30 // Market
THE SPIRIT OF CO2 A Q-ton air-to-water heat pump based on natural refrigerant CO 2 is delivering energy savings at an award-winning distillery in Tasmania.
― By Andrew Williams
I
n a quiet corner of southeast Tasmania, the centuries-old Shene Estate and Distillery – housed in the riverside community of Pontville, near Hobart – is turning to cutting-edge natural refrigerant-based technology to help streamline production. The distillery has been using locally sourced ingredients and traditional methods to produce gin and single malt whiskey for 199 years. In 2017, Shene Estate’s Poltergeist Gin was awarded a Double Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Gold medal at the World Gin Awards.
With such recognition comes growth. Every day, the distillery needs some 6,000 litres of hot water at 90°C to heat the barley mash used in production. “Given the distiller y ’s growing production output, these traditional methods have resulted in a huge amount of water used each day,” says Trent Miller, hot water heat pump sales executive for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioners Australia Pty. Ltd. (MHIAA). Considering the distillery’s daily water volume and temperature requirements, as well as the colder temperatures experienced at the distillery in winter,
Accelerate Australia & NZ // Autumn 2019