Construction and working of 'Ice Plant'

Posted Date: 03-Oct-2011	Category: How things work
Author: Paresh Gujarati	Member Level: Gold	Points: 10

This resources will make you familiar with how the big sized 'Ice plates' are manufactured. This ice making process involving heat transfer/extraction from water with the help of basic refrigeration techniques. This ice plant uses 'brine' and 'Ammonia' as refrigerants(or working medium).

Ice plant uses two refrigerants.

1. Ammonia: It is primary refrigerant which takes heat from brine (secondary refrigerant).
2. Brine: It is secondary refrigerant which takes heat from water and produces ice.

There are three main circuits of working medium in ice plant:

1. Refrigeration circuit
2. Cooling water circuit
3. Brine circuit

Construction and working of

Construction:

Compressor: Its function is to increase the temperature and pressure of Ammonia vapor coming out from evaporator.

Condenser: It liquifies the high pressure and high temperature Ammonia to high pressure and high temperature Ammonia.

Receiver: It is used to collect the liquid Ammonia from the condenser.

Throttle Valve: It expands Ammonia coming out from receiver to low pressure.

Evaporator: It vaporize the liquid Ammonia from throttle valve by extracting heat from 'brine' and hence brine gets cooled and it is recirculated to water tank containing 'ice cans' to absorb the heat of water to freeze it and make ice.

Read also about How does domestic refrigerator work?

Working:

Low pressure and low temperature Ammonia coming out from the throttle valve is vaporized by taking the latent heat from the brine. Hence brine gets cooled which is circulated in the brine circuit.

This cooled brine further absorbs the heat from water and converts water to ice.

Vaporized Ammonia is compressed to high pressure and temperature and passes from condenser.

In condenser Ammonia is condensed by water circulated in cooling water circuit having natural cooling tower. The condenser condenses the Ammonia by water coming from natural cooling tower.

Read also about How does 'cold storage plant' work

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