CARVEX systems procurement costs
Acquisition costs
Chamber diameter has the greatest effect on the costs of acquiring the system. This is why it is important to keep the diameter of the chamber to the lowest size absolutely necessary. The rated pressure of the chambers also significantly affects the procurement cost. For reasons of flexibility and operational safety, we generally recommend design pressures of 30 bar.
The length of the system has the least impact on procurement cost, therefore it is better to design the systems to be longer and to save CO2 by operating at lower pressures over longer disinfestation times.
CO2 supply
For lower CO2 consumption, medium pressure CO2 technology is a suitable option. This option uses CO2tanks, designed for an operating pressure of 80 bar. The tanks are not insulated. The desired CO2 pressure is reached by means of heating with internal and external heaters. After being filled at around 15 bar, CO2 cannot be removed until the required CO2 pressure has been reached. CO2 tanks with a capacity of 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 kg are used, and are available as horizontal or vertical configurations. A gas heater mounted to the disinfestation chamber heats the carbon dioxide to the required temperature.
Where consumption is high, low pressure CO2technology is preferred. In this configuration the carbon dioxide is stored at pressures of maximum 20 bar. The carbon dioxide is removed in liquid form from these vertical or horizontal tanks, and depending on pressure range is brought to the required operating pressure using piston or centrifugal pumps. The compressed, liquid CO2 is then converted to a gaseous phase in vaporisers specially designed for the CARVEX technology and heated to the required gas temperature. Water bath vaporisers operated by steam, hot water or electricity are generally used for this purpose.