Economic assessment of the thin polymer icemaker

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7002470· OSTI ID:7002470

Leigh, R W ^[1]

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1. Pratt Inst., Brooklyn, NY (United States)

We have constructed and tested a small device to produce ice in ice/water mixtures using a cold fluid as the heat sink. The device is a flexible heat exchanger constructed from a thin film of a suitable polymer. When filled with circulating liquid coolant the heat exchanger consists of an inflated series of parallel tubes; Ice forms on the outside in complementary half cylinders. When the circulation in cut off, gravity drains the coolant and the static head of the water bath crushes the tubes, freeing them from the ice which floats to the surface. We here report an economic assessment of this device. In its present form, we find it competitive with existing commercial ice making systems. The analysis also points out two areas where further technical progress could lead to a significant economic advantage for the polymer film ice maker.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 7002470
• Report Number(s): BNL-48103; ON: DE93005532
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320603* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Municipalities & Community Systems-- Public Utilities-- (1980-)
COLD STORAGE
COOLING
DISPERSIONS
DISTRICT COOLING
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY STORAGE
FILMS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ICE
MIXTURES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLYMERS
PRODUCTION
SLUSH
STORAGE
THIN FILMS
WATER