Electricity, gas and water are all forms of motive power that are clean, metered and paid for. Steam and compressed air are the only power sources that are produced on a site. Often these are the most abused and expensive forms of power that are used within a factory. In food and beverage applications the compressed air quality is even more critical than many other compressed air applications.
Food grade compressed air is defined within specification ISO 8573 and in simple terms the required Compressed Air quality id divided into 3 categories.
Contact
Compressed Air in direct contact with food, in this case the dew point should be ≤ -40 °C
Non Contact
Compressed Air not in direct contact with food, in this case the dew point should be ≤ 3°C
HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point)
Compressed Air being used in an area deemed to be high risk (as defined by a competent person)
In all cases the oil content must be ≤ 0.01 mg/m³. In the case of solids, ISO 8573 also defines the quantity and size of the solids. Within this definition are standards for microbiological contaminants.
Engineering staff recognize the need for high quality compressed air quality requirements for food quality applications; however, the correct equipment to meet and monitor the air quality to international standards from a single service provider often proves to be problematic.
For general No-contact air quality, e.g. compressed air at + 3º pressure dew points, the introduction of the new HX range of refrigeration air dryers from SPX Jemaco goes a long way in providing plant engineers with a range of refrigeration air dryers that is manufactured with a stainless steel heat exchanger as a standard, ideal for the food and beverage industry. The food and beverage industry automatically use stainless steel air piping systems, the HX series follows this lead and is equipped with a 304 grade stainless heat exchanger set. When supplied with oil free compressed air and the correct inline air filters, the compressed air quality will meet ISO 8573 2.4.0 specs from this package.
If the air supply is from a lubricated compressor, coalescing filters and activated carbon packs can provide compressed air to an ISO 8573 2.4.1 rating.
The HX series is a space-efficient air dryer that can be equipped with the latest SCM series 2 control panel providing operators with a wide range of operating information on the dryer’s performance and status along with an extensive data history.
For more demanding applications such as air in contact with food products, where low dew point air is specified the PSK (heatless) and HRE (heated) range of chemical air dryers will obtain dew points as low as minus 70 °C. Depending on the compressed air supply, they can provide air to meet ISO 8573 2.2.0.
These chemical type dryers manufactured to ASME standards and are compliant and rated to the latest South African SANS 347 codes.
Factory fitted options are available with Dew Point Demand Control that increases the cycling time of the dryer and reduces air purge wastage to very low levels, saving operator’s vast amounts of money in annual operating costs.
Artic Driers International the sole suppliers of the SPX Jemaco range of air treatment equipment and they are able to provide a wide range of services and products. These include;
- Sales and long-term hire of the refrigeration and chemical air dryers
- Air Quality Audits with pressure capacity ≥ 40 bar G
- Air and vacuum leak detection audits
- Air flow, pressure, dew point, power and velocity instrumentation, hire or outright purchase
- Air dryer after sales and service support including refurbishment programs for many brands and types of compressed air dryers
- Compressed air system design
- Pipe work design and installation
- Condensate management systems and drain solutions including “No Loss” capacitance condensate drains
- Noise suppression silencers and mufflers for chemical air dryers and pneumatic applications
Inadequate designs and selection of capital equipment inflict huge hidden costs on a company for the life of the installation. These costs easily add up to hundreds of thousands of Rand’s that are hidden from view and reduce company profits. These costs escalate with the cost of electrical energy every year. It pays to consult with a professional and competent supplier to ensure pitfalls are avoided at the design stage. For more information on the efficient design aspects of an air dryer and compressor station, contact Allen Cockfield at Artic Driers International Johannesburg. Artic founded 20 years ago, is a family-operated warehouse and owned compressed air treatment specialist company with a developed international supply chain with knowledge and expertise to support its products sold into Southern Africa. Operating from 500 m² ware house in Benoni, Gauteng they also the distributors for, Sepura oily water condensate separators as well as Allied Witan silencers and mufflers.