Objective
To demonstrate a high efficiency refrigeration and heat exchange system in a 300,000 litres/day liquid milk plant with substantial energy cost savings by transferring the load onto the night tariff utilising ice-bank/hydro-cooler technology.
The system will even out the energy profile and produce chilled water at just over 0 deg.C without the use of anti-freeze and able product (milk) cooling at under 2 deg.C.
Expected energy saving : electrical 500 MWh/y and thermal 1,09 GWh.
Final report in preparation.
The project consists of a new chilled water plant and distribution system with product heat exchanger modifications.
The technology considered is an ice-bank/hydro-cooler to transfer the refrigeration load (20% of the total site electricity consumption) to the night tariff. The night costs are 35% of the day costs. As the cooling of milk down to 2 deg.C is now a preferred food standard requirement, with a conventional refrigeration plant the only way of achieving this is by means of an ethyleneglycol or propelenelycol solution. This would result in a danger to the product if leakage occured and also would result in low evaporating temperature with increased power consumption.
Using ice-bank/hydro-cooler technology and tight limits on heat exchanger design, milk temperatures of 2 deg.C can be demonstrated with lower energy costs than previously.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
14 Dublin
Ireland