Project Description

Supply of evaporative condensers to a professional refrigeration engineering company in Paraguay for its industrial ammonia refrigeration project, meeting requirements for efficient heat dissipation, water saving, and freeze protection under different operating conditions.

Situation

A refrigeration engineering company in Paraguay, a local professional refrigeration engineering firm with over 20 years of experience, has long provided efficient refrigeration system solutions for food processing, cold chain logistics, meat processing, dairy, and other industries. While undertaking a large-scale industrial ammonia refrigeration project, the company faced diverse cooling demands: the project included multiple refrigeration units, covering both general industrial cooling scenarios as well as high-temperature fluid treatment and outdoor environments with heavy dust and sand. There was an urgent need for reliable, highly adaptable, energy-saving, and water-saving condensing equipment. In Paraguay and the surrounding regions, summer temperatures are high, and water resource management requirements are increasingly stringent. The customer set high standards for heat dissipation efficiency, water saving, and winter freeze protection.

Task

As the project general contractor, the customer required the evaporative condensers to meet the following:

• Different refrigeration units need condensers with different technical routes to adapt to normal conditions and high-temperature/harsh environments respectively;

• High-temperature fluid treatment and outdoor, dusty/sandy environments require equipment that resists fouling and has a compact structure;

• Low drift loss, significant water saving to meet local environmental requirements;

• Winter freeze protection capability to avoid shutdown in low temperatures;

• Full compatibility with the ammonia refrigeration system to ensure safety and reliability;

• Easy container transport and on-site installation to suit logistics conditions in South America.

Action

The evaporative condenser manufacturer customized a combined solution of KEG-1800 forced draft evaporative condensers and KEN-600 counterflow evaporative condensers based on the customer's technical requirements, addressing the needs of different refrigeration units:

• Forced Draft Evaporative Condenser: Adopts a forced ventilation structure with fans located at the lower air inlet. Cold air is forced into the tower, making it particularly suitable for ammonia refrigeration systems requiring high fan protection. Key advantages include flexible design, low-noise fans, significant water saving, and freeze protection. It delivers 100% heat dissipation assurance and is ideal for water-scarce regions, projects with strict noise requirements, and cold climates.

• Counterflow Evaporative Condenser: Features counterflow, axial fan, induced draft design, offering strong heat exchange capability, compact structure, and lower power demand, facilitating transport and installation in confined spaces. It performs excellently in fully outdoor scenarios, especially for high-temperature fluid treatment and dusty/sandy environments. In low-load or cold weather, it can switch to dry operation mode without spray water, achieving both freeze protection and water saving.

• Full technical support: The manufacturer provided one-stop services from factory commissioning, international logistics, to on-site installation guidance. Equipment was shipped in containers to suit ocean logistics conditions in South America, ensuring on-time project delivery.

Results

• 6 units successfully delivered and commissioned on first attempt, operating continuously and stably for 12 months without failure;

• The compact design of the  enabled efficient heat exchange within limited installation space, particularly suitable for sand-prone areas;

• The forced draft design of the KEG-1800 fully leveraged water-saving and freeze-protection advantages, effectively coping with the variable climate in South America;

• The combination of two models flexibly adapted to different refrigeration units, maximizing overall system energy efficiency;

• The customer gave full recognition to equipment performance and supplier service.

Numerical Core KPI Metrics 

• 6 units of high-efficiency closed cooling towers successfully delivered

• Comprehensive water saving rate >40%

• Dry mode annual operation >2,000 hours

• Operating noise <65 dB

Reusable Takeaways for Promotion & Management

• The combination of forced draft and KEN series counterflow models flexibly adapts to different operating conditions (general cooling vs. high-temperature/dusty environments), suitable for large multi-unit refrigeration projects.

• forced draft advantages: fans at the lower air inlet, particularly suitable for ammonia refrigeration systems and scenarios requiring high fan protection, with water saving, freeze protection, and low noise.

• counterflow advantages: compact structure, low power, easy transport and installation, especially suitable for high-temperature fluid treatment and outdoor dusty/sandy environments, supporting dry-run freeze protection.

• Ammonia refrigeration system compatibility, meeting international safety standards.

• Containerized shipping solution, replicable and promotable to overseas markets such as South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.