Food Lion, Kysor//Warren introduce innovative refrigeration

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. Food Lion and refrigeration manufacturer Kysor/Warren unveiled the grocery industry's first cascading refrigeration system with naturally occurring carbon dioxide to keep frozen and fresh foods cold.

Food Lion demonstrated the system during an event held for industry peers and members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership, a cooperative alliance working to reduce the use of ozone-depleting gases and curb greenhouse gas refrigerant emissions. The College Park store is Food Lion's fourth GreenChill advanced refrigeration store and its third store to incorporate the use of CO2, which reduces the amount of refrigerants needed to keep products cool or frozen by more than 30%.

The system is Food Lion's first "cascading" CO2 refrigeration cycle, which uses a single system and just one condensing unit to refrigerate and freeze foods. Before Kysor//Warren developed this system, grocers incorporating CO2 refrigeration systems needed two condensing units as well as a freezer-specific system and a refrigeration, medium temperature, specific system. This is Kysor//Warren's first CO2 advanced refrigeration system in a retail grocery store setting.