1988 IIAR Technical Papers
     Savannah, GA
    10th Annual Meeting

Recirculated Water Chilling for Eviscerated Poultry
Author: David L. Hall

Recirculated water chilling of eviscerated poultry (birds) in lieu of the use of ice as a cooling medium in bird chillers should be considered because of lower energy costs, better control of bird temperatures, colder bird temperatures and better bird cleanliness. Recirculated water chilling involves the use of a heat exchanger to chill the water in a bird chiller by use of an ammonia heat exchanger. The water is pumped out of the bird chiller and circulated through the rechiller where it is cooled to 32F. This water is then returned to the bird chiller to cool the birds.
What the Operating Engineers need to Know about Their System
Author: David A. Lueders

All of the included scenarios which are real cases in our corporation, were created by or aggravated by two problems: 1. Inadequately trained Operating Engineers 2. Lack of adequate knowledge available to plant personnel about their system design & how to properly operate & maintain it. This paper addresses the second issue. "What the operating engineer needs to know about their refrigeration system".
Cost Effective Monitoring Systems
Author: James A. Price

There are several items which must be weighed when considering any monitoring system: It must have the capability to perform the functions desired. It must have the memory capacity to store the required amount of information. It must have the flexiblity to allow modifications of the programs to provide group strategies for specific needs. The system must be able to easily interface with existing electrical components and controls. The system must have backup support, especially during the start up phase, this should include short lead time on repair parts, technical assistance, programming assistance, and concise documentation.  It is necessary that the system be easily programmed and reprogrammed. It must be easily expandable with little or no disruption to the system operation.  It is an absolute necessity that a method be available to store the program information for reloading in there is a loss of memory. The most important requirement of all is that the system must be cost effective. This means that the system must have a low first cost, that it is reliable, has a low maintenance cost, that it: performs by saving the user money, and provides a more overall reliable and efficient operation. And when the monitoring system is combined with an effective maintenance program, the system most certainly is cost efficient.
Industrial Food Freezing Systems
Author: Alex P. Gooseff

The freezing process induces a physical change in the food product. The rate of physical change or freezing time determines the size of ice crystals produced. At a slow freezing rate, initially formed ice crystals can grow to a relatively large average size. Fast freezing forces more crystals with a smaller average size to be formed. In practice, however, there is always a mixture of different-sized ice crystals because the product's surface freezes faster than its inner parts. Large ice crystals may puncture the cell walls of the product, usually increasing drip loss of juices during thawing. Depending on the product, this can affect greatly the texture and flavor of the remaining product tissue. Freezing time dependent on many factors. Economics became a paramount determining factor is most commercial application. Freezing times of several minutes do not always make as large a difference compared to several hours.
Ammonia Refrigeration in Large Scale Brewing Technology
Author: Ruth Bardov

Changes in beer making with the advent of industrial refrigeration are presented from a historical perspective. An overview of the modern brewing technology provides a clear view of the established role of ammonia refrigeration as the primary source of cooling in various stages of production. The presentation includes specifics on wort cooling, fermentation-yeast strain-temperature correlation considerations, lagering cooling requirements and packaging cooling demands, with the declared attempt to familiarize the audience with the nomenclature, as well as provide a glimpse into the art and science of large scale, good beermaking. A hybrid, large scale ammonia cooling system, containing both reciprocating and screw compressors and the associated user systems and subsystems, is described in detail with emphasis on the energy conservation problems and techniques for load leveling applicable in batch fermentation processes. The preoccupation with saving refrigeration energy in the modern brewery is presented briefly and includes aspects of system control strategies to satisfy dynamic (time varying) cooling loads and peak demand reduction techniques. Cooling system reliability is one of the keys to excellent beer quality: The use of refrigeration in the fermentation, carbon dioxide recovery subsystem, and the use of exhaust air to cool make up air for energy conservation, are also presented. With the beer demand on the rise the need for more ammonia cooling equipment and systems is also predicted. An extensive bibliography is presented for the interested readers.
Ammonia Applications for Ice Cream Plants
Author: Morris L. Eisert

This paper describes the various forms of ice cream now produced by ice cream plants, the importance of the design taking into consideration all plant applications and loads (low, medium and high temp), cost effectiveness and important design considerations for this type of plant. A typical Midwestern full-line ice cream plant is used as a basis for comparing three different system designs.
Considering and Avoiding Light Density Coil-Frost
Author: George R. Smith

This consideration of coil-frost focuses on infiltration air, the major source of latent heat gain to freezers nationwide, and is a source which does not lend itself to ordinary 24-hour load averaging. Reference 1, an analysis and summary of recent studies, is recommended for its graphs and explanations of infiltration air load, both in magnitude and in the nature of its occurrence.
High Side Piping and Purging
Author: Rex Brown, P.E.

Many thorough and comprehensive technical papers on "Condenser Piping" and "Non-Condensable Purging" have been presented in various technical publications or at IIAR and ASHRAE Meetings. Surprisingly, improper condenser piping is still commonplace in our industry, even on new projects. This is particularly true on large projects that have multiple evaporative condensers. This presentation will review and expand upon much of the information previously presented. In addition, I will explain how proper condenser piping affects the ability and efficiency of purging non-condensables from a refrigeration system.
A Walk Through the Meat Industry
Author: Bill Ames

Refrigeration plays a big part in the success or failure of any meat plant. Good packing house practice combined with a good refrigeration system is necessary to control shrink, shelf life and eye appeal (bloom or color) of the product. It must meet the needs of production while providing acceptable working conditions. The system must be energy efficient. This paper describes the following aspects of the meat industry: per capita consumption, dairy, leather, recent changes in the industry, carcass (drip) chill coolers, coil surface specifications, holding, breaking and boning coolers, processing kitchens, shipping areas, dry rooms, blast chilling and storage freezing.
Ammonia Flares: Incinerators-Oxidizers - A Proven Safe and Readily Used Method for Disposing of Ammonia in Industrial Applications
Author: James J. Shepherd

One of the most concerned areas with the use of ammonia as a refrigerant, is what do you do with the ammonia vapor in case of a leak, maintenance venting or discharge of a safety relief valve. One of the current methods used is discharge to the atmosphere (which is the best and most economical, provided the amount is small - (under 200lbs), and that the plant is not located in a populated area). The second current method is the use of water as an absorbant, but which calculatable design results are not available. Also, what do you do with the aqua ammonia after absorbtion, plus many other unanswered questions. If the first two choices above are objectionable, this paper will address three safe, economical methods to handle almost any possible geographic location, and most flow rates encountered.
Ammonia Detectors in Freezer Chambers
Author: Anders Lindborg

Today a few types of ammonia detectors have proven satisfactory reliability for duty in cold storage room at -25°C to -30°C (-13 to -22 F). Detectors are rather expensive. Installation requires great care in selection of detector location. Furthermore, they require frequent checking and regular calibration, which means a considerable increase of the maintenance work load in a large plant. Finally it must be stated that they do not provide a 100 % warranty of warning. They are not yet entirely dependable, so some false alarms have to be expected. Sometimes they will also fail to alarm properly. The most important factor of their dependability is your organization and the status of training and motivation of your personnel.
Design Considerations for a New Turkey Processing Facility
Author: Vernon D. Karman

Oscar Mayer Foods is currently constructing a new 300,000 square foot turkey processing facility in Tulare, California in order to meet the increased demand for its Louis Rich brand turkey products. Site work for the facility began in November of 1987 with a projected completion date of early 1989. This new facility is designed to be state-of-the-art in turkey processing and is expected to be in service for many years to come. While the actual detailed design work is being done by a consulting engineering firm, our Corporate Engineering Staff has performed much of the conceptual engineering and value engineering for the facility. The design firm has then taken our concepts and suggestions and has incorporated them into the actual construction documents. It is the conceptual design work that will be the basis for this paper. Hopefully these design considerations will be interesting to most of you and helpful or thought-provoking to at least some of you who may be involved in similar projects in the near future.
Mother Nature's Legacy - Coil Frost
Author: Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.

Ammonia evaporators collect frost when coil surfaces are below freezing. Blockage and frost insulation greatly reduce heat transfer and coil capacity. Air flow Frost must periodically be removed to restore evaporator efficiency. Presently, automatic hot gas defrost is the most widely used defrost method. Latent heat of condensation, contained in compressor discharge gas: warms the coil mass - above freezing - melting its frost blanket. Less than 15% of the heat input melts frost, the rest heats tubes and fins from the inside out.
Air Distribution in Freezer Areas
Author: Bruce A. Paulson

Air within a storage freezer is the means by which the cold from the refrigerant evaporator is carried to the room. If uniform conditions are to be obtained, this cold air must be properly distributed and circulated throughout the entire freezer space. Freezer air distribution systems can be complex because of the countless variations of building construction, operating requirements, product stacking arrangements, and the location of doors and other openings. Even though each freezer will have a specific set of design considerations, in general, the air systems within freezers have become much simpler. The increased popularity in freezing tunnels and plate freezers have changed today’s freezers from product freezing and hardening systems to simple product holding freezers. Obviously, holding the room and product at specific temperature is a much simpler task than a system which required to do product freezing. This discussion therefore will address holding freezers only. Blast, chill, and hardening freezers require vastly different sets of conditions and temperatures with each application needing its own special design.
Discharge of Ammonia Vapor into the Atmosphere
Author: Wilbert F. Stoecker

Occasions arise when ammonia is released from a refrigeration plant. Some of these occasions are planned, and others are unintentional. An example of a planned release of ammonia is when maintenance and repairs are being performed on a system, and a section of the plant is isolated and to the extent possible the ammonia is pumped to another part of the active system. The ammonia that remains, however, is discharged. An example of an unintentional release of ammonia occurs following a spill resulting from an accidental rupture of a pipe, fitting, or vessel. A situation that is a combination of the intentional/unintentional categories mentioned above is the release of ammonia from a pressure-relief valve. This release is unintentional in that it occurs only because an undesirable pressure has developed, but is intentional in that the pipes and vessels subjected to this undesirably high pressure are protected. The most widely-used methods of disposing of ammonia are: Dispersion directly to atmosphere, Discharge into a vessel of water or into a water spray, Dilution with water and subsequent discharge to a storm sewer, Combustion, usually in a methane flame, and discharge of the products of combustion (primarily water and nitrogen) to atmosphere, and Transportation in liquid form elsewhere for another use, such as for agricultural purposes. Probably all of these methods have their place, and because the safe disposal of ammonia is crucial, research and development should proceed on all these methods as well as on other methods yet to be conceived. This paper concentrates on only the first method of disposal, dispersion directly to atmosphere.