The customer: BITZER Australia, an industry leader in compressors, engineered refrigeration packages, pressure vessels, and air conditioning solutions.
The challenge: Maintain critical temperature parameters for multiple loads, even when ambient temperatures reach 48°C.
The solution: Create a new transcritical CO2 system for a Woolworths grocery store in Sydney, Australia.
The heat exchangers: The new system depends on SWEP B12, B200T and B18 brazed plate heat exchangers.
The results: The system delivered exceptional temperature control to all connected loads – including a 34-kW frozen produce load, a 205-kW chilled produce load, 325 kW of space cooling and 12 kW of heating, even when peak temperatures reached 48 °C.
BITZER Australia, a global leader in compressor technology, approached SWEP with a proposal to collaborate on the creation of a new transcritical CO2 system for a Woolworths grocery store in Sydney, Australia. Over the last decade, SWEP has been the global leader in the development of ultra-pressure BPHEs for transcritical supermarket refrigeration. They were ready and willing to address the myriad challenges that the hot Australian climate poses for transcritical systems.
SWEP’s ability to deliver a technical solution for this project enabled BITZER to design a system that could meet the customer’s requirements. The design of the chilled water thermosyphon unit, with its low refrigerant-side pressure drop, was essential to the o system’s operation.
The role of SWEP BPHEs
SWEP B12, B200T and B18 brazed plate heat exchangers were key to the success of this project. The system uses a CO2 thermosyphon to generate chilled water, which is then used for store air conditioning. SWEP BPHEs are also used to control the suction superheat for low-temperature compressors; condensate is subcooled via flash gas. The system utilizes vapor condensing via an R134a mechanical resilience unit; reclaimed heat from discharge gas is used to warm water, which is then used for store heating. In 2019, Woolworths won the Refrigeration Excellence category at the AIRAH awards and continues to break new ground for transcritical CO2 systems in Australia’s hottest climates.
