UK industrial refrigeration engineering company Star Refrigeration has completed the manufacture and installation of a new cold storage facility for Lineage Logistics at their new site in Great HaddonStar Refrigeration has completed the manufacture and installation of a new cold storage facility for Lineage Logistics, near Peterborough. This project consists of 15,000 pallet spaces of frozen warehouse capacity supporting Lineage’s plan for growth and the industry’s need for consolidation.
The Peterborough development has seen the installation of a 75,000 cubic meters cold store plant with a refrigeration capacity of 600kW.
Lineage required a 600kW refrigeration system, which was designed to achieve a nominal storage design temperature of -240 Celsius. Running costs were key to the plant’s design, with STS specifying a minimum condenser surface of 4,800 m2 to achieve optimum condensing pressures throughout the year. Evaporator absorbed power was also limited to 35kW, while the condenser absorbed power should be equal to or less than 30kW to maximize efficiency and reduce electrical costs.
Star Refrigeration was able to secure the contract through its offer of two independent AF300-S Azanefreezer 2.0 ammonia refrigeration plants. Star modified its existing AF300 unit by retaining the existing low-pressure receiver and compressors but upgrading the unit’s condenser and base frame to a larger size. This allowed it to achieve higher efficiency than that required by the tender, thus reducing running costs.
Capital costs were also minimized. The Azanefreezer 2.0 is a modular, low charge packaged ammonia freezer with a patented low-pressure receiver design that is unique to Star Refrigeration. Its design allows for a reduction of the system’s ammonia refrigerant charge of up to 80% when compared to traditional pumped recirculation systems. Having all maintenance valves on the Azanefreezer 2.0 unit as well as the use of reverse cycle defrost make possible the elimination of hot gas valve stations at each cooler, including all the associated ventilation and gas detection components.
The Azanefreezer 2.0 is assembled at Star’s manufacturing facilities and tested before dispatch which reduces onsite installation times and expenses. It does not require a plant room, either, eliminating third party costs by dispensing with the need for a significant amount of accompanying infrastructure.
Also, the plant was designed to have no flanged or mechanical joints within the cold store itself, meaning there are no potential leakage points inside the store. Instead, all valves and mechanical joints are positioned on the exterior of the unit and at heights which make them easily accessible from a maintenance perspective.