Great Expectations 2015 part 2: Alfa Laval and GEA enhance product portfolios

In part two of our partner expectations for 2015 series, we gathered insights from Alfa Laval, GEA, DTI, DSI, and Dorin to learn about their greatest product innovations and what’s in store for the ammonia refrigeration market in 2015.

Alfa Laval's versatile Arctigo range and GEA's new compressors, chillers

As far as technological advancements go, Alfa Laval’s Artigo range of industrial air coolers was one that got customers talking in 2014, not least for it’s versatility. The Arctigo IS range is perfect for cooling and freezing applications in medium to large cold rooms with nominal capacities of 3-250kW, and when using CO2 can achieve design pressures of between 30 and 60 bar. The rang

“Arctigo air coolers are built with an application-led approach to create the optimal design for industrial applications: from freezing and cold storage in industrial premises, cooling in slaughter houses, fish and meat processing areas, to climate control in storage rooms for fresh food,” said Ali Rasti, Market Manager, Industrial Refrigeration, EIE, Alfa Laval.

Last year was also a profitable one for GEA, which launched new compressors and chillers and saw plenty of interest in its ammonia heat pumps. The Grasso BluGenium series of water-cooled ammonia chillers offers customers increased energy efficiency through reduced power consumption and the company plans to extend the range to operate with external condensers, in 2015.

“Over the past few years we have experienced very good resonance regarding our GEA Grasso BluAstrum, an ammonia chiller with screw compressor. This chiller has extremely narrow dimensions and can be easily transported for installation in central equipment space. This benefit has prompted us to implement a similar series with piston compressors from the V series: the GEA Grasso BluGenium. The BluGenium was presented to the public for the first time last fall at the Chillventa trade fair, and is already in use for a number of our customers,” stated Hugo Blaum, President at GEA Refrigeration Technologies.

DTI emerges in market with freezers and liquid separators

DTI was highly active in 2014, focusing heavily on NH₃. The company tested various systems and components, some at full industrial capacity, including the optimisation of the freezing process of ice cream, full-scale testing of refrigeration valves, liquid separators, gas defrosting methods and controlling of circulation factors.

According to Lars Reinholdt, Team Manager at DTI, one of the most innovative changes for ammonia in 2014 was the tendency to move away from the traditional pump circulated NH₃ system and instead utilise dry return lines.

“The evaporator is redesigned in order to maintain the benefits of an over-circulation of NH₃, i.e. the gas outlet is still wet internally at the evaporator. The main benefits are a lower pressure drop from the evaporator to the compressor and thus, a higher efficiency (COP). Moreover, the system design is much simpler and cheaper,” Reinholdt stated.

Developed and sold by Danish company, ERLINORD, DSI is promoting the newly developed automatic loading and unloading system for its horizontal single station plate freezer.

“We clearly see an expanding demand for automation, in respect to loading and unloading of both vertical and horizontal plate freezers; this market is definitely increasing,” said Peter Nygaard Christensen, Sales Director, DSI.

Southern Europe embracing ammonia as OEM sales figures double

Dorin’s technical commercial manager, Giacomo Pisano highlighted the transition towards natural refrigerants, including ammonia, in Southern Europe as end users invest in increasing numbers.

“2014 has been a very successful year during which compressors for environmentally friendly technologies such as CO₂, R290 and R717 have sky-rocketed their selling figures; many of our OEMs have been basically doubled their production figures and a lot of new ones approached these technologies for the first time, thus prospecting excellent figures for 2015 as well. Remarkably, also Italy and other Southern European countries seem now to be ready for these technologies,” Pisano said.