Transcript Slide 1

Two Primary Types
Types Of Refrigeration Systems
Cryogenic System
Mechanical System
An open system that uses the refrigerant
once and then vents it into the
atmosphere.
A sealed system that uses the same
refrigerant over and over.
Examples: A freezing system using liquid
nitrogen (LN2) or carbon dioxide (CO2).
Examples: A system that uses Ammonia
(NH3) or Freon as the refrigerant.
We’ll focus on mechanical systems today.
How It Works
How Does Mechanical Refrigeration Work?
1. To cool the air or liquid, it moves through a heat exchanger (evaporator), transferring its
heat into the refrigerant.
2. The refrigerant inside the evaporator must be maintained at a lower temperature than the
air or liquid. Heat (high energy) moves to cold (low energy).
3. Temperature of refrigerant is controlled by the pressure inside the evaporator.
(Pressure-Temperature relationship)
4. The liquid refrigerant inside the evaporator absorbs the heat, changing state to vapor.
(boiling)
How It Works
How Does Mechanical Refrigeration Work?
Examples:
At 33.5 PSIG, Ammonia boils at +20°F.
At 3.6 PSIG, it boils at -20°F.
All fluids have a “Pressure – Temperature” Relationship.
How It Works
That means…
By maintaining the desired pressure inside the evaporator we get the
desired temperature.
The temperature at that boiling point determines how much heat is
absorbed into the refrigerant, changing the liquid refrigerant to a vapor.
Primary Components
Four Primary Components Of A Mechanical System
Evaporator: This is where the heat
from the product or space is
transferred into the refrigerant.
It’s main function is to remove heat
from air or liquid.
There are several types of
evaporators used in food processing
industry.
Primary Components
Types of Evaporators
Air Units: a common type of
evaporator found in cold storages,
pre-coolers, and mechanical freezers.
They are a combination of fans and a
coil. Air is blown over the tubes
which contains refrigerant.
Other names: evaporators, coils
Primary Components
Types of Evaporators
Shell And Tube Heat Exchangers:
primarily used to cool fluids. Fluid
being cooled is pumped through the
tubes while the liquid refrigerant is in
the shell.
Applications: chill glycol, wine, water
Primary Components
Types of Evaporators
Plate and Frame Heat Exchangers:
plates stacked together containing
refrigerant or product in alternating
plates. These have extremely good
heat transfer characteristics.
Applications: chill glycol, wine, water
Primary Components
Four Primary Components Of A Mechanical System
Compressor: the largest electrical
user in a food storage facility is the
compressor.
It maintains the evaporator
refrigerant pressure required to give
desired evaporator temperature and
to compress the refrigerant gas from
the evaporator to a higher pressure.
There are primarily three types of
compressors…
Primary Components
Types of Compressors
Rotary Screw Compressor: The most
common type used. These units are
typical 100 HP to 1,000 HP.
Wide range of applications and can
be used in a single stage system or as
the high stage or booster in a twostage system.
Primary Components
Types of Compressors
Reciprocating Compressor: these
units have pistons going up and
down compressing gas, similar to a
car engine.
Typically 50 HP to 200 HP and can be
used in a single stage system or as
the high stage or booster in a twostage system. Limited compression
ratio.
Primary Components
Types of Compressors
Rotary Booster Compressor: These
are no longer manufactured but
there are still many in operation.
They are used only as boosters in
two stage systems.
Primary Components
Four Primary Components Of Any Refrigeration System
Condenser: high pressure gas is
cooled and condenses back to liquid.
This is where all of the heat from the
cold storage and from the food
product is transferred out of the
refrigeration system.
Fans blow air through coils as water is
pumped over them. The water
evaporates, absorbing the heat in the
refrigerant gas, and the energy is
rejected into the atmosphere.
Primary Components
Four Primary Components Of Any Refrigeration System
Expansion Device: function is to
control the flow of refrigerant from
high (condensing pressure) to low
(evaporating pressure) and controls
the flow of liquid refrigerant into the
evaporator.
Several Types: hand expansion valve,
motorized modulating valve, thermal
expansion valve, etc.
Hand Expansion
Valve
Motorized Modulating
Valve
Thermal Expansion
Valve
Refrigeration System
Refrigeration System
Refrigeration System
Commercial System - Freon Only
Ex: supermarkets, convenience stores, and small cold storages
Condensing Unit: The outdoor
condensing unit contains both the
compressor and condenser.
Air Unit: Standard air unit with
thermal expansion valve and electric
defrost.
Applications
Cold Storage
Cold Storage: Large rooms/buildings,
typically 0°F to -20°F, for storing
frozen foods. Found in large
processing plants and as food
distribution centers.
Refrigeration systems can be shut off,
sometimes for hours, without
temperature gain that damages
frozen food.
Applications
Cooler
Cooler: Typically +32°F to +40°F for
storing perishable, refrigerated food
products.
Because product temperature has a
very tight tolerance, length of time
the refrigeration can be off is very
limited.
Applications
Types Of Mechanical Freezers
IQF Belt Freezer: A long tunnel type
freezer with one or two belts.
To freeze mostly small, IQF products
such as peas, cut corn, French fries,
onions, pizza topping, shredded
cheese, etc.
Usual retention time is under 20
minutes.
Applications
Types Of Mechanical Freezers:
Spiral Freezer: spiral wound belt with
many tiers to freeze items requiring a
longer retention time such as chicken
parts, fish fillets, hamburger patties,
potato co-products, entrees, pizzas,
etc.
Usual retention time is 30-60
minutes.
Applications
Types Of Mechanical Freezers:
Variable Retention Freezer: also
called a carton freezer, is a large unit
with moving conveyors or trays.
For long retention time products like
pies, tubs of ice cream, or turkeys
and cartooned (boxed) products like
chicken parts, turkey parts, meat.
Retention time 2-12 hours or
possibly longer.
Applications
Types Of Mechanical Freezers:
Blast Freezer: small room with large
coil inside. This is a batch operation
with racks, loaded with product,
manually put into and removed from
the freezer.
Retention time more than an hour,
sometimes up to 20 hours.
Applications
Types Of Mechanical Freezers:
Plate Freezer: vertical or horizontal
plates. Also called contact freezers
because the product is in direct
contact with the heat exchange plate
surface.
Product is pumped or placed
between the movable plates and
refrigerant is pumped through the
plates. Vertical plate freezers are
used to freeze meat, offal, and fruit
products into 50-60 lb blocks.
Usual retention time is 2-4 hours.
Horizontal
Vertical
Applications
Types Of Mechanical Freezers:
Flat Product Freezer: specific type
freezer for quickly freezing thin
product like hamburgers and fish
fillets.
Designed specifically to replace LN2
freezers.
Applications
Food Freezing Load Calculation:
Product: Green Peas
Quantity: 10,000 lbs/hr
Temperature: Entering +70F
Exiting: 0F (equilibrated)
Applications
Food Freezing Load Calculation:
1) Product Load
Specific Heat above freezing is
0.79 btu/lb F
39F (+70F - +31F) x 0.79
Latent Heat (from chart)
= 30.8 btu/lb
= 106.0 btu/lb
Specific Heat below freezing is
0.42 btu/lb F
+31F (+31F - 0F) x .42
TOTAL:
= 13.0 btu/lb
= 139.8 btu/lb
10,000 lb/hr x 139.8 BTU/lb = 116.5 TR
12,000 BTU/TR
Applications
Food Freezing Load Calculation:
2)Base Load
Motors (116 HP x 3,000 btu/h/HP)
= 348,000 btu/h
Enclosure
= 60,000 btu/h
Other (lights, etc.)
= 84,000 btu/h
TOTAL:
492,000 btu/h
12,000 btuh/TR
= 492,000 btu/h
= 41.0 TR
3) Safety Factor
5% (water, uneven product feed):
= 6.0 TR
TOTAL LOAD
= 163.5 TR