Case

Demineralized water for ice cube production

Plusice produces ice cubes. They supply events, hotels, bars as well as major retail chains with high quality ice. On a busy day they produce more than 30 tons of ice cubes. The only ingredient is water, and it must be pure and safe.

The water for the ice cubes is sourced from the local waterworks. But even a good drinking water quality is insufficient for industrial production. The water must be completely free of salts, particles, and bubbles, because it is vital that the ice cubes are high quality, clear as glass, clean to look at and easy to separate from each other.

Plusice has specialized in handcrafted ice cubes that are crystal-clear. These ice cubes are sold to high-end bars, restaurants and hotels among others. (Photo: Christian Steffensen © Silhorko-Eurowater A/S)

Water treatment solution

EUROWATER has many years of experience with water treatment for producing specialized ice for ice hockey, figure skating, curling and even speed skating. A valuable consultation process with the customer resulted in choosing a water treatment solution carefully matched to the machinery used and the complicated operating conditions, including a very fluctuating flow requirement over the course of the workday, week, and year.

The salt content of the drinking water is reduced by 98 % in a membrane unit, more specifically a reverse osmosis unit. In addition, the membrane acts as a microbiological barrier, as microorganisms cannot pass through it.

Before membrane filtration, it is absolutely necessary to pretreat the inlet water to maintain sustainable, problem free operation. A softening unit removes the hardness from the drinking water, which would otherwise precipitate and clog up the membranes. Free chlorine is also a problem for the membranes and can be removed with a carbon filter – but irrelevant in this case since Danish drinking water is not chlorinated.

The treated water is collected in a water storage tank and a subsequent pump unit ensures that the water is supplied to the production with a sufficient pressure.

Reverse osmosis unit in a food safety design. (Photo: Christian Steffensen © Silhorko-Eurowater A/S) 

Problem-free production

In addition to the supplying the mentioned plants and units, the scope of delivery consisted of start-up and commissioning.


” Everything operates smoothly and reliably. It starts, stops, and delivers the right water quality. It is very impressive to see it all in operation, and completely as we agreed it should.“

- Lars Anton Christensen, CEO of Plusice


 

Plusice has further secured itself against any downtime due to defects in wear parts, moving parts and other strategic parts and components, as they have agreed upon a service agreement that includes an annual service inspection, including preventive maintenance.

Left: Tommy Christensen, Co-owner of Plusice. Right: Lars Anton Christensen, CEO of Plusice. (Photo: Christian Steffensen © Silhorko-Eurowater A/S) 

Food safety

The water treatment plant is made from food-approved materials. Ensuring a high hygiene standard is taken very seriously in the production of ice cubes, since it is food and meant for human consumption. Plusice follows the international standard ISO 22000 for food safety, and the complete management system is audited annually by Bureau Veritas.

In the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's inspection report, Plusice can present the so-called Elite Smiley, which is given to companies with four happy smileys in a row and zero sanctions 12 months back.

More ice

Plusice is in a positive development with new initiatives, several types of ice products, and in larger quantities. This of course means a greater need for clean water – and an additional water treatment plant has already been ordered.

The solution contains the same water treatment technologies as the first delivery, just with greater flow and capacity. Production at EUROWATER will start soon so the plant can be delivered and installed before it once again is peak period for ice cubes for our drinks.

Facts


About Plusice

Plusice is one of the leading manufacture of ice in Denmark. They have specialized in ice cubes, crushed ice, dry ice, ice sculptures and handcrafted ice for high-end customers. The company was established in 2008 and is a family-owned business. 

Water treatment plants

  • Softening unit type SM42-F
  • Reverse osmosis unit type RO B2-10 SE30
  • 2100 L holding tank and pump unit
  • ​CIP clean-in-place unit for the RO unit
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