How quality compressed air can preserve the palatability of food and beverage items

Deepesh Upadhyay, Asst. Vice President, Delair India Pvt. Ltd.

Compressed air forms an intricate part of the food & beverage industry, where it is used for a wide range of processes. From manufacturing and transportation to packaging, it finds application at every stage of food processing, where it conducts dehydration of food, drives dairy processing, or agitation. In addition to this, it is also involved in meat processing, packaging of food, vacuum sealing, and many more operations.

Elaborating on the crucial role of compressed air, in the fruit and vegetable processing industry, it is responsible for cleaning the containers prior to filling them with products. It goes a long way in sorting the products automatically to facilitate cutting and shaping the food items and drives the freezing, canning, and dehydration of fruits and vegetables as well. In bakeries, it is utilized for cleaning purposes, where the compressed air blows off food debris from conveyors and equipment.

Furthermore, during the packaging of dairy and juice products, pressurized air is needed for the machine forming, filling, and sealing of gable top cartons. Moving ahead, compressed air is a prerequisite for PET manufacturing, where it comes in handy for giving the desired shape and size to the bottle. In the process, it also supports forming, mold press powering, clamping, conveying plastic pellets at the time of bottle manufacturing.

In addition to fuelling the various food processes, compressed air is also required for powering the pneumatic machines that enable filling cakes, pies, liquid products, etc. In the meantime, it also drives conveyors, sorters, mixers, bottling lines, and other instruments that are required for food processing. Gauging the importance of compressed air in the F&B sector, it comes in direct contact with food at every stage of production. Here, in case it is laden with contaminants such as moisture, oil droplets, solid particles, etc., it can severely account for spoilage of food. Consequently, it comes with the ability to compromise the palatability of the food, impacting its taste and quality in the process.

The repercussions go a long way in giving rise to a lot of hygiene issues, jeopardizing food safety, and shrinking its shelf life significantly. As a result, it becomes essential for the industry to supply clean and quality compressed air devoid of any form of contaminants to preserve the integrity and taste of food. Even the regulatory authorities, such as FSSAI and FDA, recommend the supply of dry compressed air to exercise sanitization throughout the supply chain of food. It plays an instrumental role in protecting the food from humidity and contaminants, thereby keeping the delectability of the food intact.

In the absence of dry compressed air, moisture comes into full action, rendering a conducive environment for the growth of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, pathogens, mould, etc. Triggering microbial activity, moisture is responsible for facilitating physical, enzymatic, microbiological, and biochemical deterioration. Resulting in food decay, it can lead to the revocation of the entire batch of food from the market, incurring huge loss on the company while impeding the growth of the industry.

Moreover, at the time of plastic bottle manufacturing, compressed air laden with humidity can give rise to the issue of clouding in PET bottles, diminishing their clarity in the process. In addition to this, the strength of the PET bottle is lost in the presence of moisture, and it goes a long way in contaminating the PET resin as well. At the same time, it also accounts for internal bubbles and pockmarks in bottles or containers.

The damaging effect of moisture is not just limited to food processing but transcends to the malfunctioning of pneumatic machines as well. Here, moisture in compressed air comes with the ability to cause corrosion in pipelines, cylinders, and other components and contributes to sluggish and inconsistent functioning of valves and cylinders. The complication is further compounded during cold weather when moisture freezes in the machines, disrupting the smooth transfer of materials from one end to the other. Meddling with the smooth completion of various operations and significantly compromising the efficiency of the food processing, moisture emerges as a huge menace for the F&B industry.

Therefore, to mitigate the impact of moisture, it is mandatory that industry players provide quality compressed air by removing moisture, dust particles, oil, and solid contaminants from the pressurized air. Here, employing high pressure Delpet refrigeration dryers comes with the ability to yield quality air solutions that thoroughly eradicate moisture or water from the compressed air. Along similar lines, refrigeration dryers are proficient at driving processes that require Best Pressure dew point of 2 °C to 3 °C and they conform to Quality Standard of ISO 8573-1:2010 Class 1

Moving ahead High pressure Delpet refrigeration dryers perform the cooling of air to nearly freezing point for eliminating moisture. The cold air is then reheated to approximately 10°C below the temperature of incoming compressed air under nominal conditions. The dryers are well equipped with refrigeration circuit, compressed air circuit and air drying unit which comprises a centrifugal cum demister pad condensate separator. At the same time, the refrigeration circuit consists of a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, a volume liquid accumulator along with liquid refrigerant, and an evaporator.

It is important to note that heat exchangers are the driving force of the systems, which consist of air to air heat exchanger and refrigerant to air heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is responsible for contributing to the outperformance of dryers, where it employs air to air heat exchanger for decreasing the load on refrigerant system. Along with this, it also comes in handy for warming the outgoing cold air pipelines to the required temperature. Simultaneously, the refrigerant to air heat exchanger conducts the cooling of the air to the required temperature, where it condenses the water vapour from the air that otherwise would have drained automatically.

The industry should also deploy High Pressure Delpet dryers for facilitating processes driving PET bottle manufacturing. It is functional at high pressure of 40 barg and maximum up to 45 barg and is required for special PET Applications as well for mitigating moisture by cooling air to nearly freezing point. Following this, cold, dry air is reheated at nominal conditions to approximately 10°C lower than the incoming compressed air temperature.

Therefore, considering that the F&B industry is highly vulnerable to moisture, it is mandatory for the industry to install compressed air dryers. Providing quality compressed air, it comes to aid in manufacturing food products that conform to the quality standards of the industry and preserve the palatability of food in the process. Deterring the spoilage of food, the role of quality compressed air is inevitable in the industry, which empowers various operations involved in food processing.