OREANDA-NEWS. Kobe Steel, Ltd. has developed a new refrigeration compressor to freeze and refrigerate food at food processing plants and warehouses. Kobe Steel has begun marketing the new compressor from August.

Called the iZN440TUA, the two-stage inverter ammonia screw compressor has the world's highest cooling rate with a coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.63 and the world's highest cooling capacity of about 400kW. By 2015, Kobe Steel anticipates sales of over 200 units from Japan and overseas markets, primarily Asia.

As food consumption increases amid the world's growing population, trade in food is also increasing. As an example, world trade in marine products reached approximately 20 million tons in 2000. In 2020, it is anticipated to grow to 33 million tons, according to a forecast by Japan's Fisheries Agency. For Japan, marine products make up a large proportion of food imports, especially from Asia.

Countries in Asia that produce and export food have many large-scale refrigeration plants for food processing and freezing, but food companies have been seeking refrigeration compressors with larger capacities and higher energy savings. To maintain quality during freezing, the refrigeration industry has also been cooling at lower temperatures, which is a specific feature of Kobe Steel's two-stage refrigeration compressors.

Until recently, Kobe Steel's maximum cooling capacity for its refrigeration compressors was in the 200kW range. Demand for compressors with high cooling capacities is anticipated to grow in emerging countries. To meet this need, Kobe Steel has recently developed and begun sales of the iZN440TUA, the two-stage, inverter screw refrigeration compressor with the world's highest cooling rate and the world's highest cooling capacity.

Kobe Steel is Japan's top manufacturer of refrigeration compressors with high market shares in its home country and East Asia. Kobe Steel is renowned for the high technical capabilities of its refrigeration compressors. It developed Japan's first ammonia screw refrigeration compressor package in 1963. In 2002, it succeeded in developing the world's first refrigeration compressor equipped with an inverter.