Converting a system that uses ammonia to use glycol

[metallicork]

Hello dear friends,

I'm new to the forums so thanks for having me. I work at a soft drink factory and the carbo coolers here are using ammonia as the primary refrigerant. I was instructed to research the possibility of converting this system to use glycol instead of ammonia..i.e..to run glycol through the carbo cooler instead of the ammonia and use the ammonia to chill the glycol before entering the carbo cooler. So my questions are what should I pay close attention to when considering modifications to the existing equipment, is it a simple matter of using a heat exchanger between the glycol and the ammonia, what are the specifics in terms of glycol use versus ammonia use as a refrigerant.....etc There would be more questions, I'm sure, as te topic goes along....

Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.

[chilliwilly]

What are the legal requirements in the West Indies for working with ammonia? If its like the UK you will need another licence to work with it, as well as working with fridge gas.

The advantage of converting the evaporators to glycol, will mean that the maintenance staff can be more involved with working with the refrigeration side without being licenced. And any work involved with the ammonia will just require a minority of staff to be licenced. It won't be a cheap option I can tell you now.

What is the actual reason for converting something that works OK, to something that won't work much better?

[RANGER1]

I would have thought carbo cooler plates would have to be changed for correct circuiting of the glycol otherwise temps on plate might be inconsistent .
Also high flow rate of glycol also might be required ( more on power bill that you didn't have before).
Power bill may go up a little as well but hard to say .
Would also consider buffer tank for smooth temps on glycol + if production stops breifly .
These days plate heat exchanger is best option

[metallicork]

The reason for converting is safety....ammonia being a more dangerous refrigerant....The laws in the west indies are not stringent and personnel do not require licensing to operate....

any more particulars I should think about whe designing??

[charlie n]

The capacity of the carbo coolers will go down quite a bit and your energy bill will go up at least 10 - 15%. Consult the manufacturer. The capacity loss could easily be over 30%

[umeshpradhan]

You have to find hout the structure of the carbocoolers.
The carbocoolers are basically flooded type chillers, where low pressure ammonia liquid is flooded and evaporated
It is not possible to use glycol, instead of ammonia in case of carbocoolers.
umesh pradhan
umeshpradhan@vsnl.com