6.

Performance test of a mini ice plant (Lecture)

1. The Ice Maker
An icemaker, ice generator, or ice machine may refer to either a
consumer device for making ice, found inside a home freezer; a stand-alone
appliance for making ice, or an industrial machine for making ice on a large
scale. The term "ice machine" usually refers to the stand-alone appliance.
The ice generator is the part of the ice machine that actually produces the
ice.
This
would
include
the
evaporator
and
any
associated
drives/controls/subframe that are directly involved with making and ejecting the
ice into storage. When most people refer to an ice generator, they mean this icemaking subsystem alone, minus refrigeration.
An ice machine, however, particularly if described as 'packaged', would
typically be a complete machine including refrigeration and controls, requiring
only connection to utilities.
The term icemaker is more ambiguous, with some manufacturers describing
their packaged ice machine as an icemaker, while others describe their
generators in this way.
2. Principle of ice making
All refrigeration equipments are made of four key components; the
evaporator, the condenser, the compressor and the throttle valve. Ice machines
all work the same way. The function of compressor is to compress low-pressure
refrigerant vapor to high-pressure vapor, and deliver it to the condenser. Here,
the high-pressure vapor is condensed into high-pressure liquid, and drained out
through the throttle valve to become low-pressure liquid. At this point, the liquid
is conducted to the evaporator, where heat exchanging occurs, and ice is
created. This is one complete refrigeration cycle.
3. Industrial icemakers
Commercial ice cube makers improve the quality of ice by using moving
water. The water is run down a surface that is constantly at 0 C (32 F) because
only water without impurities will freeze at this temperature on a surface. Water
with impurities requires lower temperatures to freeze and will continue to wash
down the surface and through the drain of a commercial icemaker. Air and
undissolved solids will be washed away to such an extent that in horizontal
evaporator machines the water has 98% of the solids removed, resulting in very
hard, virtually pure, clear ice. In vertical evaporators the ice is softer, more so if
there are actual individual cube cells. Commercial ice machines can make
different sizes of ice like flakers, crushed, cube, octagon, and tube.
When the sheet of ice on the cold surface reaches the desired thickness, the
sheet is slid down onto a grid of wires, where the sheet's weight causes it to be
cut into the desired shapes, after which it falls into a storage bin.
4. Flake Ice
Flake ice is produced by applying water to the inside or outside of a
refrigerated drum or to the outside of a refrigerated disk. The drum is either
vertical or horizontal and may be either stationary or fixed. The disk is vertical
and rotates about a horizontal axis.

Ice removal devices fracture the thin layer of ice produced on the freezing
surface of the ice maker, breaking it free from the freezing surface and allowing
it to fall into an ice bin, which is generally located below the ice maker.
The thickness of the ice produced by flake ice machines can be varied by
adjusting the speed of the rotating part of the machine, varying evaporator
temperature, or regulating the water flow on the freezing surface. Flake ice is
produced continuously, unlike tubular and plate ice, which are produced in an
intermittent cycle or harvest operation. The resulting thickness ranges from 1 to
4.5 mm. A continuous operation (without a harvest cycle) requires less
refrigeration capacity to produce a kilogram of ice than any other type of ice
manufacture with similar makeup water and evaporating temperatures.
The exact amount of refrigeration required varies by the type and design of
the flake ice machine. Typical flake ice machines are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

All water used by flake ice machines is converted into ice; therefore, there is
no waste or spillage. Flake ice makers are usually operated at a lower
evaporating temperature than tube or plate ice makers, and the ice is colder
when it is removed from the icemaking surface. The surface of flake ice is not
wetted by thawing during removal from the freezing surface, as is common with
other types of ice. Since it is produced at a colder temperature, flake ice is most
adaptable to automated storage, particularly when low-temperature ice is
desired.

The rapid freezing of water on the freezing surface entrains air in the flake
ice, giving it an opaque appearance. For this reason, flake ice is not commonly
used for applications where clear ice is important. Where rapid cooling is
important, such as in chemical processing and concrete cooling, flake ice is ideal
because the flakes present the maximum amount of cooling surface for a given
amount of ice.
When used as ingredient ice in sausage making or other food grinding and
mixing, flake ice provides rapid cooling while minimizing mechanical damage to
other ingredients and wear on mixing/ cutting blades.
Some flake ice machines can produce salty ice from seawater. These are
particularly useful in shipboard applications. Other flake ice machines require
adding trace amounts of salt to the makeup water to enhance the release of ice
from the refrigerated surface. In rare cases, the presence of salt in the finished
product may be objectionable.
5. Tubular Ice
Tubular ice is produced by freezing a falling film of water either on the
outside of a tube with evaporating refrigerant on the inside, or on the inside of
tubes surrounded by evaporating refrigerant on the outside.
Outside Tube. When ice is produced on the outside of a tube, the freezing
cycle is normally from 8 to 15 min, with the final ice thickness from 5 to over 13
mm following the curvature of the tube. The refrigerant temperature inside the
tube continually drops from an initial suction temperature of about -4C to the
terminal suction temperature in the range of -12 to -26C. At the end of the
freezing cycle, the circulating water is shut off, and hot discharge gas is
introduced to harvest the ice. To maintain proper harvest temperatures, typical
discharge gas pressure is 1.1 MPa. This drives the liquid refrigerant in the tube
up into an accumulator and melts the inside of the tube of ice, which slides down
through a sizer and mechanical breaker, and finally down into storage. The
defrost cycle is normally about 30 s. The unit returns to the freezing cycle by
returning the liquid refrigerant to the tube from the accumulator.
This type of ice maker operates with refrigerants R-717, R-404A, R-507, and
R-22. R-12 may be found in some older units. Higher capacity units of 9 Mg per
24 h and larger usually use R-717. The capacity of the unit increases as the
terminal suction pressure decreases. A typical unit with 21C makeup water and
R-717 as the refrigerant produces 17.5 Mg of ice per 24 h with a terminal suction
pressure of 265 kPa and requires 126 kW of refrigeration. This equates to 7.2 kW
of refrigeration per megagram of ice. The same unit produces 37.7 Mg of ice per
24 h with a terminal suction pressure of 145 kPa and requires 280 kW of
refrigeration. This equates to 7.5 kW of refrigeration per megagram of ice. Figure
3 shows the physical arrangement for an ice maker that makes ice on the
outside of the tubes.

Inside Tube. When ice is produced inside a tube, it can be harvested as a

cylinder or as crushed ice. The freezing cycle ranges from 13 to 26 min. The tube
is usually 20 to 50 mm in diameter, producing a cylinder that can be cut to
desired lengths. The refrigerant temperature outside the tube is continually
dropping, with an initial temperature of -4C and a terminal suction temperature
ranging from -7 to -20C. At the end of the freezing cycle, the circulating water is
5

shut off and the ice is harvested by introducing hot discharge gas into the
refrigerant in the freezing section. To maintain gas temperature, typical
discharge gas pressure is 1.2 MPa. This releases the ice from the tube; the ice
descends to a motor-driven cutter plate that can be adjusted to cut the ice
cylinders to the length desired (up to 40 mm). At the end of the defrost cycle,
the discharge gas valve is closed and water circulation resumes.
These units can use refrigerants R-717 and R-22; R-12 may be found in older
units. Again, the capacity increases as the terminal suction pressure decreases.
A typical unit with 21C makeup water and R-717 as the refrigerant produces 39
Mg of ice per 24 h with a terminal suction pressure of 275 kPa and requires 262
kW of refrigeration. This equates to 580 kJ per kilogram of ice. The same unit
produces 60 Mg of ice per 24 h with a terminal suction pressure of 210 kPa and
requires 475 kW of refrigeration. This equates to 684 kJ per kilogram of ice.
Tubular ice makers are advantageous because they produce ice at higher
suction pressures than other types of ice makers. They can make relatively thick
and clear ice, with curvatures that help prevent bridging in storage. Tubular ice
makers have a greater height requirement for installation than do plate or flake
ice makers, but a smaller footprint. Provision must be made in the refrigeration
system high side to accommodate the volume of refrigerant required for the
proper amount of harvest discharge gas. Ice temperatures are generally higher
than the temperature of flake ice makers.
Supply Water. Supply water temperature has a great effect on the capacity
of either type of tubular ice maker. If the supply water temperature is reduced
from 21 to 4C, the ice production of the unit increases approximately 18%. In
larger systems, the economics of precooling the water in a separate water
cooling system with higher suction pressures should be considered.
6. Plate Ice
Plate ice makers are commonly defined as those that build ice on a flat
vertical surface. Water is applied above freezing plates and flows by gravity over
the freezing plates during the freeze cycle. Liquid refrigerant at a temperature
between -21 and -7C is contained in circuiting inside the plate. The length of the
freezing cycle governs the thickness of ice produced. Ice thicknesses in the
range of 6 to 20 mm are quite common, with freeze cycles varying from 12 to 45
min. Figure 11 shows a flow diagram of a plate ice maker using water for
harvest. All plate ice makers use a sump and recirculating pump concept,
whereby an excess of water is applied to the freezing surface. Water not
converted to ice on the plate is collected in the sump and recirculated as
precooled water for ice making.

7. Cube ice
Cube ice machines are classified as small ice machines, in contrast to tube
ice machines, flake ice machines, or other ice machines. Common capacities
range from 30 kg (66 lb) to 1,755 kg (3,869 lb). Since the emergence of cube ice
machines in the 1970s, they have evolved into a diverse family of ice machines.

Cube ice machines are commonly seen as vertical modular devices. The
upper part is an evaporator, and the lower part is an ice bin. The refrigerant
circulates inside pipes of sale-contained evaporator, where it conducts the heat
exchange with water, and freezes the water into ice cubes. When the water is
thoroughly frozen into ice, it is automatically released, and falls into the ice bin.
The ice bin can also be equipped with compressors.[why?] Generally cube ice
machines with over 320 kg (710 lb) capacities have built-in compressors in the
ice bin for storage prior to sales, for use when demands are large.
Cube ice is created in a cubic shape, with each edge usually between 15 and
35 mm (916 and 1 38 in).The surface area of every ton of cube ice is
approximately 1,383 m2 (14,890 sq ft).
8. Compressors
Most compressors are either positive displacement compressors or radial
compressors. Positive displacement compressors are currently the most efficient
type of compressor, and have the largest refrigerating effect per single unit
(4002500 TR). They have a large range of possible power supplies, and can be
380 V, 1000 V, or even higher. The principle behind positive displacement
compressors utilizes a turbine to compress refrigerant into high-pressure vapor.
Positive displacement compressors are of four main types: screw compressor,
rolling piston compressor, reciprocating compressor, and rotary compressor.
Screw compressors can yield the largest refrigerating effect among positive
displacement compressors, with their refrigerating capacity normally ranging
from 50 TR to 400 TR. Screw compressors also can be divided to single-screw
type and dual-screw type. Dual-screw type is more often seen in use because it
is very efficient.
Rolling piston compressors and reciprocating compressors have similar
refrigerating effects, and maximum refrigerating effect can reach 600 kW.
Reciprocating compressors are the most common type of compressor
because the technology is mature and reliable. Their refrigerating effect ranges

from 2.2 kW to 200 kW.[further explanation needed] They compress gas by

utilizing a piston pushed by a crank shaft.
Rotary compressors, mainly used in air conditioning equipment, have a very
low refrigerating effect, normally not exceeding 5 kW. They work by compressing
gas using a piston pushed by a rotor, which spins in an isolated compartment.
9. Condensers
All condensers can be classified as one of three types: air cooling, water cooling,
or evaporative cooling.
An air cooling condenser uses air as the heat conducting media by blowing
air through the surface of condensers, which carries heat away from the highpressure, high-temperature refrigerant vapor.
A water cooling condenser uses water as the heat conducting media to
cooling refrigerant vapor to liquid.
An evaporative condenser cools the refrigerant vapor by using heat exchange
between the evaporator pipes and the evaporated water which is sprayed on
the surface of the pipes. This type of condenser is capable of working in warm
environments; they are also very efficient and reliable.
END