Although in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, the appearance of pumps and valves does not look so pleasing. Their dominant color is always guns gray and stainless steel metal color. But the internal components of the pump and valve are quite wonderful. Pumps and valves are a key part of the substructure of most foodstuffs. Manufacturers are responding to the demands of food processors for greater reliability, easier cleaning and easier maintenance. The food industry requires them to be more reliable, robust, efficient and low-maintenance, with emphasis on hygienic design. Manufacturers are constantly being asked to meet or even surpass 3A standards. In-situ disinfection (CIP) components have been the focus of the food processing industry, helping to advance the process automation goals. Specifications such as the Disinfecting Milk Ordinance (PMO) sometimes limit the use of technologies that enable CIP and automation, but there is a desire to do so, just as anti-mix valves are being used in the delivery of large particle dairy products. Engineers at Davisco Foods International wanted the anti-mix valve to be added to the process control of three new cheese pans at the company's Jerome, Idaho facility. Regrettably, the PMO does not approve any partition-drain valve that handles the curd of the cheese tank system. Sudmo North America, Rockford, Illinois, was challenged to design a valve that would handle large particles without clogging, and was subsequently given regulatory approval for the design. Tim Tolley, an engineer at Davisco in Le Sueur, Minn., Said: "The PMO's regulations put too many valves in the back of the cheese production tank." In addition to the cost of the valve itself, additional equipment and facilities must be invested. On Jerome's installation, additional facilities installed behind each cheese bowl occupy 6 feet of plant space, where pipes and other numerous equipment are scattered. A standard PMO-approved anti-mix valve was blocked by cheese particles in a few seconds, so Sudmo's engineers used a 4-inch valve, but the size of the inspection hole created some problems. Finally, the test wells are shrunk to 2.5 inches to fit in-place disinfection (CIP) cell wells. A 4-inch valve is connected to a 6-inch object to allow particles to pass through. The FDA authority reviewed the design and made a few minor changes to the proposal, a year later the project started and the cheese tank system went into operation. Tolley said: "We've been running for 4 months without any problems, and we've reduced the number of valves in the cheese tank by 6 and reduced the system's frequency of recoil." According to Tolley, the traditional valve system was recoiled About 10 to 15 pounds of cheese. Assuming that the unit has 12 cheeses slots, a significant amount of product waste is eliminated after the new design and the number of plant cleanings is also reduced. The valve was installed on Davisco's $ 40 million facility in Lake Norden, South Dakota. The unit is scheduled to go into operation in September. Jack Jordan, president of Sudmo, admits: "To be honest, Davisco is pushing us to do that, and there's always someone who's got to sit down and redesign the pellet valve, a big challenge, but the ability to handle particles up to 1.5" in diameter Opened up entirely new markets for us. "The fruits, soups and pet foods in yogurt are all food-processing fields that use this technology. Anti-interference valves Another valve that must be sanitized before it is widely used in the food processing industry is GATE LLC's Constant Flow Valve (CF), developed by John Newton at the request of EI Dupont de Nemours to improve agriculture Chemical spraying accuracy. John Newton is an inventor in Florida and the founder of Grand Banks Yachts. If the pressure is stable, it is easy to achieve accurate spraying, but it is not. The design of the constant flow valve is simplified and fluid or gas can be accurately distributed by presetting. Dennis Richardson said beverage companies, including an orange juice giant in Florida, are experimenting with constant-flow valves in CIP applications. Dennis Richardson is president of SSOE Gateway in Sarasota, Fla., An engineering and construction company that is helping to bring the valve to market. The pressure changes in the urban water supply system are fixed, so there has been a problem with the effectiveness of automatic systems for disinfection and cleaning. If the pressure drop falls below a preset value, the regulator will automatically shut off, preventing the CIP system from continuing to produce a cycle under non-optimized conditions. Richardson said: "The agricultural knapsack sprayer is the largest application market for constant flow valves, but developers are looking to expand into the food and pharmaceutical sectors." As an engineer, I personally think that there is a vast potential market for constant flow valves. Engineers always wanted to limit the use of the valve, but because it had a pre-set pressure, it became a tamper-proof valve. "The initial application of a constant-flow valve in the beverage industry may have to be a matter of beverage modulation. The beverage retailer has been notorious for changing the ratio of syrup / carbonated water in dispensers, and producers hate it. The SSOE Gateway had to make a stainless steel valve before the food manufacturer considered using the valve on the pouring machine and other processing equipment. Richardson explains: "There are no health problems in the current design, but because of the food industry's relevance to food hygiene, manufacturers need to use stainless steel bodies." The dairy industry has traditionally been a pump, valve manufacturer's traditional market where any pump, valve The beginning of the product development should first consider the health design. Bruce Smith, North American sales manager for Fristam Pumps pumping from Middleton, Wisconsin, said: "Centrifugal pumps have become more robust, demanding tolerances and component stress analysis, pumping more efficiently and machine processing longer. "Axis deformation caused by the impact of moving parts stationary components, which is the main reason for centrifugal pump failure. Pump manufacturers are trying to solve this problem. Smith added that the liquid ring pump is entering the food industry as an alternative to standard centrifugal pumps. Although this purge pump has only 25 years of history, pharmaceutical companies have begun to use it and have redesigned it to expand its application. Liquid ring pumps are especially suitable for pumping entrained air fresheners such as cream on the way of delivery. The liquid ring pump can thoroughly purge the fluid in the tank. The advantages of this raw material saving are very attractive to ice cream makers and liquid egg processors. Russell Jones, pump business development manager at Alfa Laval in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., Notes that the application of computer fluid dynamics (CFD) software speeds up pump improvements. "From a research and development standpoint, CFD has greatly boosted design optimization and pump efficiency." In recent years, CFD software has increased pump efficiency from 40% to 60% to 70%. Many companies offer off-the-shelf CFD software, such as AEA Technology Engineering Software in Waterloo, Ontario. The company recently introduced an upgraded version of CFX-TASCflow for pump cavitation. Jones said cavitation is the primary cause of pump failure. Alfa Laval uses CFD software primarily in the pump hydraulic flow and turbomachinery impeller design, with the result that the centrifugal pump generates less shear force and can perform the pumping tasks of previous positive displacement pumps. Under the influence of centrifugal pumps, positive displacement pumps have had to be redesigned to improve performance to match their high prices. The geometry of the stator has been greatly improved to handle viscous materials containing fragile ingredients such as roasted beans and yogurt with fruit. But the biggest technological advancement is CIP-compatible positive displacement pumps. Jones said: "This is a big leap forward in the industry, it's a very sophisticated piece of equipment with an accuracy of one-thousandth of an inch.Do not send a team of unskilled cleaners to disassemble and clean the pump to prevent it from being pumped Damaged. "The short period of time for automatic cleaning and downtime has been a major advantage of anti-mix valves. Thanks to the broadening of licensing conditions by formulators, more dairy processors can avail themselves of this technology. Mark Ream, business development manager at Alfa Laval, said: "Anti-mix technology has been around for a while, but being accepted by the PMO is only a matter of the near future." Alfa Laval added anti-mix technology to the company's pump and valve portfolio Hybrid technology Tri-Clover models. Alfa Laval has developed a series of washable pumps and valves to accommodate the wide range of fluids from milk to viscous products. The company's spiral cleaning technology cleans the inside of the valve and the clogged area, representing the company's proven and reliable CIP technology.