Industrial application of refrigeration: District Cooling&Data Centers

1. District Cooling

District cooling systems distribute chilled water from a centralized plant to multiple buildings—such as hotels, residential developments, airports or business complexes—to ensure stable indoor comfort regardless of outdoor temperature.

Benefits of District Cooling

Centralizing cooling production yields:

• Higher overall system efficiency
• Lower operating and maintenance costs
• Reduced capital expenditure per building
• Significant peak-load reduction when combined with thermal energy storage
• Improved environmental performance

District cooling is widely implemented in regions with large urban developments and high cooling demand. Many of these systems rely on advanced technologies validated by industry standards developed by organizations like Eurovent and CTI.

 

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Technologies Used

Depending on water availability and local energy conditions, district cooling may use:

• Cooling towers
• Direct or indirect condensation systems
• Geothermal chillers
• Seawater-cooled systems

These approaches are common in Middle Eastern and coastal regions where large cooling capacities are required and seawater represents an abundant resource.

2. Electricity Production

Power plants depend on stable inlet air temperatures to operate efficiently. When air entering gas turbines becomes too warm, its density decreases and power output drops significantly.

Electricity generation is often based on the combustion of different fuels. To achieve a higher efficiency, inlet air must be in determined conditions. If the temperature of the inlet air is too high, its density decreases, suffering a decline in the electric production. To avoid this problem, systems like Turbine Inlet Air Cooling System, a system in ARANER’s portfolio, are used to cool down these air streams. 

Other parts of production and distribution systems, like electric generators or distribution plants, also generate heat when operating. To minimize maintenance operations, refrigeration systems are necessary. This refrigeration equipment is usually based on compression or absorption cycles.

Turbine Inlet Air Cooling (TIAC)

TIAC systems, such as those engineered by ARANER, cool turbine inlet air to boost performance during hot periods. This provides:

• Increased output

• Higher efficiency

• Enhanced operational stability

Other components in the power generation chain—generators, transformers and substations—require cooling to prevent overheating, reduce wear, and lower maintenance frequency. Compression and absorption cycles are commonly used to maintain these optimal thermal conditions.

3. Chemical & Petrochemical

Although chemical and petrochemical reactions are not as strictly controlled as the reactions in the Pharmaceutical field, control of temperature is an important factor in reaching high efficiency in their transformations. Distillations, crystallizations or condensations are operations requiring the removal of heat; hence refrigeration systems are necessary to obtain their products. In chemical and petrochemical industries, large scale cooling plants are used in their processes. Due to the high flow required and the location of the industries, river water or seawater is used as refrigerant. 

Compression cycles and absorption cycles are used to cool down the hot stream after the heat has been dissipated in the different operations. Moreover, since hot streams are also required in other parts of the process, heat exchangers are usually applied to heat these streams and maximize the efficiency of the operation.

 

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4. Pharmaceutical

The Pharmaceutical industry is based around operations where fulfilment of strict conditions is essential for the success of every process. Going further, many production procedures imply biological or biochemical reactions that only take place in strict conditions in which microbiological species generate chemical compounds at their maximum yield. This is why it is so important that Pharmaceutical firms develop their products in clean disinfected rooms.

The pharmaceutical sector demands extremely strict environmental and process control. Temperature impacts:

• Biochemical reactions

• Product purity

• Microbiological stability

• Storage integrity

• Clean room conditions

Cooling Systems in Pharma

Pharmaceutical facilities typically use:

• Central chilled water plants connected to clean rooms

• Precision cooling for bioreactors and fermentation units

• Controlled cold storage for strains and compounds

• Gas/liquid cooling (oxygen, chlorine, ammonia)

• Compressed air cooling for production systems

Standards issued by ASHRAE and guidelines shared by sector publications like Refrigeration Industry Magazine support the reliable implementation of these systems.

Discover: Energy management in pharmaceutical industry

5. Food & Beverages

The F&B industry relies on strict thermal management to maintain product safety and extend shelf life. Temperature is essential during processing, preservation and distribution.

Cooling During Processing

Chilled water is the preferred cooling medium due to its safety in case of leakage and its high ability to absorb heat from biological and chemical reactions.

Cooling for Storage and Freezing

After processing, products such as meat, dairy, fish or frozen goods require temperatures below 0°C.

For these applications: Compression refrigeration and absorption refrigeration are used with refrigerants that offer strong cooling performance and safe handling characteristics.

Refrigeration ensures:

• Food safety

• Prevention of contamination

• Optimal product quality

• Compliance with international standards

Keep reading: Chilled Water System on your next project: save up to 40% of energy

6. Data Centres

Data centers produce substantial amounts of heat through continuous server operation. Without proper cooling, temperatures rise rapidly, leading to equipment damage and service disruptions.

Cooling Approaches

Depending on design and climate, facilities use:

• Air-based cooling (CRAC units, CRAH units)

• Liquid cooling (chilled water loops, rear-door heat exchangers)

• Seawater cooling for coastal data centers

• Free cooling when environmental conditions allow

Effective cooling strategies reduce energy consumption, improve redundancy and support high-density computing environments.

7. Other industrial applications

Industries such as naval, metallurgical, mining, semiconductor manufacturing, automotive and heavy industry also depend on industrial refrigeration to:

• Avoid equipment overheating

• Maintain safe working environments

• Protect process stability

• Reduce operational costs

• Extend asset lifespan

Customized cooling engineering is essential to prevent long-term failures, energy waste and unplanned downtime.

Why Industrial Refrigeration Matters

Industrial refrigeration supports:

• Product safety and quality

• Process efficiency

• Operational continuity

• Equipment protection

• Environmental sustainability

Tailor-made refrigeration systems - like the ones developed by ARANER - provide high reliability, reduced energy consumption and optimal thermal performance across diverse industries.