Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly roasted coffee? But there can be too much of a good thing, and coffee roasting facilities have more to worry about than an excess of fragrance: they have to cope with the high levels of heat generated, which becomes even more of an issue during the summer months, as well as the build-up of carbon monoxide concentrations in the 72 hours following the roasting process. Efficient ventilation to extract the excess heat and carbon monoxide is essential.
Evaporative cooling can provide the perfect solution, as it is a highly efficient and cost effective means of ventilating and cooling – and it is particularly well suited to large buildings housing processes generating high levels of heat. It is highly effective in all weather conditions and its cooling effect is highest when the outside temperature is hotter – precisely when it is most needed. It also provides 100% fresh air, maintaining good air quality inside the building.
CFD model of a coffee roasting houseIn a recent project, a coffee roasting facility in Amsterdam was struggling with their existing system. With a ventilation capacity of just 4,000 m3/h, it could not cope with the excess heat and carbon monoxide build-up. A Colt Coolstream evaporative cooling system with a total ventilation capacity of 55,000 m3/h during the summer and a required minimum ventilation rate of 9,500 m3/h in the winter resolved the issue.
Conclusions
When temperature and air quality are an issue in a large industrial building housing processes that generate high levels of heat and toxic emissions, a well designed evaporative cooling system can be the perfect solution.
If you are dealing with these issues in your facility, contact us: We can carry out a survey and quickly develop a CFD model to show you how our proposed solution would work in your facility.
Paul Langford is an Engineering Director with experience in product development, manufacturing and testing for HVAC, solar shading, louvre systems and smoke control applications.
