Sara Lee Bakery Group
Process Refrigeration Upgrade
THE CHALLENGE
How to structure the phasing of this project to accommodate switching production loads over from Freon to Ammonia while not adversely affecting production. Tying into existing glycol headers and feeding them from a central glycol system.
The Sara Lee Bakery Group planned a refrigeration project designed to replace their R22-based refrigeration and place the cooling load on their central ammonia system at their Forest Park, GA refrigerated dough products facility. This facility had 11 dough mixers and 3 ingredient chillers serviced by individual air-cooled Freon systems. WEBBER/SMITH worked with plant staff and corporate engineers to analyze refrigeration loads and construction options to determine the best choices from an operational and budget standpoint. The upgrade expanded their current ammonia system to allow it to serve as the primary refrigerant for the new glycol system. The ammonia engine room housed new ammonia compressors and a suction accumulator with evaporative condensers on the roof. A new building expansion housed the new glycol chiller, glycol tank and pumps.
BENEFITS
- Replace R22 equipment and expand current ammonia system to serve as the primary refrigerant
- Value engineering approach to balance efficient facility design with client preferences and budget requirements
- Minimized impact to production during construction
- Encourage collaborative working
- Mitigate risk and ensure regulatory compliance by maintaining a complete PSM audit trail
- Leverage information from previous projects
