UPDATE:&nbsp;R290 water-cooled chillers replace existing dairy refrigeration plant

As a replacement for an aging centralised ammonia refrigerant plant, two R290 water-cooled water chillers have been installed at Mortons Dairies plant in Maghull. The eco-friendly system has a modular structure, which enables it to expand according to the company’s needs and fares well both in terms of reducing business and environmental costs.

Mortons Dairies, a family owned company established in 1926 in Merseyside, supplies milk and other groceries to currently more than 55000 customers. Due to an increased demand for its products, the Mortons Dairies plant in Maghull has continuously expanded in refrigeration capacity over the years through the addition of supplementary chillers to the existing system. However, supplementary chillers provided only a short-term solution. In search of a stable, long-term solution the Morton Dairies Board of Directors looked for a brand new flexible refrigeration system, which would also be in line with the company’s eco-friendly policy of using natural refrigerants with a low GWP.

Modular structure renders R290 water-cooled chillers flexible and expandable

A new full turnkey refrigeration system was installed in Maghull in the summer of 2013, consisting of Frascold ATEX range semi-hermetic compressors, with just 18kg of R290 per circuit.

The installed chillers have internal insulated sealed tanks and process pumps arranged in a modular format. The system’s modular structure facilitates a future expansion or even a relocation of the new refrigeration system and therefore makes the system both flexible and expandable.

According to Norman Harrison, Managing Director of Mortons Dairy, the plant’s current cooling capacity has risen to almost 500 kW resulting in an increase in production to nearly 20000 litres/hr and a potential future increase to 40000 litres/hr.

Harrison expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the new R290 refrigeration system and already ordered additional machinery last March.

24% savings in energy thanks to R290 chillers, addressing both green and energy concerns

In addition to being climate and ozone friendly, another important dimension of R290 is the refrigerant’s high level of COP (coefficient of performance). Thus, the new refrigeration system installed at Mortons Dairies is calculated to achieve a 24% saving in energy consumption compared to the system replaced. The system features the following:

3 x 1.5 kW axial fans (for both circuits), these fans will never operate of full speed, unless the machine is subject to 35°C ambient conditions
Floating head pressure control, which can reduce condensing conditions to 25°C
New 3 kW pump with an IE3 efficiency motor, reducing pump power consumption by 5220 kWhrs
50mm Lagging for all phenolic section pipe covered in foil combined with matching tape for sealing joints, reducing the total load by approximately 4%

According to W. Thomson, Managing Director of FT International Ltd, the overall estimated energy savings resulting from the installation of the new refrigeration plant could amount to 19,536 kW/hrs per year.

Hydro-chillers supplied by FT Refrigeration

FT Refrigeration supplied and installed the R290 Hydro chillers. Thomson argues that the benefits of R290 include the fact that chillers: