40 F & S International Edition No. 16/2016

Highlights 2015

Centrifuge technology

The Z5E-4/01 decanter from Flottweg

was hygienically designed for the safe

processing of food (Fig. 1). All of the

components that come into direct contact

with the medium, are made from rust and

acid resistant stainless steel and fi nished

with a surface roughness Ra of 0.8 μm.

This ensures good cleanability. Typical

applications in the food processing sector

are the separation of coagulated proteins,

the production of soya drinks and starch

as well as the clarifi cation of fruit juic-

es. A decanter fi tted with an adjustable

centripetal pump can be used to achieve

optimum separation effi ciency from varia-

ble infeeds. The centripetal pump controls

the draining of the clarifi ed liquid from

a closed system under pressure and as a

result of an adjustment, the diameter of the

outfl ow can be varied and the separation

effi ciency can be optimised to match the

infeed characteristics.

Milk processing systems are gaining in

relevance that enable the processing to be

carried out at the lowest possible tempera-

tures, which increases the sensory quality

with a simultaneous reduction in energy

consumption. Andritz Separation exhibit-

ed a cold milk separator, which is the fi rst

of its type without a gripper / peeling disc

and is equipped with a special abstraction

tube. The design of the CremaViva model

range from Andritz Frautech (Fig. 2) con-

trols the discharging of the skimmed milk

and cream as a result of the hydrostatic

pressure difference being used as the driv-

ing force. This type of discharge enables

the separation to occur at very low tem-

peratures of around 5°C with a maximum

temperature increase of one degree. The

discharged products, whose viscosities at

these low temperatures are relatively high,

are better preserved. The raw milk is fed

in from above, which enables the drive

system and the parts that come into contact

with the product to be completely separat-

ed from one another.

Membrane technology

Membrane fi ltration is one of the

established dairy technology processes

for concentrating product fl ows contain-

ing proteins. Reverse osmosis is used

here to concentrate the proteins from the

whey and the ultrafi ltration permeate from

the skimmed milk and whey fi ltration.

Previously, it was normal and sensible

to concentrate the whey up to an 18 -

30% DM concentration. The three-stage

ALPMA PRO High DM reverse osmosis

plant now enables the whey to be concen-

trated in an approx. 6% DM to 28 - 30%

DM process. The fi rst two stages of this

plant attain a concentration of approx.

18% - 20%. This ensures that the osmotic

pressure of the infeed into the third reverse

osmosis stage is very high. Special mem-

branes are installed in it. The permeate

from this third stage has a very high CSB

value, which is why it is fed back to the

plant’s inlet together with the concentrate

as a polisher. This prevents dry mass

losses, which reduces the contaminated

load in the waste water and saves energy

as opposed to evaporating a concentrate

with 18% - 20% DM. The reverse osmosis

plant described here was awarded the sil-

ver International FoodTec award.

The ultrafi ltration, nanofi ltration and

reverse osmosis membrane processes ena-

ble all of the ingredients to be concentrat-

ed, which cannot pass through a specifi c

membrane. Advanced processes are aimed

at selectively accumulating very specifi c

whey proteins in order to allow natu-

ral binders and emulsifi ers or functional

Innovations and further developments in the food and beverage industriesH. Lyko*

Anuga FoodTec, the international supplier trade fair for the food and beverage industries continued to build on its past

success by setting new exhibitor and visitor records. More than 45,000 specialists from the industry were informed

about the products and services by a total of 1,501 exhibitors from 49 countries. The corresponds to a near 13.5%

increase in the number of exhibitors as compared to 2012 and an approx. 6% increase in the number of visitors.

The exhibition is arranged into food processing, food packaging, food safety, ingredients and services and solutions

sections. Different types of separation technology and separation processes accompanied by the relevant measures

for contaminant detection and quality monitoring are now included in the processing technology and for guaranteeing

product qualities. During the production of food and beverages, exhaust air and/or waste water fl ows are also

generated and these have to be treated. Exhibits and processes from these sectors are described in the following. At

the exhibition the International FoodTec awards from the German Agricultural Society were awarded for the 9th time

in cooperation with specialist and media partners. These awards included 9 gold and 9 silver medals, whereby one

of each was awarded for technological innovations in the separation technology sector and a gold medal was also

presented for an analysing process.

Fig. 1: Z5E-4/01 Flottweg decanter with hygienic design for processing food and other hygienic-sensitive applications

*Dr.-Ing. Hildegard LykoDortmund, Germany, Tel: +49 (0) 231-730696

Highlights 2015

F & S International Edition No. 16/2016 41

nutritional supplements to be gathered and used, e.g. in baby

food. The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and

Biotechnology has been working on the further development of

the electro-membrane process that was previously developed at

Hohenheim university, so that specifi c proteins can be selectively

accumulated. The process is based on combining ultrafi ltration

with an electrical fi eld. This ensures that proteins are not only sep-

arated according to their size but according to their charge as well.

This increases the output and reduces the cleaning effort when

compared to pure ultrafi ltration. Preliminary trials at Hohenheim

university have shown that peptide or protein fragments, such as

casein macro-peptide, can be separated from the whey proteins

α- and β-lactoglobulin using an electro-membrane process. The

EU’s “Whey2Food” research project, which has been running

since 2013, is optimising the processes for industrially-relevant

quantities and in accordance with the stipulated hygiene and clean-

ing standards. The process has been tested under real conditions in

automated pilot plants installed at partner dairies.

Food analysis

Virtually gapless quality controls are imperative along the pro-

cessing chain for the preparation of raw and auxiliary materials up

to the fi lling or packaging of fi nished products. The controls are

implemented in accordance with the trend towards automation of

production processes as automatically running inline analyses or

at least as bypass analyses. Infrared spectroscopy is used to ana-

lyse the chemical composition of the process fl ows. The Austrian

company, Insort GmbH, calls this process “Chemical Imaging

Technology“ (CIT), as it is based on the chemical composition

of the food colour image generated at high resolution and it is Fig. 2: Functional diagram of a CremaViva cold milk separator (image: Andritz Separation)

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42 F & S International Edition No. 16/2016

Highlights 2015

classifi ed and sorted in industrially-suited

real time. The technology is realised in the

SHERLOCK food analyser process diag-

nostics system, which was awarded the

gold International FoodTec award.

The refractometry used for determining

the relative density of a process liquid is a

probate resource that is used in production

and especially in processes that measure

the concentration of the ingredients in

liquids. It is used in the form of manual

or laboratory devices for determining the

sugar content in must, wine, fruit juices,

honey, etc., as well as inline process

checks. One of the ways to implement the

latter is to use the inline PR-23 refractom-

eter made by K-Patents, a Finnish compa-

ny, which is approved for use in the food

industry under the American 3-A Sanitary

standard and the EHEDG guidelines. The

different sensor versions enable instal-

lation in both pipelines with relatively

small diameters as well as in tanks and

larger pipelines (see Fig. 3). The feature

of this measuring device is that all of the

components needed for measuring, such

as the light source, the temperature sensor,

the prism on which the incident light is

partially refracted and partially refl ected,

as well as the CCD camera, which records

the resulting sample in high resolution,

are all installed in an environmentally and

mechanically isolated nucleus. The meas-

uring system delivers the liquid concentra-

tion in brixs, regardless of the suspended

particles, bubbles, fi bres, possible temper-

ature or colour changes. It does not need to

be recalibrated after being installed.

Degassing of fruit juices

It is necessary to degas the fruit juices

prior to fi lling in order to avoid fi lling

problems and prevent the tendency to

oxidisation, e.g. by minimising the atmos-

pheric oxygen and preventing the solid

fruit content from fl oating. The liquid is

distributed over a large surface in as thin

as possible yeasty layers for the degassing,

in order to keep the gas molecule diffusion

path as small as possible. Krones AG has

developed a swirling inlet for this as this

was previously realised using an annular

gap, atomiser or tangential nozzles. This

ensures that the liquid already inside the

especially designed tank lid fi tted on the

degassing tank lies on the wall of the

tank. The juice forms a very thin fi lm as a

result of the outfl ow rate and the adhesive

force. Utilising the surface of the tank,

including the lid, reduces the overall tank

volume that is needed. In addition to sav-

ing space, this also results in a reduction

in the energy consumption as a smaller

vacuum pump can be chosen to extract

the discharged gas . This method of easy

and energy-effi cient degassing won a gold

International FoodTec award.

Innovations for food pumps

The design of the pumps that supply

the food or beverages also plays a role

with regard to hygienic aspects and easy

cleanability as it does with centrifuges

and fi lters. Grundfos presented three new

pump models that have been designed

for different food applications. The Maxa

250-400 food pump is a single-stage,

end-suction centrifugal pump made from

rolled CrNiMo steel (AISI 300), which

is used for high delivery volumes up

to 1,400 m3/h and a maximum delivery

height of 55 m. Typical applications are

suppling beer or milk, hot or cold water,

brine or the circulation of large quantities

of CIP liquids. Pumps from the F&B Hygia

range are controlled pumps used in wet

areas, such as breweries (fermentation cel-

lars, bottle washing systems or bottling).

The frequency converter for controlling

the motor is integrated in these pumps.

This has the benefi t that the cost-effec-

tive, convenient decentralised alignment

can be optimised for the pump applica-

tion as opposed to an external frequen-

cy converter fi tted in a control cabinet.

Special protection against moisture, such

as being sprayed from the operating areas,

is provided in the MGE permanent magnet

motor by the integrated anti-condensation

heater, which protects the motor and the

frequency converter from being damaged

by condensation as well as the maximum

IP66 protection class version. The pumps

from this range are single-stage, end-suc-

tion centrifugal pumps for delivery heights

up to 73 m, delivery fl ows up to 110 m3/h

and operating pressures up to 16-bar.

They are available with various nominal

width connections. The Novalobe rotary

piston pump available in the new 60/2.1

design size (see Fig. 4) is a pump for

delivering viscous food such as honey or

sauces, whose delivery volume per rev is

2.1 litres. All of the parts that come into

contact with the product are made from

1.4404 stainless steel (AISI 316L) with a

roughness of Ra ≤ 0.8 μm. The cleaning is

ensured by the design, which is certifi ed

by the European Hygienic Engineering &

Design Group (EHEDG) and the aggre-

gate can be sterilised at temperatures up

to 150°C.

Fig. 3: Operating sites of inline-refractometers in a pipeline (left) and a tank (right) (photos: K-Patents Oy)

Fig. 4: Novalobe rotary piston pump (image: Grundfos GmbH)

Highlights 2015

F & S International Edition No. 16/2016 43

Eccentric spiral pumps are preferred for delivering pasty,

mushy or lumpy media. Application examples in the food sector

for the eccentric spiral pumps made by Seepex are such materials

as tomato paste, mashed potatoes, chicken legs, marzipan or even

melons, all of which are media that cannot fl ow freely or only

with restrictions. The company has revised their BCSO and BTCS

(hopper pumps) ranges in order to satisfy the higher requirements

regarding cleanability and durability. The pumps are designed

in compliance with the 3-A Sanitary Standards and the EHEDG

guidelines. Well-proven open pin joints are used in addition to

the optimised pump casings as both together enable virtually resi-

due-free cleaning to be carried out.

The pump manufacturer Netsch provides eccentric spiral pumps

that have been optimised for the media that has to be delivered,

which in addition to hygiene, cleanability and suitability for han-

dling food also fulfi l the safe media handling conditions as well

as energy and resource effi ciencies. Honey counts as one of the

food media that is especially diffi cult to handle, as it is extremely

adhesive and can have a viscosity of up to 10.000 cP. These prop-

erties are particularly problematic with shaft seals. An eccentric

screw pump has to be installed to supply the honey and the parts

that come into contact with the product are made from stainless

steel. White tallowed cotton is used as the sealing element in the

food-compliant packed gland. The pump is also fi tted with a dry

running protection system that permanently monitors the stator

temperature and switches the motor off before it starts to run hot

as well as a contact manometer for preventing any damage caused

by overpressure.

Exhaust air cleaning in food processing

The exhaust air from operations in which a huge quantity of

fat (e.g. deep frying) is used to cure or prepare the food, produc-

es exhaust air fl ows, which being fumes or fat-droplet aerosols

have high organic loads that also include a high concentration

of odorous compounds. Thermal afterburning is a process that is

frequently used here that also exhibits a relatively high CO2 foot-

print due to the use of combustible materials or electrical energy.

KMA Umwelttechnik GmbH provides and their Aairmaxx fume

fi lter and Ultravent hybrid fi lters as alternatives to burning, whose

effi ciency and eco-effi ciency are higher than that of burning. Both

systems are of a modular construction and use different processes

in succession. For example, Ultravent can consist of units such

as an electro-fi lter for particle separation (designed as a plate

electro-fi lter), UV lighting system and an activated carbon fi lter

for fume removal. The system can also be equipped with a heat

recovery system. The Aairmaxx (Fig. 5) includes tube electro-fi l-

ter, ventilator and gas-scrubber components. Electro-fi lters have

an advantage over fi lter media made from fabrics or nonwoven

fabrics here as separated tars and oils cannot block the electro-fi lter

as they do with the pores in a textile medium. Both versions of the

electro-fi lters are cleaned automatically and periodically, in the

Ultravent system by an integrated CIP plant and in Aairmaxx by

an integrated heating register, which heats up the electro-fi lter once

every week. References are available for both systems and the

energy savings are around 80% or more when compared to after-

burning. The Ultravent hybrid fi lter is used for handling exhaust

air at 7,200 m3/h from newly installed deep-fryers for fi sh-fi ngers

and other frozen fi sh products. The operating cost savings are

given as 94% when compared to afterburning and the CO2 pollu-

tion can be reduced by 95%. Aairmaxx systems prove themselves

in meat production for cleaning the exhaust air from hot smoking

plants. Grandi Salumifi ci have installed a plant in Italy for treating

an overall exhaust air quantity of up to 2,250 m3/h. The operating

cost comparisons are for the treatment of 2,000 m3/h exhaust

air from a smokehouse that ran for 16 hours a day and 6 days a

week between the AAIRMAXX system and an afterburning plant

with a heat recovery system showed cost savings of 85% from

the tube electro-fi lter, ventilator and gas-scrubber combination

and this includes the fi lter cleaning and the waste water from the

gas-scrubber.

Fig. 5: KMA Aairmaxx fi lter systems consist of an electro-fi lter (right), gas-scrubber (left) and a ventilator (centre): The separated tar is collected in the blue tar-collecting vessel.