The term “Ammonia” is no new term in the world of chemistry. Most high school graduates have heard about ammonia and its industrial uses and benefits. However, its association with refrigeration systems is not known to many people.

Refrigeration systems use basic physics to transfer heat energy out of one area and into another. In any cold stores system or facility, ammonia plays a central role in refrigeration systems by leaving the first area cooler than it was before. Hence, this associates ammonia with cold stores in Pakistan and worldwide significantly.

With that said, in various cold rooms and meat and poultry prefabricated houses, refrigeration systems are installed with temperature-controlled mechanisms. The presence of ammonia makes thing run smoothly and effectively. Besides industrial use, ammonia has a variety of uses in most major industries such as prefabricated houses designed for cold storage of food and dairy items.

Let us explore in-depth this topic today in the food cold stores in Pakistan. We will also discover the role of sandwich panels in cold stores in Pakistan and a few risks and hazards of ammonia.

Let’s get started!

Ammonia Use in Temperature-Controlled Environments  

Temperature-controlled warehouses (TCW) use the same process on a larger scale. For example, there are different industrial uses of ammonia in factories such as oil & gas and food processing plants.

They also rely on large-scale refrigeration systems for their day-to-day operations. Since ammonia is colorless and exists naturally in the environment, it comprises hydrogen and nitrogen with a chemical formula of NH3.

 However, when it is used in refrigeration systems, ammonia works to capture and transfer heat energy to keep it separate from the cooling process. 

Before diving deeper into ammonia’s value addition aspect, let us discuss some benefits of PIR panels or insulated sandwich panels for cold stores in Pakistan.

Insulated PIR Panels or Sandwich Panels for Cold Rooms

Pakistan’s cold chain industry is not yet fully recognized and well established in the world. It is also currently operating below the capacity. However, the role of insulated sandwich panels is immense in different cold stores and cold rooms.

These sandwich panels also known as “Insulated Sandwich” panels are contributing immensely towards making technological improvements. They are quick and cost-effective solutions.

Nowadays, large cold stores units for storing multiple commodities under one roof are being majorly developed with these sandwich panels. These PIR panels are easy to manufacture, they can help to achieve the goals of prefabricated houses faster. And they also play a big role in increasing the ROI of cold chains in Pakistan.

The efficiency, hygiene, and life of these cold stores and cold chains in Pakistan also depend hugely on these PIR panels and their installation and use. For construction of cold rooms in Pakistan is no less than according to the international quality standards. Cold room manufacturers use state-of-the-art facilities.

In each part of a cold store or in cold room walls, ceiling, floor, and doors, designers ensure a perfect fit and installation of sandwich panels. 

This way, sandwich panels are not just easily designed at the stie but also, they are de-assembled easily at sites.

Ammonia Uses in Cold Chains in Pakistan

In cold chains in Pakistan, the use of ammonia is seen significantly in refrigeration systems. In addition to cold stores in Pakistan, its use as a fertilizer in Pakistan is significant. However, we won’t discuss it.

But we need to mention that it is used in some of these industries.

• HVAC and HVACR 
• Fabric industries
• Pesticides 
• Food and Beverage industry 
• Water treatment and purification 
• Plastic manufacturing
• Explosive production 
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing 

And many more! 

Industrial Refrigeration Ammonia Systems 

Now that you have a better understanding of ammonia itself, it’s time to learn more about how industrial refrigeration ammonia systems work. 

The fact is that cold room refrigeration systems for food storage are much larger than household fridges. The basic function of refrigeration revolves around the liquid refrigerant ammonia. Ammonia does a great job in releasing heat during the whole cycle of vapor compression.  

However, industrial ammonia systems work in the following steps:

• The liquid refrigerant enters the expansion valve from the receiver. 
• The liquid refrigerant and vapor mixture absorbs heat from the evaporator coil.
• As the refrigerant reaches the compressor, the refrigerant goes into then enters the discharge line.
• The refrigerant completes the system cycle and goes through the receiver. 

Ammonia Dangers/Risks 

Ammonia that does not contain hydrogen is lighter than air. It has a pungent smell and also show some flammable properties.

This means anyone dealing with ammonia in a prefabricated house must deal with it protectively and wear protective gear like gloves, goggles and a face masks.   

Moreover, the household ammonia products are not as dangerous as industrial ammonia. Like most cleaning products, hence, children must be prohibited to enter cold rooms with ammonia refrigeration facilities.  

Since ammonia is soluble in water easily, it can easily enter human lungs, eyes, throat, and skin. Hence, health hazards of ammonia make it dangerous. This can cause irritation, burning, and sometimes burns.

The Bottom Line

Since ammonia is the most important and basic refrigerant agent in today’s cold chain in Pakistan, it must be used with care. Its uses and benefits in the whole industry are helping to improve people’s lives.