What Is a Seawater Cooling System?
A seawater cooling system is a device installed on board fishing vessels for inshore and coastal fishing to cool the seawater in the fish holds or the fish tank without using ice.
It is an indispensable device for fishing vessels to keep the fish fresh, especially during the hot summer season. The freshness of the fish is maintained because the fish can be kept alive in the holds.
The device can be installed relatively easily by connecting the power source directly from the fishing boat’s engine, and the size of the device itself allows it to be installed on a fishing boat without taking up much space.
Uses of Seawater Cooling Systems
Directly cooling the seawater in the fish holds makes it possible to keep the freshness of the fish caught and is a very important device for fishing vessels because it leads to increased profits in the inshore fishing industry.
Before the introduction of this device, ice was used to keep fish fresh, but the work of carrying and breaking ice was physically demanding on fishermen, and the fish were sometimes not marketable due to ice burns or damage caused by ice.
The seawater cooling system eliminates these problems in the fishing industry and allows the fish to be delivered to the market fresh from the catch.
Principle of Seawater Cooling Systems
The seawater cooling system directly cools seawater in fish holds or fish tanks using a heat exchanger and refrigerant without using ice.
The seawater in the fish holds is pumped up by a circulation pump in the seawater cooling system, cooled by a heat exchanger, and returned to the fish holds to produce cooling water.
By repeating this process, it is possible to lower the water temperature to a level that keeps the fish fresh, and the seawater temperature can be lowered from room temperature to nearly 0 degrees Celsius.
The circulating system also allows the seawater to be cooled evenly and evenly.
The heat exchangers in most seawater cooling systems are made of titanium. Titanium has strong thermal conductivity (high cooling efficiency) among metals and is not easily corroded by seawater, so harmful metal ions do not dissolve into seawater.
This makes it possible to cool seawater efficiently and keep fish fresh without contaminating it with dissolved metal ions.