Case Story Coca-Cola Andina

Coca Cola Andina Group is one of the most important soft drink processors in Latin America. The Preferred Solution: ECODRY SYSTEM, Process-Synchronized Cooling by Frigel.

• A paradigm shift for the beverage industry
• Unbeatable performance improvements
• Highly reduced overall operating costs
• New improved standards for environmental impact

It is well known that cooling has a very large impact on a beverage business. From processing to bottling, productivity, running costs and environmental sustainability are heavily affected by traditional “central” cooling systems.

Leading the paradigm shift, Coca Cola Andina Group, for its new facility for CSD products being built in Brazil, opted for a new ECODRY SYSTEM – a “Process-Synchronized Cooling Solution” by Frigel, which brings overall performance features to a new higher level for the beverage industry.

A New Factory Concept, Leading the Future

Coca Cola Andina Group is one of the most important soft drink processors in Latin America, operating 11 plants located in Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Its branch (Coca-Cola Andina Brasil) is building a state-of-the-art facility in Rio de Janeiro that will support the increasing demand for carbonated soft drinks and mineral water in the region.

The implementation of this new hi-tech plant is planned in three phases, with the installation of six latest generation, high throughput bottling lines supplied by Krones. The first phase of the project (2017) will start with three lines delivering an expected production of 400 million liters of beverages per year, including the world’s largest single bottling line, able to fill 78,000 liters per hour. The project has been developed with all the latest technologies available today for CSD processing and designed with a modular concept in which each processing line is a separate “production/cost unit” to be operated and managed separately. This innovative approach will give the new facility higher productivity, total production flexibility, much better cost control and easy future expandability.

The Preferred Solution: ECODRY SYSTEM - Process-Synchronized Cooling by Frigel

Instead of the traditional “central” cooling system, with this ammonia-free, plug & play, modular concept, each bottling line will have its own Multiple-Cascade Refrigeration Unit (MultiStage®) specifically designed for the application. Super-compact, inverter-driven, factory built and pretested, each cooling unit will be installed close to the processing line and digitally synchronized with it, providing the optimum cooling performance required at any given time according to actual product carbonation needs.

For this first phase of the project, Coca Cola Andina is installing three MultiStage® units rated for 450 kW, 1100 kW and 2200 kW cooling capacities, connected to each of the three bottling lines rated for 33,000 l/h, 48,000 l/h and 78,000 l/h respectively. Each one may operate at a different coolant temperature: from 20°C for carbonated water to 12°C for Coca Cola in 3-liter one-way PET bottles. Additionally, each cooling unit is also a “heat pump”, so heat extracted from the beverage before carbonation is recovered, producing hot water up to 50°C to heat up the bottled product through warmer tunnels, thus avoiding condensation in the tropical ambient conditions of Rio de Janeiro.

To complete the system, the excess heat generated will be rejected to ambient with a central ECODRY Adiabatic Cooling System (instead of evaporative cooling tower), which provides the MultiStage® unit condensers with maintenance-free, close circuit water with almost no water or chemical consumption.

The Adiabatic Cooling System, which will provide a cooling capacity of 1,500 kW (with two coolers with 20 fans each) is being installed outdoors in the utilities area. One simple set of non-insulated piping mains and drops will connect it to each water cooled MultiStage® cooling unit installed indoors and close to each processing line.

Why Frigel?

Coca-Cola Andina, after a deep technical and economical analysis, chose Frigel’s turn-key solution, based on the following major advantages compared to a traditional “central” cooling system:

• Increased Productivity: “Process-Synchronized Cooling” gives total flexibility of coolant temperature control supplied to each line, assuring with high precision the ideal product carbonation temperature according to the actual type of product and bottle format. Constant flow rate is delivered to each carbo-mixer, ensuring perfect stability and avoiding flow interference from other lines (typical of conventional “central” cooling systems), while the bottling line runs steadily at the highest speed.
• Reduced Operating Costs: Thanks to the unbeatable multi-cascade refrigeration unit performance (EER/COP) per line, the 100% natural gas savings obtained by heat recovery for operation of the warmers and the 95% water savings for heat rejection, Coca Cola Andina has estimated an OVERALL OPERATING COST SAVINGS OF 30% when compared to the traditional “central” cooling system option.
• Total Modularity: This new plug & play concept is easily expandable at any time, which will allow Coca Cola Andina to install only the precise capacity needed at every stage of the plant growth.
• Lower Environmental Impact: With 90% less glycol usage, almost no water footprint, no ammonia and a 40% carbon footprint reduction compared to traditional “central” cooling systems, this new Coca Cola facility will achieve revolutionary standards for overall sustainability.

About Frigel Group

Frigel is a market leader in intelligent process cooling. The Frigel Group includes the following companies: Frigel Firenze S.p.A, Scandicci Headquarter and Production, Frigel North America inc., (Chicago - USA), Frigel Asia Pacific Company ltd, (Bangkok - Thailandia) with two production plants, Frigel Latino America Ltda, (San Paulo - Brasil) Production, Frigel GmbH (Rheinfelden, Germany), Frigel Eastern Europe (Poland), Green Box Srl (Piove di Sacco, Padova) Production, Frigel Intelligent Cooling Systems (Greater Noida, India). New production site. It also has a worldwide network of agents and distributors.

Frigel manufactures and markets intelligent, integrated cooling systems, made of a variety of components, such as the Ecodry adiabatic liquid cooler, Microgel, Heavygel and Multistage® chillers and chiller/temperature control units, as well as a full array of pumping and filtration equipment, all designed and engineered to fit specific applications, such as plastic manufacturing, beverage processing and oil & gas.

Frigel develops and customizes internally all microprocessor and PLC-based controls for all its products and solutions. Its products and technologies have been proven at more than 6,000 manufacturing installations worldwide. Customer productivity, efficiency and environmental sustainability are at the forefront of any solution developed by Frigel.