Company
Company
Van Wylick, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of bananas, exotic fruits and vegetables partnered with Aermec and Powertech Refrigeration when it came to maintaining its warehouse storage temperatures and drive the ripening process. All of the customer’s products are fresh and the company strives to ensure that its business is in harmony with its environments.
Challenge
The company wanted to replace its original DX refrigeration systems. Also, a move to larger purpose-built facilities presented an opportunity to take advantage of advances in ripening technology to invest in more sustainable cooling equipment for the storage and ripening of its fruit, particularly bananas.
Bananas are always harvested green, when they are hard, not sweet. Then they are transported to the storage and ripening facilities in Germany, where the priority is on maintaining their quality.
The ripening process is dependent on three factors: maintaining the temperature at 13⁰C-14⁰C, managing the correct air flow through the banana ripening rooms and releasing Ethylene gas at the right time to begin the ripening process. Ethylene initiates changes in texture, softening and colour and bananas becomes sweeter and softer as they ripen.
Solution
Working collaboratively with Powertech Refrigeration, Aermec’s solution was a chilled water and glycol system based around energy efficient chillers. Two NRL simultaneous heat pump chillers were used to supply the storage facility and three NRP simultaneous heat pump chillers were installed to supply the ripening rooms which are operational 24/7.
These units were selected to enable the temperature of the water down to be lowered to -6⁰C and energy savings were achieved by using the hot water from the heat pumps for defrosting the coolers in the chilled rooms and comfort cooling in the production areas.
The NRL units feature scroll compressors, plate exchangers and axial fans and can deliver efficiencies even at partial loads and operate using R410a. The NRP air to heat pump multi-purpose chillers features axial fans, high efficiency rotary scroll compressors, plate type exchangers with versions available for two or four pipe applications and operates on R410a.
Result
Aermec’s chillers are used in both the fruit storage and the 24-ripening warehouse. The cooling systems use a secondary refrigerant circulated to the coolers within each room or area.
Powertech Refrigeration provided a complete installation, including much of the pipework and valves. Time was saved by pre-manufacturing and delivering to site, ready to be fitted and commissioned. The NRP heat pump delivered the required efficiencies and can provide 100% heating and 100% cooling and all points in between, which few chillers can achieve.
The entire project was completed in less than six months.
Two NRL heat pump chillers for storage roomsCW and glycol based systemThree NRP simultaneous heat pump chillers for ripening roomsWater temperature lowered to -6ºCExcess hot water used to defrost coolers and provide comfort coolingImproved ripening process
Being a significant player in the European air conditioning market for over 60 years, we are dedicated to the development and testing of our products and the value they bring to our customers. Not just at install, but the lifetime value of an Aermec installation. We believe in the importance of continual research and development, with particular emphasis on rigorous testing of every chiller and heat pump after its assembly, before it is dispatched.
Registered in England Company No. 3112873
