Cold Link Africa May 2018 | Page 19

PROJECT INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN Cooling towers arriving on site. installation, as manufacturer recommended specifications and water treatments are not always sufficient or effective enough for all types of fresh water. Since then, they have enlisted the help of a qualified chemist to scientifically analyse and treat their water to negate this issue. The water is monitored monthly and although this is an expensive process, it has solved their water issues. Considering the replacement costs of an evaporator (almost R300 000) and the cost of the downtime (as evaporators are not kept in stock), this is an expense well worth it. Medallion also has a reverse osmosis plant for potable water. PACKAGING Medallion does its own packaging in-house for which it requires refrigeration. This is fed from a standard packaged system. But this is a whole new story on its own! CLA Sources: www.highveldmushrooms.co.za List of professionals Owner Highveld / Medallion Mushrooms Developer Highveld / Medallion Mushrooms Project manager Barend Koorts Consulting engineers Every room is equipped with temperature and humidity control. recycled — because the compost is not as fussy. All the rainwater that falls on the roof and the cleaning platforms goes through a swale, so it gets cleaned by natural plants and reeds and then the water is sucked out at the back end of the swale and is used for fresh water for the compost yard — which it needs at certain times of the process. The water runs through the reed bed, then through the subsoil drains, and comes out as clean (often even cleaner) than the water they get from Theewaterskloof Dam. Not all water is equal, though, and the team had to learn a hard lesson in terms of water treatment. This is not something they have had to deal with for their farms in Gauteng, as the water there tends to be high in calcium and magnesium, so the only problem you have there is deposits. However, with the water they get from their borehole in Cape Town and Theewaterskloof, the opposite happens: the water corrodes instead of deposits. Medallion has had a lot of issues with some of the total dissolved solids (TDS) levels of their water and subsequently has spent a lot of money to get experts in to address the issue effectively. This is an important step in Contractors Product suppliers Electrical SK Technologies/ Christiaens Equipment Mechanical Christiaens Equipment Wet services Melt Wahl Civil Popler Trading Main building Christiaens Equipment Holland and ACA Staal HVAC & R Wynroete Verkoeling Electrical SK Technologies Chillers Aermec (AERSA) Cooling towers Baltimore Air Coil (BAC) Controls Schneider Electric / Belimo Pumps Radid Allweiller PVC and stainless water filters Hennie Kloppers Staalwerke Thermostats Carel Controls Compressors Bitzer COLD LINK AFRICA • May 2018 www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 19