Seafood & fish markets · Typical for: Coastal markets in Africa, South Asia & Latin America
Flake Ice Plant and Chilled Store for a Fish Market
Reference design for a fish market: a 10 t/day flake ice machine over a −8 °C ice store, plus a 0 to +2 °C chilled room for iced fish awaiting sale.
The challenge
Coastal fish markets in warm climates need large amounts of ice at specific times: when boats land and when traders pack fish for transport. Without reliable ice, fish quality falls quickly, prices drop and losses rise.
Markets may lack a steady fresh water supply, the air is salty and humid, and ice must be easy to handle by shovel or cart. Fish waiting for sale or collection also needs a cold place to stay.
The engineered solution
Ice production and storage
- A flake ice machine of about 10 t/day, sized using a roughly 1:1 ice-to-fish ratio for about 8–10 t of daily landings in a hot climate.
- The machine sits on top of an insulated ice store, so flakes drop directly into storage.
- The ice store is refrigerated at about −8 °C to keep flakes dry and free-flowing and holds about one day of output to meet peak demand.
Chilled fish store
- A separate 0 to +2 °C room for boxed, iced fish, with coated-fin DL-type evaporators and washable inner surfaces.
- Floor drain and sloped floor for meltwater and cleaning.
Coastal and water considerations
- Seawater flake machine option where fresh water is limited.
- Feed water filtration and buffer tank for fresh-water versions.
- Corrosion-protected condensers in a shaded, ventilated area.
Design targets
The plant is designed to produce about 10 t of flake ice per day at its rated conditions and to keep one day of production in storage, so ice is available when boats land rather than only as it is made. The chilled store is designed to hold iced fish at 0 to +2 °C between landing and sale.
Actual output depends on feed water and ambient temperature, so the machine is selected from the site's design conditions with a margin for hot-season capacity loss.
Equipment list
- Flake ice machine, about 10 t/day, fresh water or seawater version
- Insulated ice storage room with 100 mm PU panels, mounted below the ice machine
- Chilled fish store with 100 mm PU panels and stainless steel inner skin option
- Condensing units for the ice machine, ice store and chilled store
- DL-type evaporators with coated fins for the chilled store
- Water filtration and buffer tank for ice machine feed
This is a reference blueprint. Final capacities and layouts are calculated for each site.
Equipment used in this blueprint
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