Tailor-made refrigeration system for 65-metre icebreaker

A 65-metre ocean-going icebreaker required a highly reliable replacement refrigeration system for its onboard cold room, freezer and waste store. Chillflow Solutions Ltd, with support from BITZER UK, designed and installed a bespoke marine refrigeration system utilising BITZER ECOLINE compressors.
The use of an off-the-shelf replacement pack was ruled out due to space restrictions and the distance between the pack, cold rooms and condensers. The system also required 100% redundancy to ensure continuous cooling in the unlikely event of a breakdown at sea.
The system has a capacity of 12 kW and is based on two BITZER ECOLINE 4PES-12Y semi-hermetic compressors operating on a run-and-standby basis, each capable of covering the cooling load and operating with a condensing temperature of +45°C.
The compressors have an integrated monitoring system that keeps track of winding temperature, phase sequence, phase failure, current, plus oil temperature and level, ensuring optimum performance at all times.
The pack is connected to two BITZER sea-water-resistant K373HB shell and tube condensers, which provide corrosion resistance and heat transfer between the refrigerant and sea water, used to reject heat.
To optimise energy efficiency, the compressors use the IQ MODULE and VARISTEP (10–100%) capacity control to precisely match the cooling load, even with limited power availability on board.