Ice bank tanks

The advantages and disadvantages of using an ice bank system to cool milk.

Ice bank tanks are a traditional solution to cooling milk and are usually limited in capacity and size. In an ice bank tank, the refrigeration system is used to build ice (or iced water) which is stored and used later to cool the milk.  The ice is built around a jacket encircling the inner milk tank, contact between the tank inner skin and the iced water provides the cooling of the milk.

The major advantage of the ice bank system is that refrigeration plant capacity can be reduced as it is the ice block, and not the compressor, which must meet the peak cooling demand of the milk. The ice bank itself can be charged, or “built”, over a longer period with smaller compressors running for up to 7 hours at a time.

The ice bank can be built at any convenient time, which facilitates the maximum use of cheaper night rate (or renewable generated) electricity. However, as ice is built at one time and the milk is cooled later, this is a less energy efficient system than DX cooling because of the duality of process, and the inevitable slight energy losses through the insulation during storage.