Evaluation of the Energy Utilization Index in Sheep Milk Cooling Systems

Marco Cossu, Luigi Ledda, Stefania Solinas, Andrea Cossu and Antonio Pazzona
Additional contact information
Marco Cossu: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Luigi Ledda: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Stefania Solinas: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Andrea Cossu: Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, Hendon, London NW4 4BT, UK
Antonio Pazzona: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: The energy consumption of sheep milk cooling systems (MCSs) was quantified in this study to provide original information filling a literature gap on the impact of sheep milk cooling on the energy and economic balance in dairy farms. Performance and energy monitoring tests were conducted simultaneously on 22 MCSs in Sardinia (Italy). The results determined the cooling time as a function of the performance class and number of milkings. The Energy Utilization Index (EUI) was applied to measure the energy required to cool down the milk and estimate the incidence on its price. The average EUI was 1.76 kWh 100 L −1 for two-milkings and 2.43 kWh 100 L −1 for four-milkings MCSs, whereas the CO 2 emissions ranged from 998 to 1378 g CO 2 100 L −1 for two- and four-milkings MCSs, respectively. The estimated energy consumption for the storage of refrigerated sheep milk was 0.12 kWh 100 L −1 . The malfunctioning MCSs averagely consumed 31% more energy than regular systems. The energy cost for cooling accounted for 0.61% on the current sheep milk price in Italy. Based on the analysis, the reported EUI values can be used as a preliminary indicator of the regular operation of MCSs.

Keywords: refrigeration; dairy; tank; energy saving; CO 2 emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/9/2127/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/9/2127/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:9:p:2127-:d:350874

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().