Products

New heat exchangers focus on sustainable cooling

Alfa Laval has launched a new generation of brazed plate heat exchangers that offer increased sustainability for cooling duties.

The AC74 includes unique technologies developed to improve energy efficiency and enable the use of refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP), says the company.

“An increasing number of our customers are facing challenges as a result of legislation intended to limit the global greenhouse effect caused by fluorinated gases (F-gases),” says Alfa Laval’s Fredrik Ekström.

“This has created growing demand for new solutions that can cope with today’s low-GWP refrigerants.”

As a solution for air conditioning and process cooling duties, the AC74 has been designed for use with low-GWP refrigerants.

According to Alfa Laval, although low-GWP refrigerants offer environmental benefits, many of them place high demands on heat exchanger technologies.

Among other things, this can include low temperatures that result in freezing, which in turn damages the equipment. Some refrigerants, such as R32, also require high operating pressures that pose a challenge for many existing heat exchangers on the market.

Ekström says that the AC74 generation combines a number of unique technologies to meet demands in both energy efficiency and new refrigerants.

“This includes DynaStatic, a flexible distribution system that can be tailored to match the properties of the media in question. So ensuring a perfect fit for example, with low-GWP refrigerants,” he says.

“Another key feature is IceSafe, which involves a number of elements in our low temperature management and ensures controlled, non-destructive freezing when operating with sub-zero media.

“Additionally, one model in the product generation, the ACK74, is specifically optimised for use with R32. The ACK74 features our proven PressureSecure design, providing for dependable operation at pressures up to 49 bar.”

The AC74 models also cover a higher kilowatt range than similar heat exchangers in the past, from 50kW up to 160kW.

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