Share

IIR document

Reactivation of ice rink sorption dehumidifiers with recovered heat.

Number: pap. 1325

Author(s) : ROGSTAM J., BOLTEAU S., POMERANCEVS J.

Summary

The dehumidification function in ice rink is energy intensive with an annual energy usage in the range of 50 to 150 MWh for a typical single sheet ice rink. The sorption process is the most common dehumidification solution in ice rinks since it offers good performance at low process air temperatures. Typically, the sorption process is reactivated using heat generated by electricity or natural gas which both may provide high and convenient reactivation air temperatures. More recent dehumidifier designs allow lower reactivation air temperatures which enables the use of recovered heat from a refrigeration system. The carbon dioxide refrigeration process, which is becoming increasingly popular in ice rinks, is particularly suitable in this context. Carbon dioxide refrigeration systems provide more heat at a higher temperature level than other refrigerants which is a perfect match to the dehumidification heat demand. Two different heat recovery supported dehumidification concepts are presented and referred to as generation 1 and 2. The first is a “hybrid” using recovered heat as well as electricity whereas the second uses solely recovered heat for the reactivation. Field measurements show that the first concept can save about 37% of the annual electrical demand, related to dehumidification, which in the specific ice rink corresponds to 24 MWh. Using the second concept increased the actual saving with as much as 86% which in that ice rink corresponded to 63 MWh. The total energy for dehumidification is very different in ice rinks which depends on the humidity load situation but also on the control strategy. If the second concept would be applied in the ice rink with the highest total energy usage the absolute saving potential would be as high as 134 MWh per season. The latter requires, however, that the heat recovery system can supply enough heat and on the required temperature level. In practice the second concept requires a CO2 refrigeration system or heat pumps coupled to the heat recovery system.

Available documents

Format PDF

Pages: 8

Available

  • Public price

    20 €

  • Member price*

    Free

* Best rate depending on membership category (see the detailed benefits of individual and corporate memberships).

Details

  • Original title: Reactivation of ice rink sorption dehumidifiers with recovered heat.
  • Record ID : 30023673
  • Languages: English
  • Source: 13th IIR Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Refrigerants (GL2018). Proceedings. Valencia, Spain, June 18-20th 2018.
  • Publication date: 2018/06/18
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18462/iir.gl.2018.1325

Links


See other articles from the proceedings (177)
See the conference proceedings

Indexing