Australian OEM Scantec to Install Its Largest Centralized Low-Charge Ammonia System

Australia-based industrial refrigeration system provider Scantec Refrigeration Technologies will commission its largest centralized low-charge ammonia/NH₃ (R717) system ever for a new cold storage facility located in Melbourne later this year.

The system will serve 250,000m³ (8,828,666ft³) of refrigerated warehouse volume as well as around 316.5kW (90TR) of daily blast freezing capacity. It is scheduled to be commissioned around April of this year.

Scantec's previous largest centralized low-charge NH₃ system served 114,000m³ (4,025,872ft³) of refrigerated warehouse volume. That system was commissioned in February 2018.

Asked about this latest installation, Scantec's Managing Director Stefan Jensen said, "There have been no major challenges so far." 

"Centralized low-charge NH₃ systems can be designed and constructed to suit very large capacities and relatively expansive sites," he added.

The system will provide 885kW (251.6TR) of low-temperature capacity at -32°C (-25.6°F) and 358kW (101.8TR) of medium-temperature capacity at -12°C (10.4°F). It has five compressors — two screw compressors on the low-temperature side and three reciprocating compressors on the medium-temperature side — with a "dual duty machine for redundancy," Jensen said. There are 13 evaporators in total.

The cold storage facility has five refrigerated areas and the blast freezing "takes place in a number of rack blast freezers within the main freezer store," Jensen said.

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