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Paying attention to aspects such as saving energy and CO₂ emissions, a new NH₃/CO₂ cooling and freezing installation has been selected for a French establishment used for storage by a producer of potato products. An NH₃/CO₂ cascade system has also been selected for the conversion of an R22 installation used for freezing fish in the Netherlands.

NH3/CO2 for storage of potato products in France

Located at Harnes, France, the installation was supplied by Cofely Refrigeration for producer of potato products McCain for the storage of, amongst others, chips supplied by 3 local factories.

The installation features:

• Reduced ammonia refrigerant charge: compared to traditional cooling systems the ammonia charge is low and is restricted to the direct environment of the engine room. Only the CO₂ is pumped through the building, rendering the installation safe for both the product and the workforce
• 69,000 pallets
• Frequency regulators
• Energy efficient electromotors
• Re-use of waste heat

NH3/CO2 for freezing fish in the Netherlands

Cofely has also converted most of an R22 installation used mainly for freezing flatfish by Dutch based company Van der Lee Seafish into a system using NH₃/CO₂, resulting in a system whereby 2/3 of the refrigeration requirements are provided by natural refrigerants.

The old (R22) installation consisted of a large pump system that provided the cold for a belt freezer and six line freezers. The R22 installation was partly dismantled and a compressor was re-used in the ammonia part of the new installation. Cofely also modified the existing line freezers so that they can work with natural refrigerant CO₂, while it replaced the belt freezer with an advanced air injection freezer.