China’s industrial refrigeration sector is expanding rapidly to meet the demands of food security, cold chains, and manufacturing. Ammonia remains a central refrigerant for large-scale applications, supported by detailed national codes and standards. The regulatory environment is comprehensive, but enforcement varies across regions. As China deepens its role in global trade, the country is aligning with international practices while maintaining strong domestic frameworks.
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Under a general code (Standard) in China, GB 50072 – 2021 released December 31, 2021, the new National Standard for the Standard for Design of Cold Storage. This standard covers the whole process of design and building cold storage, logistic center and any food processing plant, including refrigeration system, all of them, including ammonia.
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Under a general code (Standard) in China, GB 50072 – 2021 released December 31, 2021, the new National Standard for the Standard for Design of Cold Storage. This standard covers the whole process of design and building cold storage, logistic center and any food processing plant, including refrigeration system, all of them, including ammonia.
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GB 50072 – 2021, not specific to Ammonia.
Yes, the district Fire Department and local police authorities (where the installation is located) have the authority to inspect the plant before operation and have the right to approve or detest a new Ammonia plant, based on risk factors in their view, including their own political agenda. This will gradually change.
None. But Certification of Quality for pressure vessels is required.
Recap on the situation in China:
The new GB 50072 – 2021 was released December, 2021, and is the new National Standard for the Design of Cold Storage. It covers all type of systems and refrigerant, and refer to other regulations, such as the Safety specification for ammonia refrigeration system user (AQ referred above), and CO2, when it become available, etc. The standards only apply for Cold Storage and Cold Chain in general.
A new regulation (AQ) specific to CO2 has been drafted and submitted to the Chinese authorities in late 2021, for review. It is expected that it could be approved at the end of 2022. This Standard will then be applicable for a broad range of applications, not just for cold storage.
Their plans is to eventually (in coming years) rewrite the whole set of standards with differentiation for different fields. Discussion are that lIAR would be involved in the process providing and such collaboration and referral to lIAR’s standards and material would be acknowledged.
Yes, regulation AQ 7015-2018 – The Safety Specification for Ammonia Refrigeration User
Yes, the introduction of the new National Standard related to Cold Storage and Regulation on Ammonia Safety is a major step forward as it provides a regulatory framework where there was none. Until 2018 there was no such regulation. This caused the “big” players were giving too much latitude to the local authorities.