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Efficiency and low cost are the major reasons ammonia is the preferred industrial refrigerant in the food processing industry. Ammonia is often a natural refrigerant and has no ODP/GWP. However, ammonia is a dangerous substance and there are several advantages to lowering the overall amount of ammonia used at a facility.
Continue Reading “Two Approaches, One Goal: Reducing Your Ammonia Charge”
Whether companies are maintaining outdated systems or upgrading to newer ones, they need to be aware of the safety issues and requirements related to the systems’ relief components.
Continue Reading “Relief Valve Compliance Issues for Older Systems”
Numerous substances used in industrial refrigeration are believed to be responsible for ozone depletion, especially a common low-temperature refrigerant – R-22. While R-22 is widely used in numerous food plants and cold storage facilities, an international treaty, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, calls for a halt in the production of R-22 and other chemicals damaging to the atmosphere.
Continue Reading “The R-22 Used to Cool Your Plant is Being Phased Out. Now What?”
Many food processors are turning to wireless automation to improve the efficiency and interoperability of the plant’s control systems. This method of automation architecture offers significant cost savings in engineering and installation, while providing more flexible access to data for monitoring and analysis.
Continue Reading “Food Processing Plants Cut the Cord With Wireless Automation”
High pressure processing (HPP) is gaining popularity among food manufacturers as a method that induces a pasteurizing effect on packaged food without subjecting the products to thermal energy. The recent explosion of the health and organic markets is partially responsible for the increased acceptance of this natural and environmentally friendly process.
Continue Reading “Demand Rises for High Pressure Processing”
It is critical to plan for the future when designing your food processing plant’s mechanical systems. We find that many plants are now undergoing expensive retrofits because future needs were not appropriately considered. Not only are retrofits expensive, but if new equipment is not sized and sequenced effectively, it can significantly affect your energy costs. To avoid these issues, here are four budget considerations to address when designing your plant’s mechanical system:
Continue Reading “Four Key Budget Considerations in Designing Your Plant’s Mechanical System”
More and more food manufacturers are developing energy management and resource conservation programs, focusing on water and heat as the two resources that offer the greatest opportunity for significant savings in the long run.
Continue Reading “Food Manufacturers Look to Water and Heat for Resource Conservation”
Your food processing plant’s mechanical system will affect the entire facility’s operating efficiency. Water, steam and gas are the basic functions required to run any processing plant, so the design process must begin with a full evaluation of these resources. Your mechanical engineers should address four critical areas in the early stages of your plant’s design:
Continue Reading “Food Processing Mechanical Systems : 4 Critical Areas To Address Early On”
Stellar often partners with The Probst Group on wastewater treatment projects. Hank Probst, a partner with The Probst Group, contributed to this blog post.
a wastewater treatment tank
Reducing the costs of wastewater treatment spent at an outside facility is leading many food processing plants to consider treating their wastewater on-site. In addition to treatment costs based on volume, municipalities typically impose a surcharge if the characteristics of the wastewater stream exceed the municipality’s typical domestic strength. It becomes an ROI issue and fairly easy for plants to justify.
Continue Reading “Considerations for On-site Wastewater Treatment”
Round floor drains are becoming more common.
There are numerous factors to consider when designing a wastewater piping system for a food manufacturing plant. Where will drains be located? What types of piping materials will be used? Can the system be designed to accommodate future physical growth of the facility? Yet the most important factor of a waste-piping system is efficiency – efficiency in location, layout, materials and installation. Here’s what you need to know:
Continue Reading “Food Processing Plant Design: Designing the Most Efficient Waste-piping System”
