German produce wholesaler Fruchthof Northeim has replaced its R404A refrigeration system with a propane (R290) chiller with a 61.8kW (17.6TR) cooling capacity, produced by German refrigeration manufacturer Frigotec.
The March retrofit highlights Frigotec’s first deployment of its new R290 FrigoNatura series. The line incorporates German Bitzer Ecoline Pro reciprocating compressors manufactured for use with hydrocarbon refrigerants.
“Due to the electrical demand of the fruit processor’s existing refrigeration system in peak summer months, Frigotec placed emphasis on selecting energy–efficient system components and optimizing control technology,” Bitzer said. “Highlights [of the installation] include our electronic compressor control IQ MODULE CM-RC-02 and the Siemens MLV702 magnetic expansion valve, which enables fast and precise response time.”
Fruchthof Northeim chose a propane refrigeration system based on several factors, according to Bitzer, including the phase out of fluorinated refrigerants by the EU’s F-gas Regulation, reduced energy consumption and operating costs and the ability to improve its CO2e footprint.
The setup: The chiller, installed outside the Northeim facility, is divided between two refrigeration circuits, each with a 4-cylinder compressor.
- A chilled secondary ethylene glycol loop, circulated by variable speed pumps, maintains two cold-storage rooms with a combined area of 167m2 (1,800ft2) at a constant temperature of 4°C (39.2°F).
- On the brine side, the system connects to two 2,500L (660gal) buffer tanks, located in a separate machine room.
- Heat is rejected through air-cooled condensers, while recovered heat from the R290 refrigeration system will later be used to provide space heating for the facility once all cold-storage rooms have been modernized, according to Bitzer.
Safety and control: “The fruit market’s new refrigeration system meets the highest safety standards for operation with propane and offers efficient part-load capability,” Bitzer said.
- The use of Bitzer’s ECOLINE PRO series, which complies with the EU’s explosion-prevention requirements specified in EN 1127-1, removes the need for an ATEX-classified area around the compressors.
- The installation is further safeguarded by a gas-detection sensor, exhaust fan and warning light/siren.
- Bitzer’s mechanical capacity control system, VARISTEP, allows a single compressor to operate at 50%. If one compressor is off at the Northeim facility and the other one operates at 50%, the total cooling capacity of the liquid chiller can be reduced to 25% or 15.5kW (4.4TR), which provides seasonal flexibility, Bitzer explained.
R290 chiller line: Frigotec offers its FrigoNatura product range in three sizes covering cooling capacities from 25 to over 400kW (7.1 to over 113.7TR) for commercial and industrial chiller, brine chiller and heat pump applications.
- Bitzer’s Ecoline Pro series compressors, which offer refrigeration capacities from 0.9 to 110kW (0.26 to 31.3TR) and heating capacities from 2 to 238kW (0.57 to 64.8TR), come in models featuring 2, 4, 6 or 8 cylinders.
- In June Frigotec commissioned the largest version of its new R290 chiller with a cooling capacity of more than 400kW in a jam manufacturing plant, according to authorized Frigotec signatory Lucas Einenkel.
Quotable: “The project with the Northeim fruit market was a successful start for our FrigoNatura series,” Einenkel said. “Using the IQ MODULE provides detailed compressor [and] system data, which gives insight into the operating behavior and improves overall system reliability.”
“The fruit market’s new refrigeration system meets the highest safety standards for operation with propane and offers efficient part-load capability.”
Bitzer
