Cooling Performance Analysis of the Lab-Scale Hybrid Oyster Refrigeration System

Xuejun Qian,Seong W. Lee,Oludayo S. Alamu,Yulai Yang,Marc J. L. Caballes

doi:10.3390/pr8080899

Xuejun Qian, Seong W. Lee + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8080899

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Abstract

Compared with the waste-to-heat and electricity-based hybrid refrigeration system, the innovative lab-scale refrigeration system integrated with the DC and AC cooling units that able to use solar and electricity as energy resources. Previous studies found that temperature control and uniform temperature distribution in refrigeration systems are both critical factors reducing vibrio growth on raw oysters and saving energy consumption. Therefore, this refrigeration system also equipped a specially designed divider and was used to test various air circulation strategies to achieve uniform temperature distribution in six individual compartments. The objective is to investigate and evaluate the effects of air circulation strategies and operating conditions on the cooling performance, including temperature distribution, standard deviation of compartment temperatures, and cooling time using a factorial design method. Results indicated the maximum temperature difference between the compartments was 8.9 ± 2.0 °C, 6.7 ± 2.0 °C, and 4.8 ± 2.0 °C in the scenarios of no air circulation, natural air circulation, and combined natural and forced air circulation, respectively. The interaction of fan location and fan direction showed a significant effect on the compartment temperatures while there was no significant effect on cooling time. A circulation fan on the lower part of the 12-volt section with an air supply from the 12- to 110-volt section was determined as the optimal condition to achieve relatively uniform temperature distribution. Refrigeration system also achieved a cooling temperature of 7.2 °C within 150 min to meet regulations. To that end, the innovative hybrid oyster refrigeration system will benefit oyster industries, as well as the aquaculture farmers in terms of complying with regulations and energy savings.

Highlights

Oysters play a vital role in the Bay ecosystems because they filter sediments, detritus, and small phytoplankton from the water to improve water quality while providing foods and habitats to hundreds of critters [1]
In order to investigate the effects of air circulation on the performance of the lab-scale hybrid oyster refrigeration system, three different scenarios were compared
The deployment of new refrigerants and refrigeration technologies in the conventional refrigeration systems are limited by the power capacity refrigeration technologies in the fuels conventional refrigeration arestudies limitedfocused by the power of fishing boats and increasing

Summary

Introduction

Oysters play a vital role in the Bay ecosystems because they filter sediments, detritus, and small phytoplankton from the water to improve water quality while providing foods and habitats to hundreds of critters [1]. Oyster aquaculture has been partially approved as an alternative management practice for nutrient reduction (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) in the Chesapeake Bay region. This is because oysters consume organic materials from their aquatic environment by specialized filtration systems [1,2]. Several factors have contributed to a decline in oyster populations associated with Chesapeake Bay, including overharvesting, habitat destruction, and mortal diseases (e.g., Multinuclear Sphere X and Dermo) [3]. Among these factors, overharvesting played a key role in Processes 2020, 8, 899; doi:10.3390/pr8080899 www.mdpi.com/journal/processes.

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