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“What’s new in Ammonia Refrigeration?”

Moderator:

Mr. Haresh Rupchandani

Panelist:

Mr. Sudhir Kumar

Mr. Anand Joshi

Mr. Prakash Patil

NAVI MUMBAI 2020

Moderator

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Haresh Rupchandani

Sr. General Manager, Product & Channel Sales,

Industrial Refrigeration, Johnson Controls India Pvt. Ltd.

Summary

Professional Snapshot: Over 25 years of experience in Industrial Refrigeration Sales, Engineering,

Customer Relationship, Product Management.

Experience

Senior General Manager -Product & Channel Sales, Industrial Refrigeration, at Johnson Controls

India P. Ltd.

A 100% subsidiary of Johnson Controls International PLC, one of the largest companies in the field of

Buildings Technologies & Solutions. The company's Applied Equipment vertical caters to industrial

refrigeration equipment and engineered products for air-conditioning requirements..

Previous Experience

- Senior Manager at Mycom Refrigeration India P. Ltd.

- Manager- Marketing at YORK India Limited (SABROE Refrigeration)

Volunteer Experience

Past President at Association of Ammonia Refrigeration (AAR), India

Panelist 1

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Sudhir Kumar

Director – Marketing, Frick India Limited

Summary :

B.E. Mechanical from Bharthiyar University

M Tech in Thermal Energy from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (I.I.T.)

Designing of Refrigeration Plants mainly Dairies, Cold Storages, Fish, Meat and Chicken Freezing Plant

Projects for all over India

Experience:

More than 29 years of experience in the field of Industrial Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, worked in

various capacity in the organization at Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai.

Volunteer Experience

Past President at Association of Ammonia Refrigeration (AAR), India

Presenter for BEE on Energy Efficient of Refrigeration System

Member of the CII Southern Region Agriculture & Food Processing Subcommittee.

Panelist 2

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Anand Joshi Manik Engineers,

Summary

B.E. Industrial Electronics 1991

Experience 28 Years experience Design of refrigeration controls, control systems for plant automation and safety.

Written articles for various magazines . Delivered lectures at various platforms in India and abroad.

Volunteer Experience Past President at Association of Ammonia Refrigeration (AAR), India

Member of ASHRAE USA, IGCC, IDA, IETE

Past President ISHRAE Pune Chapter Professional Snapshot: Working with Manik Engineers since 1991

Panelist 3

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Prakash Patil

Head of Compression Sales, GEA Refrigeration India Pvt Ltd

Summary

Professional Snapshot: Working with GEA Refrigeration India from 2009 and Heading India cluster

operation for GEA Refrigeration business , Sales and Service of Industrial and Process Refrigeration

equipment’s. (India, Nepal, Srilanka and Bangladesh )

Experience :

Over 25 years experience in Refrigeration and Air conditioning equipment’s and Solutions for Dairy, F & B

, Chemical and O & G markets .

Previously worked with Kirloskar Pneumatic Co., Blue Star & York India (JCI), all in Pune.

Volunteer Experience:

Member of Association of Ammonia Refrigeration (AAR), India

What is Refrigerant?

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The working fluid in a refrigeration cycle, absorbing heat

from bodies at low temperature and rejecting heat to

bodies at higher temperature.

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Why Ammonia as a Refrigerant?

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• One of oldest refrigerant

• It is less expensive

• Most efficient refrigerant: high

heat transfer characteristics

• Has no effect on the "ozone

layer" 0 ODP &<1 GWP

• It is thermodynamically stable

refrigerant

• Ammonia is not miscible with

lubricating oil

• Ammonia system components

may be smaller than those in

HFC, HCFC systems

• Refrigeration grade ammonia is

available everywhere

• No need to write off investment

of ammonia plant due to

environmental concerns

Challenges with Ammonia

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Toxicity :

Ammonia has a pungent odor and small leak as low as 5 ppm is detectable by smell and

serves as early warning

Almost all human beings can detect levels upto 25 ppm and continuous exposure to 50 ppm

level is permitted for 8 hours per day per week.

Flammability: Ammonia is extremely hard to ignite ( above 650°C) and breaks down above 450°C

Pure ammonia is considered flammable between the 16% and 27% atmospheric pressure

Ammonia is classified as Class B2L and hence not considered as highly flammable refrigerant.

Ammonia is less flammable as compared with many hydrocarbons and other fuels which are

used in Day to Day life.

Its ignition energy is 50 times higher than the natural gas and ammonia cannot burn without

presence of supporting flame.

Ammonia in vapor state will not sustain a flame.

Way forward and new developments

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Way to overcome challenges?

Containment

Reducing the refrigerant charge

Better products and components

Efficiency and automation

New Developments

System Design:

Indirect Systems- Secondary/ Cascade

Low Charge Systems

Products:

Compressors

Heat Exchangers

Accessories

Automation:

Controllers

PLC SCADA

Remote Monitoring

New Products: Compressors

Semi-hermetic piston

compressor

Semi-hermetic screw compressor

30KW Proto type

Scroll

New Products: Heat Exchangers

Evaporative Condenser with pillow plates Evaporative Condenser with finned tubes

Shell and Plate Heat Exchangers

Components to improve efficiency

Automatic Purger,

Water, Dirt & Oil removal

Desuperheater

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AMMONIA LEAK DETECTOR & ALARM

Components for Safety

System Design: Indirect System with Secondary Refrigerant

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Ammonia Indirect Refrigeration System

Compressor

Recommended for Freezing, Cold Storage and Chilled Room facilities

T: Temp.

Evaporator

Electric Flow Regulating Valve

Brine tank

Brine: Chilled room - P.G, CaCl2 Freezing - CaCl2, Cold brine

Ｔ Brine Chiller

Evaporative Condenser

Ｔ Ｐ

T: Temp. P: Press.

SHC: Superheat Controller

ＳＨＣ

Electronic expansion valve

System Design: Indirect System with Secondary Refrigerant

System Design: Low Charge Ammonia Centralized Plant

Containerized Glycol Chiller

System Design: Direct Expansion Direct Expansion System : Electronic

1. Pulse width Modulation Valves

2. Stepper Motor Valves

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System Design: CO2 as Brine System Design: NH3 - CO2 Brine

System Design: CO2 – NH3 Cascade System System Design: CO2 – NH3 Cascade

Keys to achieve lowest ammonia charge

• Reduce stored liquid ammonia

• More DX, less flooded or pump recirculator evaporators

• Condense liquid near to where it is to be evaporated

• Avoid long or large liquid lines and wet return lines

• Avoid thermosyphon oil cooling

• Shift to indirect systems

• Use Cascade systems for low temperature applications

Waste Heat recovery Energy extracted from the system

+

Electrical Energy used for the compression

How can we use this waste energy in a useful way?

We can utilize waste energy to produce

warm water in many different ways and

across a variety of temperature levels

• Oil cooling

• De-superheater

• Heat pump

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Heat recovery by Heat Pump

All refrigeration systems are basically heat pumps

Main purpose cooling refrigeration plant

Main purpose heating heat pump

Heat Pumps _ waste heat recovery

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Controllers and Automation

Compressor Controllers

Defrost Controller

Automation in Refrigeration Plant

Total Plant Control. centralized temperature recorder and

interlocking electric circuit for various process controls can be

interlocked to your PC/PLC

Centralized Control Systems & Remote Monitoring

SCADA STATION

COMPACTLOGIX ETHERNET CPU SYSTEM

FLEX I/O SUB SYSTEM FOR REFRIGERATION

DF1 NETWORK

Ammonia in air-conditioning

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Comparing R-134a chillers to packaged ammonia chillers for air conditioning applications.

Ammonia chillers can be a design choice rather than R134a — if some technological twists are added to

the conventional ammonia system.

Ammonia systems are highly energy efficient, but not competitive on a first-cost basis. But are they so

efficient that the extra cost can be recovered over the lifetime of the equipment?

The study focused on the two approaches for a unit with about 300 tons of refrigeration (TR) capacity.

A key factor of the study was the ability of each concept to operate at part load. “To make the comparison

as fair as possible, the Integrated Part Load Value (IPLV) method described in ARI Standard 550/590 was

used,”

R-134a is “a low-pressure refrigerant which produces a relatively large volume of gas which must be

moved by the compressors to provide each unit of refrigeration — about 35 percent more than for

Ammonia.”

R-134a to be used with POE oils, “which tend to absorb a lot of moisture.” He noted that as an HFC, R-

134a is a refrigerant with a global warming potential that is causing some concern in parts of Europe.

Ammonia, he said, has no ozone depletion potential (ODP) or global warming potential. It is corrosive and

flammable, although difficult to ignite, and it can’t work with copper, so steel piping and components must

be used. This adds to costs.

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Ammonia in air-conditioning

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R134a unit is a “simple system” with semi-hermetic, suction-gas-cooled compressor motors, shell-and-tube

flooded evaporators with enhanced copper tubes, no service valves, an electronic control center & a low height.

A typical ammonia water chiller unit has standard open twin-screw compressors with variable-volume ratio

regulation and capacity regulation down to 10 percent; high-efficiency, low-noise motor; semi-welded, plate &

frame condenser; liberal use of service valves; and uses a polyalphaolefin oil (PAO).

“Today’s ammonia chillers operating at standard IPLV operating conditions can compete with an R-134a

chiller. Considering that some countries have placed a tax on equivalent emissions (partly based on

global warming issues) and that we can expect more countries to follow, ammonia’s pure cost

competitiveness will continue to grow.

On the other hand, R-134a chiller units can also deliver high efficiency. In many cases, because of safety

regulations or less available investment capital, these units will be the right choice.”

Other aspects of the comparison:

•Ammonia and R-134a chillers have almost the same efficiency at 100 percent and 75 percent capacity.

•The ammonia chiller has a much better part-load efficiency.

•The IPLV efficiency is 12 percent higher in an ammonia chiller.

•First cost of the ammonia chiller is twice that of an R-134a chiller.

•At a cost of electricity of about 7 cents/kWh, the ammonia chiller will be cost competitive over its lifetime.

•In certain applications, the energy efficiency of both chillers can be improved using variable-speed drives and

economizers.

•The ammonia chiller can be greatly improved with optimized heat exchangers.

Ammonia in air-conditioning

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“If manufacturers use the new designs, they can tap into a very large market that already is moving

toward natural refrigerants,”

“When environmental concerns become more important packaged ammonia units can be ready in

design, efficiency, safety, and costs.”

Reference: Study conducted by Holger Tychsen of Frick-Johnson Controls.

Numerous application examples illustrate the long-standing, successful use of natural refrigerants in air-conditioning

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1999 Johnson Controls (formerly York) develops an ammonia system for air-conditioning the office rooms at

Saab in Linköping, Sweden. Here the system required for efficient supply of refrigeration for the premises covering 5,000 square metres also needed to be easily upgradable to cope with future expansion.

2000 Frigopol installs an air-conditioning system using the natural refrigerant R723 (ammonia / dimethyl ether) in its office building. The core element of the refrigerating system that operates with a blend of natural refrigerants is a two-circuit liquid chilling unit. The refrigerating capacity is around 60 kilowatt with an evaporation temperature of 0°C and a condensation temperature of 45°C.

2000 Berlin's Ostbahnhof train station is equipped by Grasso with a system for the air-conditioning and ventilation of the three-storey building complex. The necessary air-conditioning and ventilation tasks in the buildings entail cooling the secondary refrigerant down from 16 to 10°C. The solution consists of three air-cooled ammonia compact liquid chilling units with a total capacity of 1,250 kilowatt.

2004 Stuttgart airport changes over to ammonia. Grasso installs an ammonia system for the new Terminal 3, comprising two liquid chilling units with an overall capacity of 2,300 kilowatt.

2005 Ammonia air-conditioning system installed for 22,000 square metres of working areas at Roche's headquarters in Welwyn Garden City near London. Star Refrigeration installed two ammonia chiller units with 930 kilowatt capacity each on the roof of the building.

2008 Mülligen letter sorting centre, which is the largest building in Switzerland, is provided with refrigeration and heat by an ammonia heat pump from Johnson Controls. The energy needed for heating and chilling is taken from the wastewater of a nearby sewage plant. The heat pump has a refrigerating capacity of 4.3 and a heating capacity of 5.6 megawatt at 62°C outlet temperature. Refrigeration is generated in the first stage by three Sabroe piston compressors at an evaporation temperature of 5°C and a condensation temperature of 30°C

2010 Johnson Controls develops an integrated refrigeration and air-conditioning concept for the Ozeaneum in Stralsund with a total refrigerating capacity of 900 kilowatt, including around 500 kilowatt for air-conditioning. A single-stage ammonia refrigeration system was installed with flooded evaporation, consisting of two separated Chill-Pac chilling units with 730 kilowatt each and two hybrid evaporative condensers for chilling cold water.

Reference: eurammon