Gas Power Cooler, An Efficient And Environmentally Friendly Solution From Pertamina Gas Subholding

Control room for gas-fueled cooling equipment developed by Gas Subholding PT Pertamina (Persero) through its affiliate, PT Permata Karya Jasa (Perkasa). BETWEEN/HO

JAKARTA - Gas subholding PT Pertamina (Persero) through its affiliate PT Permata Karya Jasa (Perkasa) has developed a natural gas-powered cooling device as an efficient and environmentally friendly solution.

The synergy and innovation in the Pertamina Group Gas Subholding is part of efforts to increase the natural gas value chain.

In a statement from the Pertamina Gas Subholding in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Wednesday, April 6, it was stated that some of the target customers for the refrigeration equipment include hotels, airports, offices, malls, hospitals and data centers.

The chiller or refrigerant fueled by natural gas can help save energy up to 30 percent compared to conventional chillers and save electricity consumption by up to 70 percent.

President Director of Perkasa Adhi Lingga Harymurti explained that the chiller can be used for cooling the operational space of factories and offices.

Some of the advantages of this cooler is that it is environmentally friendly, because this chiller uses refrigerants in the form of water and lithium bromide (Libr), not freon which destroys ozone.

"The second advantage is green energy, because it is fueled by gas so it is feasible to be applied more widely in the community. The third advantage is that it can also use fuel from the exhaust heat of the generator (exhaust)," said Adhi.

Adhi continued by utilizing the generator's exhaust heat, it will increase efficiency, because the wasted heat can pollute the environment. So, the waste heat can be treated with a chiller to produce cold air.

"For example, a gas engine from a factory. The gas engine generates independent electricity, apart from PT PLN. From there there must be more than 300 degrees of exhaust gas. It can be used for chiller energy. So, it can also be called an absorption chiller or absorb heat from a generator," explained Adhi.

In addition, hot water (90-180 °C) and steam (0-10 bar) from a factory can also be used as cooling energy. Some of these energy sources can produce many outputs, namely cooling, heating, and hot water.

"From one device, we can produce three outputs, namely cooling, heating, and hot water. Especially for heating, it is not turned on in Indonesia, because it is specifically for a country with four seasons. Hot water is usually used simultaneously in hotels. One tool (chiller) can produce air. cold for the room and hot water for the shower. So, there is no need to use a boiler anymore," said Adhi.

This chiller is also safer, because it is a vacuum and not pressure, so the possibility of an explosion is very low.

Finally, added Adhi, this chiller has passed the earthquake resistance test to a scale of 9 on the Richter Scale. "When there is an earthquake, the solution in it remains stable and can still function properly," he said.