Secop, a leading expert in advanced hermetic compressor technologies and cooling solutions, has introduced a groundbreaking advancement in ultra-low temperature (ULT) refrigeration with its new ULT Condensing Unit featuring the MS18UVULTM variable-speed drive (VSD) R290/R170 compressor. This innovation is set to significantly improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of medical cooling, particularly for highly sensitive substances like vaccines.
The medical sector critically relies on ULT refrigeration for the secure storage, transport, and handling of delicate biomaterials. Traditionally, ULT freezers have utilized two-stage fixed-speed drive (FSD) hermetic compressors, which often overload and operate outside approved limits due to extreme loads, leading to a much shorter compressor lifetime. Secop's new solution directly addresses these challenges.
Project Summary: MS18UVULTM in ULT-Two-Stage Cascade
The project focused on retrofitting a professional ULT freezer with a green, efficient, and electronically controlled variable-speed drive R290/R170 compressor.
Key Advancements and Solutions:
- From Fixed-Speed to Variable-Speed: The core of Secop's solution involves converting from a two-stage FSD compressor to an electronically controlled variable-speed drive (VSD) compressor, specifically the MS18UVULTM. This change, combined with optimized capillary tubes and refrigerant charge, significantly enhances the unit's efficiency.
- Enhanced robustness and reliability: The MS18UVULTM ensures optimal robustness for more reliable operation, addressing the limitations of fixed-speed systems.
- Superior temperature stability and efficiency: The variable-speed °CCD compressor delivers better temperature stability and improved efficiency, while also reducing the risk of capillary tube blockade.
- Door-Opening recovery system: The MS18UVULTM supports a Door-Opening Recovery system, enabling swift temperature restoration after door openings, which preserves sample integrity and reduces energy consumption.
- Significant energy savings: The new ULT CDU achieves a remarkable 35% to 40% reduction in energy consumption.
- Reduced dimensions: The variable-speed compressor size leads to a 23% reduction in ULT CDU volume compared to the two-stage FSD setup, enhancing machine room flexibility and service accessibility.
- WHO Standard Compliance: The MS18UVULTM achieves the stringent WHO standard for medical cooling, making it ideal for WHO-certified cooling applications such as vaccines. In fact, Secop's new MS18UVULTM is highlighted as the only electronically controlled AC compressor that fulfills the requirements of WHO-certified vaccine refrigerators.
Benefits for Medical Cooling:
The MS18UVULTM is an ideal solution for the storage of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and permits precise temperature levels from −20∘C down to −86∘C. Its benefits extend to biomaterial and medical storage, offering long product lifecycles, maximum robustness and reliability, and precise control of target temperature. Utilizing natural refrigerants R290/R170, it aligns with sustainable cooling practices.
Secop's development of this technology provides an ultra-low temperature stationary cooling system that can be efficiently and effectively retrofitted into medical-grade cooling devices. With electronic controls featuring intuitive interfaces and easy customization via Tool4Cool®, Secop ensures reliable, long-lasting systems with a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) life cycle.
"The MS18UVULTM represents a significant leap forward in medical cooling technology," states a Helmut Greiner, Application Engineering in Secop Medical Cooling. "Our focus has been on delivering a solution that not only meets the extreme demands of ULT refrigeration but also sets new benchmarks for efficiency, reliability, and environmental responsibility, ensuring the safe storage of critical medical substances worldwide."
Secop's commitment to sustainable cooling solutions is further reinforced by this innovation, which promises to enhance the integrity of sensitive medical substances while contributing to energy savings and reduced environmental impact.
Download the official pdf here.
