Why Glycol Is Used for Cooling?
The most commonly used coolant in a chiller is water or a mixture of water and another substance with appropriate heat conduction properties – such as a glycol compound. Glycol-based coolants consist of either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. The main advantage of glycol coolants is anti-freeze properties.Pure water freezes at 0 degrees C, while 30% ethylene glycol freezes at -14 degrees C. The low freezing point of glycol mixtures makes them ideal for cooling items that are below the freezing point of water.Although glycol has a lower heat capacity than water (each kilogram of glycol is easier to heat than one kilogram of water), the larger temperature difference allows the glycol mixture to remove heat more quickly than pure water. The glycol mixtures are more suitable for applications where the chiller must quickly remove large amounts of heat.In addition to providing excellent heat transfer parameters, glycol tends to discourage algae growth in heat transfer equipment.
How Does A Glycol System Work?
A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger(or a cooling jacket) to cool the equipment, another process stream, or just to be used. At the heart of a glycol system is the glycol chiller.Glycol chiller, as the name implies, uses glycol as the chiller’s cooling medium. A glycol chiller consists of a compressor, an evaporator, a condenser, a throttling element, and an electric control system.Let’s see what’s the working principle of a glycol chiller:
The chiller’s refrigerant absorbs thermal energy from your process, usually the refrigerant will be turned into gas. The gaseous refrigerant is then circulated to a condenser which expels the heat through evaporative condensation. This heat exchange condenses the refrigerant back into a cooler gas& liquid mixture that is sent back to the process heating source to begin the cycle again.
Ratio of Water to Glycol to Use
Calculating the proper ratio of glycol to water in a refrigeration system depends on the coldest temperature you need during operation. If the refrigeration system is used indoors, where there is a lower chance of freezing, the amount of glycol required will be significantly less than a glycol chiller used outdoors. it is very important to use the correct ratio of glycol to water in the chiller system. Adding too much glycol to a chiller system will result in an inefficient system. However, insufficient glycol can cause the system to freeze, possibly bursting pipes and even destroying the chiller evaporator.Check the most used glycol ratio chart:
Glycol
|
Water
|
Coldest Temperature
|
16%
|
84%
|
0℃
|
24%
|
76%
|
-5℃
|
32%
|
68%
|
-10℃
|
40%
|
60%
|
-15℃
|
45%
|
55%
|
-20℃
|
50%
|
50%
|
-25℃
|
55%
|
45%
|
-30℃
|
What Can A Glycol Chiller Be Used For?
Glycol chillers are most used for chemical processing, pharmaceutical formulation, food and beverage processing.
Glycol Chiller Applications
|
How Glycol Chillers are Being Used
|
Breweries
|
Cooling the Wort
Controlling Fermentation
Crash Cooling Vessels
Prepackaging
Product Storage
|
Wineries
|
Fermentation Process
Cold Stabilization
Room Cooling
|
Cider Mills
|
Fermentation Control
Cold Chilling the Juice
Cold Storage of the Final Product
|
Distilleries
|
Fermentation Process
Circulation Between Distillation Tanks & Stills
Heat Removal
|
Breweries
Wineries
Ice Rink
Dairy Product
A properly designed dairy glycol chiller can cool the milk very rapidly to help keep milk temperatures (and bacteria growth) under control as it is transferred from the milking parlor to his insulated tank.
How To Choose The Right Capacity Of A Glycol Chiller?
For the above information, we will know the important role played by glycol chillers is not only in industry but also in commercial applications.There are some useful tips for sizing your glycol chillers:
1.
Air-cooled Or
Water-cooled
Air-cooled chillers use a condenser that is similar to the “radiators” in a car. They use a fan to force air through the refrigerant coil. Unless they are specifically designed for high ambient conditions, air-cooled condensers need to operate effectively at an ambient temperature of 35°C (95°F) or less.
Advantages of air-cooled chiller:
- Air-cooled chillers do not require cooling towers.
- Easier to install compared with a water-cooled chiller.
Water-cooled chillers function in the same way as air-cooled chillers but require two steps to complete the transfer of heat. First, heat enters the condenser water from the refrigerant vapor. The warm condenser water is then pumped to the cooling tower, where the heat from the process is eventually vented to the atmosphere.
- Higher COP(Coefficient Of Performance).
- Lower cost on power for the same cooling capacity.
- Have a longer lifespan.
- Relatively quieter than air-cooled chillers.
- Provide more consistent cooling performance.
2. Cooling capacity
How to calculate the cooling capacity I need?Let’s see the below formula.
- Calculate Temperature Differential = Incoming Water Temperature (°c) – Outlet Chilled Water Temperature(°c)
- Water flow rate that you need per hour(m³/hour)
- Get in tons of cooling capacity = Water Flow Rate x Temperature Differential ÷ 0.86 ÷ 3.517
- Oversize the chiller by 20% Ideal Size in Tons = Tons x 1.2
- You have the ideal size for your needs.
Fill out our quick sizing form and we will be able to provide you with the glycol chiller selection customized to your process.
3. Whether A Built-in Tank Is Necessary
4. Water Flow
The water flow of a glycol chiller is mainly controlled by the pump, so you can choose a pump with different flow rates according to your specific needs.
Check some of our glycol chiller models:
Manejan ustedes algo equivalente al BC-4 que usan algunos lásers médicos?
Sé que es glicol con amonio quaternario.
Hola, suministramos principalmente equipos de refrigeración, en cuanto al glicol, le sugerimos que lo compre en su mercado local.
bonjour,
je voulais i savoir si il ya de la réglementation concernant les entreprises alimentaire pour cette utilization de glycol comme moyen de refroidissement
merci bien
I’m now not ѕure the place you’re getting үour info, howeveг good topic.
I needs to spend a while learning much more or workіng out more.
Thanks for fantastic info I used to be looking for this informаtion for
my mission.
Hola, feliz año 2022, me gustaria saber si en un chiller cw3000, podria poner refrigerante tipo coolant(verde) en vez de agua en su interior? Muchas gracias.
Hola, no recomendamos utilizar otros medios que no sean agua directamente en el cw3000, ya que la mayoría de los medios de refrigeración, como el glicol, son corrosivos y pueden dañar el tanque y las tuberías.
Xin chào, mình hỏi chút, bên mình đang thi công hệ thống lạnh dùng hóa chất Hóa chất 35% Glycol , Đường ống nên chọn lựa và vật liệu gì để chống bị ăn mòn đường ống, nếu dùng ống GI thì có bị ăn mòn không? Nhờ tư vấn giúp!. Thanks