Just as Tennyson says, “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” in winter, industrial process cooling operators should turn their thoughts to training. Despite intermittent travel challenges due to inclement weather, winter is an ideal time for training on equipment such as evaporative cooling systems and industrial refrigeration. Fortunately, great opportunities exist.

For instance, the Cooling Technology Institute, Houston, hosts its annual conference at the Sheraton in New Orleans from February 9-12. Over just two days, 26 technical papers will be presented in a concurrent format in two main tracks: water treatment and evaporative cooling technology performance, standards and maintenance. Multiple opportunities to speak to presenters, exhibitors at the tabletop reception and other attendees present a rich networking and information-sharing venue. Learn more at www.cti.org.

For those involved in industrial refrigeration, a week-long workshop planned for February 16-20 in Charlotte can help those responsible for design/build, plant operations or refrigeration equipment manufacturing master key aspects.

The course is presented by Don Fenton of Kansas State University and Gary Wilson of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, who will cover the fundamentals. Along with them, five speakers from well-known industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturers will provide training and expertise culled from practical experience with food freezing, refrigeration and in other low-temperature applications. A thread that runs through the course is the design of a fictional facility — an ammonia-carbon dioxide cascade system — which will become a refrigerated distribution center. Carbon dioxide is a low temperature natural refrigerant that is receiving intense attention by industrial refrigeration designers as a natural refrigerant. The International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration and Kansas State University sponsor the workshop. Learn more or register here.

And of course, the AHR Expo and ASHRAE show, planned for January 26-28 in Chicago, is the world’s largest exposition for process cooling and HVACR technologies.  Though the focus is on commercial and residential HVACR, many process equipment suppliers will be on hand with innovative technologies.

Linda Becker, Associate Publisher and Editor,

 BeckerL@bnpmedia.com