Modelling of an onboard R290 refrigerated sea water (RSW) system for ice production on small fishing vessels in India

Abstract

India is one of the world's leading fish exporting nations. The fishing sector is expected to grow and already has a large economic and social impact. It is currently dominated by small fishing boats, which use ice to cool the catch. The ice is bought and loaded from the harbour. Catches vary in size and timing, which can result in either unused quantities of ice being carried or insufficient cooling of the catch, resulting in reduced fish quality and increased waste. Therefore, an on-board refrigeration system using R290 (propane) is proposed to produce ice from seawater in the form of ice blocks. A model was created using Modelica to investigate the performance of the system during a typical 15-20-day cruise. The results showed that the on-board refrigeration system can provide the required amount of ice on demand. This reduces quality degradation, fuel consumption, and, therefore, emissions.