Case study
Unilever Czech Republic HQ
Ammonia refrigeration system for production capapcity expansion
Key information
Client:
Unilever
Supplier:
Bohemiachlad spol. s.r.o.
Type of facility:
Dry expansion ammonia system
System start-up:
2003
Unilever, one of the world’s largest vendors of everyday consumer goods, needed to expand the production capacity at its Czech headquarters near Prague. The contractor Bohemiachlad built a refrigeration system that uses the natural refrigerant ammonia.
Requirement
Unilever needed to increase the refrigerant capacity up to 3 MW at short notice for the extended production. The aim was to minimise the refrigerant charge while maximising the cooling output.
Solution
Bohemiachlad installed a central dry expansion ammonia system with a refrigerant volume of just 100 kilograms in circuit of one plate heat exchanger. The secondary refrigerant is chilled by the heat exchangers. The refrigerating system chills cold water from 10°C to 3°C. The refrigerant evaporating temperature is about 0°C, and the condensation temperature is 35°C. The plant has a refrigerating capacity of 3 MW, making it one of the largest systems with dry expansion in Europe.
Technical data
Cooling capacity:
3 MW
Refrigerant volume:
100 kg
Secondary refrigerant:
Chilled water
Main components:
3 screw compressors controlled by 3 frequency converters, 3 plate heat exchangers, 2 condensers
Special features:
All of the processes are monitored and centrally controlled by a computerised control system.
