Belgian Olympic ice rink features MAYEKAWA R717 screw compressors

The new Olympic ice rink, which measures 60 by 30 meters and has a capacity of 1,200 spectators is located at the Médiacité, a 160,000 m² urban commercial centre on the bank of the river Meuse.

Ammonia used as primary refrigerant and alkali as secondary refrigerant

Ammonia was chosen as the primary refrigerant, while alkali was chosen as the secondary refrigerant. Alkali flows in a network of small pipes underneath the ice rink surface and removes the heat from the water so that it freezes and becomes ice.

The secondary refrigerant is cooled in the engine room by the primary ammonia cooling system. Liquid ammonia absorbs the heat (energy) of alkali and evaporates.

Two MAYEKAWA screw compressors absorb ammonia gas and compress, increasing the pressure and temperature. Then the hot gas becomes liquid again with a glycol solution that delivers the heat of the hot ammonia gas outdoors via four Thermofin air coolers located on the roof. The ammonia is condensed and resulted in the evaporator - collector.

Other features

Besides natural refrigerant ammonia with no impact on global warming, the ice rink features:

• The waste heat released by the cooling process is used for the hot water and space heating techniques
• The compressors and pumps have speed drives. These regulate the speed and number of rotations of the electric motors, to save significant amounts of energy.
• Air coolers that save on water
• The concrete floor has a high level of polystyrene insulation of 30 cm.
• The entire installation is equipped with a smart PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). Thanks to the central building management system, the operator can adjust the production of cold to match the demand.