Abstract
Refrigeration demands in industrial food processing plants can vary significantly over a week depending on the production schedules. It is common to experience peaks of electricity consumption due to the operation of the refrigeration equipment during a day. Integrating cold thermal energy storage (CTES) technology in the refrigeration system enables significant peak shaving and thus shifting the load from peak to off-peak hours. This paper presents the results obtained from an experimental study conducted on a novel plates-in-tank CTES unit integrated into a pump-circulated CO2 refrigeration system at -5°C for chilling of food. The unit consists of a stack of pillow-plates (PP) that is fitted in a stainless-steel container filled with an organic phase change material (melting point of -9°C). The refrigerant circulates through the channels inside each PP and evaporates and condenses during the charging and discharging process, respectively. The storage capacity is tested, and the performance of the PP heat exchanger is evaluated.
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