Sunwell Technologies
 | |
| private | |
| Industry | industrial engineering, Refrigeration technology and manufacturing |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada |
Key people | Vladimir Goldstein, President |
| Products | Slurry ice Generators, Slurry ice systems and Harvester |
| Website | www.sunwell.com |
Sunwell Technologies registered the world's first slurry ice patent application in the U.S.A. in 1976. Sunwell pioneered and continued to develop the field of slurry ice and is today the world leader in slurry ice systems, with numerous patents worldwide covering various processes for the production, storage and distribution of slurry ice.
History and development
Sunwell Technologies marketed slurry ice under the trade name deepchill ice. The first slurry ice system was sold in 1978. In the 30 years following, Sunwell concentrated on developing equipment to manipulate and optimize slurry ice, resulting in an adaptable cooling medium called Deepchill Variable-State Ice. Since then, slurry ice has been widely adopted in major fisheries around the world and in the industrial air conditioning industry in Japan. Sunwell now has installations in over 30 countries and is the largest supplier of slurry ice systems and technology. Its head office and main operating facility is currently located in Woodbridge, Ontario (Toronto), Canada. Sunwell also has operating facilities in Osaka, Japan through Sunwell Japan Corporation.
Products
Many food products require different types of ice during the various stages of processing and storage, to optimize quality and freshness. Being able to vary the ice state is important because changing the state of the medium also changes its behavior and allows one to create ideal preservation conditions. A single Variable-State Ice System can deliver ice in a complete range of ice-states to suit any preservation requirement: ice fraction can be varied from very liquid ice, to a very thick paste, and ultimately dry (liquid free) ice crystals; the salt content can be controlled to create salt-free slurry or salt water slurry of any salt concentration; and the size of the crystals in the slurry can be controlled. The most effective state of Deepchill can then be pumped and discharged at different points in a facility- for example, very liquid with low ice concentration for rapid pre-chilling, slurry for continued chilling during processing, long-lasting paste with very high ice concentration for temporary or overnight storage, and dry (pure water) crystals for packing.
Features
The main features of Deepchill Variable-State Ice include:
- Slurry with an ice concentration of up to 70% ice fraction can be transported through standard piping using conventional pumps.
- It has the highest heat transfer or cooling rate of any form of ice.
- It refrigerates evenly without freezing the product.
- The ice particles have no sharp edges to damage the product.
- The ice particles do not bridge or collect into clumps.
- Ice temperature can be controlled and maintained for prolonged periods.
Applications
The following are current users of Deepchill Variable-State Ice Slurry Systems:
- Fishing boats (seiners, shrimp boats, trawlers and longliners)
- Industrial ice vendors
- Seafood processing plants
- High-value seafood industries (e.g. sashimi grade tuna)
- Growers and packers of fresh produce
- Construction industries cooling buildings using thermal energy storage
- Beverage cooling industries
- Supermarket refrigeration and displays
- Railway car cooling (for the transport of perishable goods)
- Poultry processing plants