world as a whole,” he added.
