Industrial chillers are refrigeration systems that cools down processed fluid or dehumidifies air in commercial and industrial facilities. An industrial chiller uses two different processes depending on the type of industrial chiller, it either uses vapor compression or absorption cycle to cool. Chilled water has a variety of applications from space cooling to process uses. Industrial Chillers are rated based on the cooling energy. They produce one to 1000 tons of cooling energy.
Types of Industrial Chillers
There are currently three different types of industrial chillers available in the market.
- Air cooled Chiller
- Water Cooled Chiller
- Evaporative Condensed Chiller
There are further four more sub categories in each type of the industrial chillers.
- Reciprocating
- Centrifugal
- Screw driven
- Absorption Chillers
Reciprocating, centrifugal and screw driven industrial chillers are mechanical chillers powered by electric motors, steam or gas turbines. Only the absorption chiller relies on heat source such as steam and does not use any moving parts such as motors or gas turbines.
Components of an Industrial Chiller
The industrial chiller usually has four basic components through which the refrigerant passes, evaporator, compressor, condenser and the expansion valve.These four units operate at different pressure level, the evaporator in these chillers operate at a lower pressure and lower temperature than the condenser.
How does an Industrial Chiller Operate?
In most industrial chillers, a pumping system circulates cool water/liquid from the chiller to the process. This cool fluid removes heat from the process and the warm fluid returns to the chiller. The process water is the means by which heat transfers from the process to the chiller.
Then the refrigeration cycle starts with a low-pressure liquid/gas mix entering the evaporator. In the evaporator, heat from the process water boils the refrigerant, which transforms it from a low-pressure liquid to a low-pressure gas. The low-pressure gas is then entered in the compressor where it gets compressed to high-pressure gas. The high-pressure gas is then transferred to the condenser where ambient air or condenser water removes heat to cool it to a high-pressure liquid. The high-pressure liquid travels to the expansion valve, which controls how much liquid refrigerant enters the evaporator, thereby beginning the refrigeration cycle again.
Mainly there are two types of condensers used in chillers; air-cooled and water-cooled. An air-cooled condenser uses ambient air to cool and condense the hot refrigerant gas back down to a liquid. It can be located inside the chiller or can be remotely located outside, but ultimately it rejects the heat from the chiller to the air. In a water-cooled condenser, water from a cooling tower cools and condenses the refrigerant.
What Type of Chiller Suits You Best?
Industrial Chiller systems range vastly in size and design and are available as small, localized or portable chiller units for smaller applications or large central chillers designed to provide cooling for entire processes. If you require one yourself you can contact seracelan.com as they are one of the top Industrial Chiller Manufacturers in the world.