Ice-Making

the preparation of ice from water, using either natural cold or refrigerators.

The simplest kind of ice production involves the procurement of ice from frozen rivers, lakes, or ponds. In the USSR, it is common to freeze ice on open platforms in winter. The volume of the frozen blocks of ice may be as much as tens of thousands of cu m. To freeze ice in packs, water is sprayed through hoses or pipes. Pick hammers and icebreakers are used to prepare the ice for use. During the summer, the ice packs are covered with insulating materials and are handled from the shady, north side. Lift trucks and conveyors are used in shipping the ice.

At ice plants, refrigerators are used to make ice. The first plant in Russia for the manufacture of artificial ice was built in 1892. Ice plants supply chiefly those branches of industry that need large quantities of ice (the meat and dairy industries, fisheries, and the railroad transport industry). They also supply industrial icehouses, which provide a centralized ice supply to the consumer. More than 20 million tons of natural ice and as much as a million tons of artificial ice are consumed in the USSR each year. Among foreign countries, one of the largest ice producers is the USA, which prepares about 30 million tons of ice per year (mostly artificial).

Ice plants manufacturing ice for foods may produce up to 200 tons per day. Such plants include ice machines and a storage room. They either have their own refrigerator or are served by a central refrigeration plant. Railroad ice plants with an output as high as 200 tons per day supply ice for refrigerator cars. Such plants are equipped with mechanical ice crushers and conveyors.

Ice plants in fish-packing enterprises located along the shore make as much as 360 tons of ice per day. They are equipped with mechanized systems to supply ice to the fishing vessels.