Demo 7 – Fresh and Green Delivery

Prototype of a refrigerated truck for short delivery. The refrigeration unit is powered by an electric motor. The photovoltaic panels reduce the consumption of primary energy and extend the refrigeration unit autonomy.

Prototype of a natural refrigerant CO2 system under test at the Construction Technology Institute – National Research Council (Italy).

Schematic of the CO2 refrigeration unit using a two-phase ejector to recover the expansion work and an auxiliary evaporator to enhance the cycle performance.

Transport is one of the most critical links of the supply chain, occurring at many stages.

The relevance of short distance transport and home delivery has been increasing during the last months due to the COVID pandemic and home delivery has spread in areas where traditional shopping was still the predominating way.

Nevertheless, this sector has to face many key problems such as pollution and noise emission in city centres and the effects caused by refrigerant leakage.

The “Fresh and Green Delivery” demonstrator will integrate natural refrigerants and take advantage from solar energy to minimise GHGs emissions. On one side, the use of a natural refrigerant will prevent the emissions related to the lifecycle of synthetic refrigerants. The CO2 refrigeration unit will include advanced solutions to increase the overall performance of the system, lowering the energy request to preserve the transported food. On the other side, the integration of rooftop photovoltaic panels will further reduce the draw of primary energy of the system thanks to the produced electricity during the day.

An integration of this system with hybrid or plug-in electric trucks will further decrease the environmental impact in term of localized emissions and noise.

 

MAIN CONTACT

Antonio Rossetti:antonio.rossetti@itc.cnr.it

Experimental evaluation of the performance of an ejector for a single compression multi-temperature CO2 refrigeration unit; F. Fabris, A. Pardinas, S. Marinetti, A. Rossetti, A. Hafner, S. Minetto

Towards sustainability of road refrigerated transport in the food chain; S. Minetto, F. Fabris, S. Marinetti, A. Rossetti

Dynamic numerical modelling of a single stage dual temperature R744 ejector-supported refrigeration unit for last mile delivery; F. Fabris, J. Bodys, S. Marinetti, S. Minetto, J. Smolka, A. Rossetti

Comparison of the environmental impact of HFC and natural refrigerant transport refrigeration units from a life-cycle perspective; F. Fabris, M. Fabrizio, S. Marinetti, A. Rossetti, S. Minetto

A novel R744 multi-temperature cycle for refrigerated transport applications with low-temperature ejector: experimental ejector characterization and thermodynamic cycle assessment; F. Fabris, A. Pardinas, S. Marinetti, A. Rossetti, A. Hafner, S. Minetto

A novel R744 multi-temperature cycle for refrigerated transport applications with low-temperature ejector: experimental ejector characterization and thermodynamic cycle assessment – Ejector experimental data; F. Fabris, A. Pardinas, S. Marinetti, A. Rossetti, A. Hafner, S. Minetto