Portsmouth based contractor DCI Refrigeration and Electrical’s new CO₂ retail refrigeration test plant and training facility combines a live convenience store with a fully-equipped training room.  For optimum performance, the plant room features BITZER CO₂ semi-hermetic compressors.

In over twenty years of trading, DCI has had a long association with BITZER UK LIMITED.  The company has called upon BITZER’s expertise in system design and compressor application on many occasions.  “We have had good service from BITZER on the machines we have installed,” says Gareth Chambers of DCI, “So when it came to compressor selection and application for the new CO₂ plant project, there was no question as to who we would use.”

DCI called upon BITZER UK’s expertise in the application of CO₂ compressors in order to ensure that the right components were incorporated to get the best out of the selected compressor models.  The new plant includes both subcritical and transcritical operations.  A booster CO₂ refrigeration pack drives approximately 5kW of low temperature cabinets and cold rooms at -30°C and 25kW of high/medium temperature applications at -6°C.

The two BITZER semi-hermetic CO₂ compressors are in subcritical operation for the low temperature requirement and a further three are in transcritical operation for high temperature.  One compressor on each of the low temperature and high temperature side is inverter driven.

With an increasing demand for efficient and environmentally friendly refrigerants, DCI is showing that CO₂ offers perhaps the most viable solution.  This is particularly so in the food chain where demand for chilled and frozen food continues to grow.  DCI’s facility will be an important resource for retailers and will also give refrigeration engineers the knowledge and experience to work with CO₂ .

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