Jam Maker First to Introduce New Geothermal Cooling System

Aohata Corp., a major Japanese jam manufacturer in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, has started operating a new cooling system that utilizes geothermal cooling energy. The system, in operation since July 1, 2005, reinforces the cooling capacity needed for a new jam-making process adopted in February 2005, and provides 260 kilowatts of additional cooling capacity.

In Japan, geothermal energy has been used mainly as a source for heating homes, commercial facilities and heated swimming pools, and for systems that melt snow on roads. Unlike these applications, Aohata's system, the first of its kind in Japan, uses geothermal energy to directly cool water.

This geothermal cooling system takes advantage of underground temperatures that remain relatively constant throughout the year at a depth of about 100 meters. The system circulates water through a series of pipes placed in 37 holes drilled 100 meters deep on the factory site. The ground absorbs heat from the water being circulated, lowering its temperature to a certain level. The company uses a three-step cooling process to cool water for use in jam production: its existing cooling tower and its ice thermal storage unit plus the geothermal cooling system. The geothermal system helps reduce both carbon dioxide emissions and electricity consumption levels to about a quarter of what a regular cooling system would consume.

http://www.aohata.co.jp/

Posted: 2005/10/20 07:59:11 AM
Japanese version