The SOKI Project – Super Optimized Carton Freezer
The SOKI project is a project by Danish Technological institute investigating the optimization of blast freezing tunnels and ways to improve the freezing process. The project findings show huge energy savings to be found with a minimal effort.
A large amount of meat is frozen in batches in blast freezing tunnels. These tunnels are designed according to
old rules of thumb and they are in most cases running a constant airflow.
By optimizing the running conditions of the tunnel, extensive energy savings can be obtained. A Danish ELFORSK research project regarding the energy-saving potential of industrial blast freezing tunnels verify these savings.
The project covers the testing of an industrial tunnel combined with laboratory tests, models, and CFD calculations.
This paper presents the results of the project. The focus is on the possibilities to either optimize the efficiency of the tunnel or to reduce the freezing times. Optimization is achieved through modeling and testing. The
optimization of the fans, the airflow through the tunnel, and the control strategy are investigated.
