ENERGETIC EFFICIENCY EVALUATION IN REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS OF MEAT INDUSTRIES

Fresh or processed meat is one of major food products preferred by consumers due to their nutritional and organoleptic characteristics and cooling is the predominant technology to ensure the conservation of their properties through time. Analyze the profile of electricity consumption in industries processing of meat products, particularly those that manufacture ham are the goals of this study. The results indicate that in Portugal, these industries are within the area of meat products, the ones that show higher specific consumption of electricity (SEC). The average value of this indicator was for this group of 1208 kWh / ton.MR. The cooling systems are still the primary responsible for the electricity consumption, with compressors being responsible for 60 to 93% of the installed power. Simple energy efficiency measures implemented in these systems can promote an energy saving of 16.7%.