While some details may have changed since this case study
was undertaken, the principles and the positive outcomes, both
financial and environmental, remain the same and are transferable
to any business.
 White
Refrigeration Pty Ltd (for Yalumba Pty Ltd)
Company profile
White Refrigeration Pty Ltd (White) is a supplier of refrigeration
services and products encompassing the initial conceptual design
through to the construction and installation of refrigeration
systems.
Manufacturing processes
White has supplied services to the beverage (beer, wine, juice
and soft drink), dairy, meat, poultry, fish, fruit, chemical and
general cold storage industries. White’s offices and workshops
are located in Salisbury, South Australia. White specialises in
the design, manufacture and installation of all types of heat
exchangers (eg. shell and tube, tube in tube, immersion chillers,
ice builders and evaporative condensers). White promotes the use
of de-superheaters for heat recovery from refrigeration plants
to increase efficiency. Staff from White lecture in refrigeration
at the University of Adelaide and TAFE and participate in refrigeration
seminars. Mr Ray White has co-authored a book titled “Refrigeration
for Winemakers”.
Link to Yalumba
White has been servicing the Yalumba Wine Company since 1988.
They have been responsible for the design and installation of
the ammonia recirculation plant at Yalumba for 5,000 kWR at -15C
evaporation. This system currently includes four screw compressors,
four evaporative condensers, an accumulator, one liquid receiver,
two 700 kWR shell and tube brine chillers and approximately 250
immersion chillers. Part of the piping and valves were constructed
entirely of stainless steel to accommodate the ammonia refrigerant.
Action undertaken
An eco-efficiency audit was conducted at the Yalumba winery (by
Mr Ray White) that inspected and
reviewed the company facilities and activities. This included
assessment of the:
- Inputs including energy usage (electricity, gas), and water
usage
- Outputs including waste generation, and products
Although having no specific recommendations for the operations
at the Salisbury site, there were a number of improvements to
Yalumba’s refrigeration system that White considered worthy
of noting as part of this project. These included:
Electronic controls: Yalumba
currently has a mixture of manual and electronic controls for
their refrigeration plant. Upgrade of the controls system to
modern electronic controls would result in better temperature
control and energy savings.
Overchill fermenters at night:
Refrigeration plant is more efficient when the ambient temperature
is lower. Cost savings could be achieved by using the inertia
of the wine. The refrigeration plant could be run at night when
the ambient temperature and off peak electricity costs are lower.
The wine temperature is then allowed to drift up during the
day (within limits agreeable to the winemaker) thus reducing
or eliminating the running of the refrigeration during the peak
day period.
Variable speed drives on pumps:
The hydraulic systems are dynamic with varying requirements.
The speed of the pumps could be varied to match the demand rather
then operate on maximum capacity continuously. Considerable
savings could be achieved by installing variable speed drives
to match the pump output with demand.
Maintenance: Improved maintenance
procedures of insulation on cold refrigeration lines and fixing
leaks in compressed air lines would save energy.
Co-generation plan: Energy
savings could be achieved at Yalumba with the installation of
a gas fired, co-generation unit, producing electricity for the
refrigeration plant (as well as general light and power) and
hot water for washing in the bottling plant.
Heat recovery from bottle wash:
The bottling plant uses several wash and rinse cycles to ensure
the bottles are sterile. The process is a once-through system
and recycling and heat recovery are not undertaken.
The following table provides a summary of the Action Plan.
| AREA |
ACTION |
POTENTIAL BENEFITS |
| Barrel Washing |
Develop new washing system. |
Decreased water usage. |
| Night refrigeration |
Install condensers. |
Decreased electricity consumption. |
| Intelligent ambient temperature control |
Replace circulating fans with intelligent system. |
Decreased electricity consumption. |
| Condensation control |
Install variable speed drives. |
Reduced energy consumption. |
Project outcomes
The eco-efficiencies identified in the facilities at the Yalumba
site have resulted in direct cost savings and the following specific
outcomes:
Environmental benefits
Reduced electricity consumption through installing condensers
and variable speed drives, in addition to replacing circulating
fans. New barrel washing system has resulted in a reduction of
117 L water/barrel.
Economic benefits
Decreased energy consumption with an estimated cost saving of
$30,000 per year.
Other issues that have arisen include:
Overall, it is considered that White is an environmentally efficient
business. White also actively promote the concept of eco-efficiency
and are considered to be a valuable part of the Greener Business
Alliance Project.
This page was last modified 23-10-2007
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