BITZER has created a new system to freeze tuna at the Chian Chen Fishing Port in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The project involved local distributor, ETECO, and contracting firm, Aking, and is the first project in Taiwan ever to incorporate the BITZER Digital Network (BDN).
Other products used for the project included two BITZER ECOLINE reciprocating compressors with VARISTEP capacity control and the IQ module.
The system has a total cooling capacity of 70 kW with a room temperature of –55°C in a total room size of over 261 square metres and a height of seven metres. The refrigerants in use are R507A and R23. The BDN is a digital infrastructure for customers to keep track of BITZER equipment.
BITZER Hong Kong technical manager, Stephen Chan, said it is important to monitor and record compressor operations for food safety.
“If something happened to the freezing system, all the fresh tuna would spoil. The BDN can monitor everything and we are notified immediately if there are anomalies with the system,” Chan said.
ETECO sales manager, Calvin Hung, said the company had great support from BITZER Hong Kong and the German headquarters which was necessary because they had never used the BDN before.
“Basically, the BDN offers us all the data we need,” he said.
“We chose the IQ module in combination with VARISTEP for this application because we wanted to maintain the high stage compressor at a constant pressure to be able to handle the different loads of low stage operation. Plus, we got easy access to the operating conditions using the Bluetooth interface with the BITZER BEST app on our mobile phones.”
The IQ module’s intelligence ensures optimum operation of the VARISTEP capacity control, which itself enables virtually seamless compressor operation with a refrigerating capacity of between 10 and 100 per cent. Furthermore, the IQ module is an ideal and reliable source of data for the BDN. The data from the module is transferred to the BDN through a preconfigured gateway.