Ice slurry systems are used in applications such as comfort cooling (HVAC), food processing, and preservation. Latent heat is utilized in applications such as freezing and melting. Freezing (sea)water can also be utilized to extract heat for district heating in conjunction with heat pumps. This strategy has shown to be effective in Nordic countries and parts of the United States.
The tendency of ice crystals to stick to cold heat exchanger walls on the tube side, commonly known as ice-scaling, is a challenge of ice slurry. It requires a system to remove ice crystals from the tube walls in order for proper and consistent heat transfer.
This ice-scaling can be avoided by using a fluidized bed of cleaning particles in the heat exchanger based on the KLAREN self-cleaning heat exchanger technology. Cleaning particles, like other types of fouling or scaling, remove the ice layer that forms on the tube wall and maintain a constant heat transfer.
The possible applications in this area are:
- District heating (extracting heat by cooling or freezing of surface water)
- Ice Slurry for food processing and preservation
- Comfort Cooling System (Air conditioner system)
