For its latest expansion project involving a new beer bottling plant, the brewery was looking for a non-ammonia-based cooling line that would be able to supply steady low-temperature process cold with the utmost attention to sustainability. ICS Cool Energy responded with a complete, turnkey installation that could deliver safety, cost efficiency and performance the customer needed, with low environmental impact of an HFO refrigerant.

“Breweries, as well as other food and beverage and dairy manufacturers must live up to a plethora of standards and regulations related to the quality of the end products – all adding to the Total Lifecycle Cost of their investments,” said Dave Palmer, general manager for the UK and Ireland at ICS Cool Energy. ”While Ammonia has been traditionally common in food and beverage processing applications, with HFO we are now able to offer new ways of providing quality, high-performing and sustainable process cooling – at a much lower cost.”

ICS Cool Energy came up with a modular approach, designing a system consisting of the Imperium air-cooled screw chiller capable of delivering 1.2 MW of capacity and supplying return cooling fluid at 0°C temperature. The modular system installation allows the brewery to duplicate it and create a complete stand-by system for contingency in case of any failures.

“With this project, sustainable operations, cost efficiency and strict timelines were crucial,” said Will Coles, senior sales engineer – Industrial at ICS Cool Energy. “We had to guarantee making the system operational by a certain date to allow the brewery to kick off the production. The Imperium system we selected is the largest unit in that range, delivering high capacity at low noise, with ultra-low GWP. It allowed the customer to contain their costs without compromising on other critical factors.”

The Imperium units feature ultra-low GWP, hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) R-1234ze refrigerant, which in chillers can outperform ammonia even by 25% according to the energy efficiency ratio (EER) analysis. R-1234ze is mildly flammable and non-corrosive in comparison to ammonia, which is toxic and, if leaked, can pose serious risks to human health and food and beverage operations.

Additionally, the HFO-based cooling systems are more cost efficient thanks to standard design, production and components that allow for routine maintenance. Ammonia requires expensive stainless-steel piping to withstand its corrosive properties, additional maintenance and special devices mounted to monitor the safety of the system.