Don't have an account?Make your registration.Costa Rica.The headquarters of Coca-Cola Liberia, located in the province of Guanacaste, installed a low-load, direct-expansion ammonia refrigeration system, a project in which the contractor: Refrigeración y Soluciones de Frío (RSF) participated.The project required starting up the entire refrigeration system of the plant, which included air conditioning, process water refrigeration and air conditioning of the refrigerated and frozen storage chambers.“One of the most important conditions was to carry out an energy efficient and environmentally friendly project, and although the project was originally designed with ammonia, the power required and the volume of refrigerant in the system cast doubt on the application of this natural refrigerant. ”, stated Mr. Lisandro Salas Mora, General Manager of RSF.At the refrigeration level, the plant required 750 tons of air conditioning, 150 tons of cold water for processes and 208 tons of refrigerated and frozen storage systems.Originally the project was designed by other professionals, and the question at that time was not exactly about the refrigerant, but rather about the volume of ammonia in the system.The original design considered approximately 8 thousand pounds of ammonia.“We use low refrigerant charge evaporators, we are talking about equipment of approximately 2 pounds per equipment, and we kept the original design of plate exchangers for cooling process water, air conditioning water and propylene glycol, which in one way or another they are also low refrigerant charge equipment”, commented Mr. Salas.Another goal of the project was to increase the energy efficiency of the system;by raising evaporation temperatures and lowering installed power, it represented annual savings of approximately US$250,000.Additionally, the project went from having eight compressors in its original design, to six screw compressors of the same model, brand Frick, which meant safety and an additional benefit from the point of view of maintenance.“The six screw compressors are identical in terms of power and model.We have three plate exchangers: one for process cooling, one for air conditioning water and another for propylene glycol cooling with which we air-condition the refrigerated storage chambers, called water house and cool flammable”, said Mr. Lisandro.An ammonia dehydrator was also installed in the facility, which was incorporated to remove any moisture or water and thus maintain the efficiency of the system.Similarly, the new automation system allows the entire refrigeration system to be controlled and monitored from the engine room.Security and leak detection solutions that comply with IIAR standards were incorporated.The entire volume of ammonia is concentrated in this engine room, around 2,800 pounds, that is, 5,000 pounds less than the original design.It is important to mention that the new design considered the heat of the oil for heating the frozen floor, and taking advantage of this residual energy, a radiant floor was built.The main achievements of this project - Reduced the installed power of the equipment by approximately 350 KW.- Increased energy efficiency by 13%.- Reduced the volume of ammonia by 4,822 pounds.- Ammonia was maintained as a refrigerant with zero GWP.- The heat from the oil from the compressors was used to build a radiant floor.- It was redesigned under the IIAR standards of Inteco Costa Rica.- The investment was lowered.