Photovoltaic milk cooling as

business opportunity in the tropics

V. Torres
1
*, K. Meissner
1
, A. Coronas
2
, J. Mller
1

1: Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Tropical and Subtropical Group,
Universitt Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 9, Stuttgart, Germany
2: CREVER, Research Group of Applied Thermal Engineering, University
Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda Pasos Catalans 26, Tarragona, Spain
* victor.torrestoledo@uni-hohenheim.de - Tel: +49 711 459-22840

Abstract:
The purpose of the presented work is the development of a design methodology for
solar milk cooling systems which facilitates the economical evaluation of business
opportunities in rural areas of the tropics and subtropics. The approach includes an
study of the required cooling curves, experimental performance of a solar chiller,
system optimization and profitability assessment.

Background:
Besides the solar thermal cooling technologies and thanks to the cost reduction of
photovoltaic(pv) modules, vapor-compression refrigeration devices driven by solar pv
arrays are becoming more attractive. These Systems can be configured even without
batteries by using continuous current compressors and optional cold latent storage
inside the fridge to increase reliability.
The choice of the size of the pv array and energy storage size is highly relevant for
the economical feasibility of the system. The optimal design parameter depend
mostly on climate and cooling demand (refrigeration temperature and cooling load
exchange per day). The profitability of the System depends finally on the added value
of the conserved agricultural products.

Materials
A solar chiller with 166 liter cooling volume (Steca PF166) was used. It is equipped
with a compressor driven by a two poles synchronous electric motor and integrated
inverter (Danfoss BD35 DC). The compressor works at 12V/24V direct current with
variable Speed and maximal electrical power of 120W. The vapor cycle use R123-a
as refrigerant and capillary tube expansion device. The refrigeration Temperature can
be set between -20C and 10 C. The whole milk cooling system can be run with a pv
array of 80 to 200 Watt peak, Lead-acid batteries of 65 to 150 Ah capacity, cold
storage, ventilation system and an operation control unit.

The measurements were carried out in a climate chamber that allows the simulation
of the ambient temperature and electrical power of the solar array for a given
location. The electrical consumption of the chiller is measured by the used of shunts
(current measuring based on voltage drop). Digital temperature sensors (Dallas
DS1621) were placed in plastic bottles and interior chamber to log cooling behavior
inside the chiller.As Simulation tools, TRNSYS 16 was used for the weather data and
pv array while MATLAB 2012b was use for the chiller, battery model and system
optimization.


Methods:
The approach followed four steps:
Evaluation of cooling curves under natural and forced convection.
Experimental performance analysis of the solar chiller at real conditions.
Economical optimization of the energy supply based on annual simulations.
Evaluation of business scenarios and system profitability.

The quality of milk depends on conservation temperature and cooling curve right after
milking. In the realized measurements, a refrigeration set temperature of 4C was
chosen as optimal conservation temperature. Referring to the cooling curve, a
temperature drop between 36C and 12C in 2 hours was set as requirement.
The cooling behavior of different containers and cooling types ( natural, forced
convection, water bath) was experimentally evaluated.
Based on the electrical consumption of the chiller at different ambient temperatures
and cooling load, the efficiency of the system could be estimated and introduced in a
simulation model. Hourly annual simulations carried out iteratively allowed to


determinate PV / Battery sets that satisfy an uninterrupted energy supply of the
chiller for a certain cooling scenario (Location, Set refrigeration temperature, load
exchange rate and initial temperature). After considering specific cost of the
components, an economical optimum can be calculated. This allows the estimation
of the final system cost for a certain location and cooling load.


Experimental results
The studied system showed the capacity to cool down milk at the required rate by
combining forced convection in the chiller and small size containers(1.5 Liter max.).
The cooling curve with this cooling method kept stable to changes in the fan position
and power in ranges above 1 Watt. For cooling without fans, the container volume
should not exceed 0.5 liter while by using a bath with pre-cooled water, volumes of
around 7 liter could be used assuring the required cooling curve.



The electrical consumption of the chiller was measured by introducing different
amounts of water to cool down from 30 to 4C . For an ambient temperature of 25C,
a maximal amount of 15 Liter milk can be cooled simultaneously. By higher ambient
temperatures, the consumption increase while the cooling capacity decrease.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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3 Liter Tamb. 25 C
10 Liter Tamb. 25 C
10 Liter Tamb. 35 C
18 Liter Tamb. 25 C

By introducing 18 liter water at 30C (1.5 l plastic bottles), the compressor worked at
maximal power during 2.5 hours without achieving the set air temperature of 4C
affecting the cooling curve. For this ambient temperature a thermal looses rate of 5W
was observed and efficiency values of 33% of the ideal vapor compressor cycle
operating at the same temperatures. The simulation model is able to estimate the
chiller consumption by varying location and cooling load.

Annual Simulations
As case study, the given solar chiller set to a temperature of 4C and located in
New Delhi was simulated with a cooling load exchange rate of 5 liter/day and 10
liter/day. The chiller is placed outdoors under ambient conditions. The energy supply
consist on a 120 Watt peak PV field and a 1200 Wh capacity battery. The year
results show the daily Irradiance, ambient temperature, chiller energy consumption
and state of charge (SOC) of the battery. The weather conditions at this location are
unfavorable after the middle of the year with high ambient temperatures and rainy
season affecting the solar Irradiance. The lowest SOC value was 35% concluding of
a good design of the energy supply for cooling loads below 5 Liter milk /day at 30C.
If the same system would be used for cooling 10 Liter milk /day, the system would
not be meet cooling requirements for approximately 80 days a year.


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Daily Irradiation Ambient Temp
Cooling Load: 10 Liter/day at 30C
Cooling Load: 5 Liter/day at 30C

System Optimization and location sensitivity
In order to optimize the system cost and design the energy supply, several
simulations are carried out to determinate the set of pv/battery to satisfy the cooling
demand at a given location.

The location in D.R. Congo shows the highest investment due to tropical weather
conditions with rainy season and high ambient temperatures. For the same cooling
scenario, the PV field can vary from 120 to 180 Watt peak and battery capacity from
1000 to 2000 Wh affecting the system cost in about 30% between the considered
locations.

Amount of Milk to be cooled (L/day)
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Startup Cost
Fridge
Battery
PV
System profitability in example location New Delhi.
By considering the system cost of an optimized energy supply depending on the
cooling load, a total system cost can be calculated by considering a maximal capacity
of refrigeration per chiller unit of 25 L/day. The startup cost of the cooling facility was
estimated considering transport
and installation of the chillers, PV
modules and batteries. For the
case of 75 Liter milk to cool every
day, 3 Units would be needed
with a cost of 30% of the 7600
total cost, 900 Wp of PV with a
cost of 25% of the total cost and
10kWh battery capacity supposing
almost 30% of the total cost.The
total investment is calculated to be
100 per liter/day Capacity (when
placed in New Delhi and milk temperature 30C by entering the chiller). By
considering a battery lifetime of 7 years, PV/Chiller lifetime of 15 years and a annual
usage of 75% of the installed cooling capacity, a Cooling Cost of 5 Euro cent / Liter
Milk is estimated.

Business opportunity
The final economical potential of the studied solar chiller requires to consider the
added value of the conserved milk by considering new business strategies as milk
waste reduction (evening milk can be safe and sold on next morning), more efficient
milk processing, market flexibility (Milk collection centers) and new markets (Sales of
fresh Milk or milk products).

Conclusions
The introduced simulation methodology based on empirical energy consumptions,
facilitates fundamental design of solar milk cooling systems by considering the
location and required cooling load.
The use of cold storage would improve cost efficiency and reliability of the system by
increasing the cold power. A deeper evaluation of milk quality improvement by
cooling at different ratios and temperatures will be carried out in the future.
Further assessments of system profitability will serve to understand market chain and
socio economic framework for milk cooling business in rural areas.