A novel refrigeration system installed at a food manufacturing facility in Irvine, Calif., is expected to provide 20- to 50-percent energy savings and be less impactful to the environment.
Installed by CIMCO Refrigeration Inc., Southern California Edison (SCE), and Mayekawa Manufacturing Co. at the Imuraya USA plant, where desserts for Japanese restaurants are manufactured, the NewTon refrigeration system uses ammonia and carbon dioxide, two natural refrigerants, to achieve a higher level of efficiency and energy savings than normal refrigeration systems on the market today.
Mayekawa will monitor the refrigeration system in real time for the operator. SCE will gather and analyze data on both the NewTon and the existing refrigeration system, which can alternate operation.
Mayekawa research shows ice arenas have achieved an average 50-percent reduction in energy, cold-storage facilities have achieved an average 27.8-percent reduction, and freezers at processing plants have achieved an average 20-percent reduction using the system.
Jose Mergulhao, CIMCO’s vice president of U.S. operations, oversaw the installation, which was completed in late June.
“Reducing the carbon footprint and decreasing overall energy consumption is of significant value to commercial and industrial consumers and to the surrounding electric grid, especially during times of peak demand and warm, summer days,” Mergulhao said.
The team expects to complete its research on the system by the end of 2016 and issue its first update in early 2017.