What does the compressed air and nitrogen system for food and beverage plants look like?
A compressed air and nitrogen generation system for a food and beverage plant starts with the compressor. This system typically features an oil-free compressor that meets the Class 0 oil-free air for critical applications in the food and beverage industry. Atlas Copco’s oil-free compressors, such as the Z and AQ ranges, ensure certified Class 0 oil-free air according to ISO 8573-1 (2010), the ideal solution for these sensitive applications.
Oil-injected compressors, coupled with a refrigerant dryer and proper air treatment and filtration will provide general plant air for service air in applications, such as packaging.
Atlas Copco’s GA and G series paired with the FD VSD refrigerant dryers and compressed air filters are ideal for supplying general plant air.
To ensure maximum efficiency, you should always consider using a compressor with variable speed drive (VSD), which will greatly reduce your energy costs and your total cost of ownership.
For pneumatic conveying and wastewater treatment applications, Atlas Copco offers low-pressure blowers and compressors, such as the Atlas Copco ZE/ZA and ZS ranges.
Especially for the wastewater treatment in food and beverage industry, we offer a wide array of blower technologies—all developed in-house. These include low-pressure blowers, screw compressors, high-speed turbo options, multistage turbo variants, and geared turbo solutions. This expansive portfolio enables us to not only meet but exceed the diverse needs of our customers.
Our expertise extends beyond technologies to partnering with you to choose the ideal solution, based on a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) mindset. Our team is committed to facilitating informed decisions that optimize operational efficiency and long-term cost-effectiveness.
Whenever you buy any piece of equipment, different costs are associated with it over its lifetime. There is the purchase price, maintenance costs and the money you have to spend operating it.
When you put all of these factors together, you get the “total cost of ownership” (TCO).
And there may not be another piece of industrial machinery where this total cost of ownership is more important than in the case of compressors.
The reason is that, as opposed to other machines, the initial cost of a compressor only makes up a tiny part of its total cost of ownership. Once you break it all down, that investment can constitute as little as 10% of TCO. Then you’ll spend another 10% on maintenance and upkeep. However, the bulk of the money you will spend on operating your compressor, up to 80%, will go towards energy costs.
Therefore, when considering which model to buy, it would be a costly mistake to only look at the price tag of the unit itself. Because the cheapest compressor you find might end up costing you the most in the long run.
And, conversely, a more expensive unit, for example a state-of-the-art machine with variable speed drive, will end up costing you much less because you can cut your energy consumption and expenses significantly.
That is why you should talk to your compressed air partner about TCO and why it should be one of the most important factors in your buying decision.
For compressed gas generation, reciprocating gas compressors, like the Atlas Copco HX & HN are tailored to industrial gases, power generation, and chemical applications. High-pressure CO2 compressors offer a reliable supply of CO2.
For on-site nitrogen generation, the Atlas Copco NGM+ 7-70 membrane generators provide the lowest cost of ownership to generate your own supply of nitrogen. The high-pressure nitrogen skid package is a plug-and-play system that provides autonomy in generating your gas supply while ensuring high-pressure nitrogen generation.
Next up in your compressed air system should be a top-quality dryer. The dryer will remove the moisture from the air to ensure that it does not harm your end-product or any of your equipment.
Compressed air coming into direct contact with food and beverage should meet or exceed the ISO 8573-1 (2010) class 0 as the standard.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is widely used in the food and beverage industry for various applications. Here are some of the most common applications:
Packaging of various products in a mixture with nitrogen to slow down oxidation of the food and control the pH to preserve food. However, due to absorption, it is mixed with nitrogen to prevent the packaging from collapsing.
Packaging of hard cheese and yogurt in pure form.
Carbonation of fizzy drinks like water, soft drink, and beer.
Sterilization of products like rice or grain.
Transportation of food (e.g., fresh meat that is cut and processed) at low temperatures to preserve its best qualities. Typically, dry ice (i.e. frozen CO2) is used as it is at very low temperatures (-78.5°C) and it leaves no traces when it evaporates.
Bioethanol production in the fermentation process to recover rice CO2 gas with high purity of >98% and make the sugar industry more sustainable in its operations.
Alcoholic fermentation in distilleries and wineries to recover CO2 formation with high purity of 96-98% CO2, complementing the complete value chain.
Atlas Copco offers piston, screw, and centrifugal compressors to bring CO2 to liquefaction or supercritical pressure, as well as various dryer technologies to reach the application-required dew points.
Atlas Copco’s MDG, MD, and ND rotary drum dryers and BD+ CD+ XD+ twin tower desiccant air dryers are designed for oil-free air applications for a continuous supply of dry air. If your application requires Class 1-2-2, the class 2 for moisture standard has a direct effect on your chosen air treatment tools.
For example, a refrigerant dryer will “only” achieve class 4 for moisture content. So if you want to reach class 2, you must choose a desiccant dryer.
In the realm of food and beverage manufacturing, maintaining precise temperatures is crucial to product quality. Temperature control plays a vital role in various processes, ensuring optimal conditions for the production of quality food items.Crash cooling: Swift and efficient cooling is essential in several food processing stages. For instance, cooling baked goods as they come out of ovens requires controlled air quality. Maintaining air purity during this process is critical to preserving the integrity and quality of the finished products.Fermentation: For food items that undergo fermentation, consistent temperatures are imperative for desired outcomes. Storage conditions, particularly for perishable items, demand specific temperature ranges to prevent spoilage and maintain freshness.Atlas Copco TCX chiller range is an effective all-in-one solution to maintain precise temperatures in various food production processes. These chillers are designed to ensure consistent and optimal cooling environments, supporting the production of high-quality food and beverage items.Selecting correctly sized chillers tailored to specific food and beverage production requirements is essential. Atlas Copco's experts can help you in determining the ideal chiller size.
In addition, you also need different filtration technologies. The type of filtration you need depends on the purpose for which you will use the compressed air.
For quality air, an activated carbon tower with Atlas Copco’s QDT filter is a great solution for removing any oil from your compressed air, while a UD+ oil coalescing filter can deal with oil aerosols, wet dust and droplets of water.
For pneumatic applications, you will need process filtration for applications that require sterile air. These include processes that come into direct contact with the product or where there is a risk of contact.
Atlas Copco offers a range of dedicated filtration solutions with stainless steel housing and specialized filtration media such as glass fiber and hydrophobic media.
Our portfolio also includes liquid process filtration solutions, for example for the treatment of bore hole or municipal water.
