Distribution vehicles refrigerated by recycled CO2

Five distribution vehicles operated by Arla Foods’ Distribution Centre in Copenhagen are refrigerated by recycled CO2 sourced from other companies’ production. This offers a fully CO2 neutral cooling solution.

Using CO2 refrigerated vehicles began as an experiment in 2002 and the results were immediate – and positive. Not only is the refrigeration second-to-none but the whole system is CO2 neutral.

“As a matter of fact, all we’re doing is borrowing some CO2 which would otherwise have just been emitted into the atmosphere,” workshop manager Niels Jensen explains.

It’s not all smooth sailing, though. Using recycled CO2 is an expensive solution and the tank has to be topped up once a day and more frequently in summer. Also, on the island of Sealand where the Danish capital, Copenhagen, is located, there is only one CO2 filling station and because the routes have to be planned accordingly, this reduces efficiency.

Financial and maintenance considerations
As filling the CO2 tank takes 20 minutes, CO2 vehicles service one customer less per route than other vehicles. Transport Manager Ole Højris can see the benefits of CO2 vehicles.
“We monitor developments closely,” he says. “And this also applies to other types of CO2 neutral and CO2 reducing solutions for vehicle refrigeration systems.”

“At the same time, however, we measure such solutions against financial and maintenance considerations – but we’re certainly not against using more CO2 refrigerated vehicles.”

Facts/CO2 refrigeration
CO2 refrigeration is made possible when the extremely cold liquid CO2 converts to a gas through a change in pressure. This means that the CO2 absorbs heat energy from the air in the refrigerated vehicle. The CO2 is then emitted into the air again.

When the refrigerated tank is full, the last vestiges of CO2 are emitted from the vehicle’s funnel like snow on a sunny spring day.

In Sweden:

• 28 Arla Foods-vehicles in Sweden are refrigerated by recycled CO2.
• During the summer the lorries in Sweden operate on 5 per cent Biodiesel, during wintertime that figure is 2 percent.

In the UK:

• Since April 2008 all of the UK fleet is operating on Biodiesel.
• In the UK all vehicles are fitted with telematics which monitor the vehicle’s engine performance, fuel consumption and driver behavior.

Arla Foods’ ambition is to minimise emissions and continually improve its environmental efforts throughout the producton chain in order to contribute to organically sustainable development.