Solar for Industrial Process Heating in Food Processing Industry
There are several applications that require thermal energy in the food processing industry including processing on fruit/water contained vegetables (pulp/ketchup, etc), drying of different fruits/vegetables for long life and frying of different edible items for packed foods and pasteurization of products for Germ killing.
Processing on fruits/water contained vegetables (pulp / ketchup etc.)
The typical processes that take place for packed pulp products include the washing of the fruits followed by crushing and pulping before filtering out the residue. During this process, steam is passed for heating which is immediately followed by cooling. This is followed by the pasteurization and finally evaporated. Evaporation generally takes place in vacuum pans which are steam jacketed. This is followed by Packaging.
During this process, the pasteurization of pulps takes place with the help of steam heating. Evaporation takes place in the vacuum pans so as to maintain the aroma of the fruit/vegetable. The pulp/ketchup is stirred inside steam jacketed vacuum pan. Generally, the steam is required in the range of 5-7 bar for the above processes. This steam can be easily delivered using Solar thermal systems.
Drying of different fruits/vegetables for long life and frying of different edible items for packed foods
Different fruits and vegetables are dried for different applications mainly to remove the water content in them. This process increases the shelf life of the product. Many times vegetables are dried to convert them into the powder form. The process of drying can be done by various methods. Passing hot air over these products is the most popular method. Drying of fruits/vegetables with the help of solar heat is the oldest method of all. With modern solar hot air generation systems, temperatures of 110-200°C can be achieved, which can boost the rate of drying to a great extent.
Packed food is often fried using a wood-fired boiler. The recent trend in this industry is frying using thermic oil system. Frying requires thermic oil at temperatures above 200°C. CLIMATENZA concentrated solar thermal (CST) system can be used to provide hot fluid and steam for solar cooking applications.
Pasteurization of Products for germ killing
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Many dairy products or other easily perishable products are pasteurized by heating and cooling them immediately one after another. This helps to give the germs a thermal shock and increase the life of the product. The heating of the product is generally carried out using steam of around 6 bar. This steam can be generated with the help of concentrated solar thermal solar system like CLIMATENZA's Solar Boiler / concentrated solar thermal system.
