Freeze Frame

On ice

Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb

One great way to beat the scorching heat of summer is to visit an ice factory. Making ice for commercial use is more complicated than simply putting water into a freezer.

Adul Ratanachairit, owner of the Siam Ice Factory in Bang Lam Phu recently took Student Weekly on a guided tour of his factory and explained the process of making ice.

HOLDING WATER

Adul�s factory produces around 60 metric tonnes of ice every day. The water used to make ice comes directly from the city�s water main � the same place that tap water comes from.

The water is pumped into a huge tank, where it is kept to allow the sediments to settle to the bottom. The water then passes through two large filters to clean the it. Adul said that the filtered water is so clean that chorine has to be added to prevent bacteria and other contaminants from spreading.

FREEZE OVER

Once the water has been filtered, it passes through a series of pipes and into tall freezing units. Each unit contains hundreds of metal rods for the water to circulate, freeze and stick to.

BREAKING THE ICE

It takes about an hour for the water to freeze onto the metal rods, forming the cylindrical-shaped pieces of ice commonly used in drinks.

Once the water is frozen, the freezing unit stops to allow the clean, uncontaminated ice to slide off the rods. It is then cut into cubes and packed, ready for use.

	scorching (adj): very hot sediment (n): the solid material that settles at the bottom of a liquid contaminant (n): a substance that makes something impure circulate (v): to move or to be moved continuously around a place or system