GEA BluX – New Ammonia chiller with semi-hermetic compact screw compressor at Chillventa 2018

GEA BluX is the first ammonia chiller, with a semi-hermetic compact screw compressor, developed as an environmentally friendly solution in line with the global trend towards a green and safe future through the use of natural refrigerants.

GEA, a company with 50 years of experience developing screw compressors, designed the BluX for large-scale air-conditioning systems. This low charge ammonia chiller requires only 40-50g of ammonia per kW cooling capacity and meets the leading energy efficiency and environmental protection requirements of the EcoDesign directive and F-Gas regulation.

The heart of the BluX system is the GEA CompaX compressor, the world’s first suction gas-cooled ammonia screw compressor. With this solution, GEA is offering a new approach with a semi-hermetic NH3 system, able to further reduce the risks of leaks due to the elimination of the shaft seal, thus making ammonia solutions even more attractive. Another of the compressor’s new features is its three-in-one design. The driveline houses the motor, the compressor and oil separator in an extremely compact and hermetic flanged unit. Despite the natural refrigerant ammonia, the windings of the electric motor are made from copper instead of aluminum, with its poor electrical conductivity. This leads to a high degree of efficiency, which does not require any external cooling due to the suction gas-cooling. The compressor, motor, and oil separator make up an extremely compact body including parts of the oil circuit, which increases the safety and ease of use of the ammonia refrigerant.

The chiller is designed to optimally reduce the refrigerant charge: the evaporator and liquid separator are housed in a single body in order to ensure that the amount of liquid required is minimal, even in comparison with other common ammonia solutions.