PET Food Processing - December 2019 - 52

EQUIPMENT

"Automated process control systems remove
operator error and provide consistency and
security to the thermal processing of pet food."
Eric Hanrahan, Allpax

production plant, you are just heating up the product
zone." Topos Mondial also offers heat recovery systems
on their J4 ovens, which can further reduce fuel costs.
"For customers who are a little more north and incur
substantial costs with heating up their plants or offices,
we can put a system on the stack of the oven or dryer
that will recover the heat that would otherwise go into
the atmosphere," Nikel explains.
The way in which expensive utilities are supplied,
managed, and reused can minimize losses and positively
impact the overall profitability of pet food processing
plants. "Systems that reuse water, recapture heat, and recover live steam are becoming key components affecting
both the return on investment into capital equipment,
and compliance with energy savings and 'greener' production facilities," Hanrahan remarks.

A new approach
to delivering heat
utilizes multiple
processing zones
and directs heated
air only into the
product bed to
reduce processing
time for various
pet products, from
jerky to nugget- Evaluating solutions
type treats. With a wide range of thermal solutions available, it's
Heat and Control
important for pet food processors to evaluate their needs.

PET FOOD PROCESSING | December 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

Tramp identifies product integrity as one of the key areas
to consider before purchasing thermal processing equipment. "On any thermal production, one of the things you
worry about is, do I have a product that can hold up? Will
it be able to be conveyed, moved around, put in a bag, put
on a shelf, and not crumble apart?" he says. "It's also vital
to look at how the equipment affects product safety and
the repeatability of the process," he adds.
Aside from the attributes of the equipment, processors should assess the reputation of the supplier. "The
experience of the OEM, good manufacturing processes
(GMPs) for sanitation, and a proven reputation for
customer support are important factors to consider,"
says Tim Clark, president and CEO, Radio Frequency
Company, Inc., Millis, Massachusetts.
Other important factors to consider with any large
equipment purchase include return on investment
(ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO). "Understand
that the TCO involves energy and water usage as well as
uptime, and have the supplier leverage energy recovery
systems and predictive/preventive control systems to
lower TCO," Hanrahan says.
Best practices for managing thermal solutions can
help processors maximize efficiency and profitability."As
with any thermal system, good maintenance of the
combustion system is paramount to maintaining efficiencies," Kozenski says. "Doing so keeps fuel costs as
reasonable as possible and results in efficient processing
and consistent product."
Processors can also benefit from consulting with other
experts in their field. "I think it's always a smart idea to
look for industry experts outside of your own staff, whether
those experts represent OEMs for temperature or control
systems or a broader based consultant," Clark says.
Finally, processors should take care not to overlook
key areas that can impact efficiency and profitability.
"A lot of attention is placed on what happens in the
oven or dryer, but people forget what happens when
the product comes out. All the heat you put into your
product will now come into your ambient air. This
can be avoided by walling off the area where your
product is cooling and exchanging that air with ambient air. As a result, your air conditioning costs will be
substantially decreased throughout the whole plant,"
Nikel explains.
PFP

http://www.petfoodprocessing.net

PET Food Processing - December 2019

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