Plate Heat Exchangers

Enhanced Heat Transfer Efficiency:

Plate Heat Exchangers utilize corrugated plates with large surface areas to facilitate efficient heat transfer between two fluid streams. The turbulent flow created by the plates ensures optimal heat exchange, allowing for precise temperature control. This results in faster heating and cooling times, reducing processing cycles and increasing production throughput. Improved efficiency also translates to energy savings, making PHEs a cost-effective solution for food and beverage processors.

Compact Design and Space Optimization:

Compared to traditional heat exchangers, Plate Heat Exchangers have a compact footprint. Their efficient use of space allows for greater flexibility in plant layout and optimal utilization of available floor space. This is particularly beneficial for food and beverage manufacturers operating in space-constrained environments. The compact design also simplifies installation and maintenance, reducing downtime and improving overall operational efficiency.

Flexible and Versatile Applications:

Plate Heat Exchangers are highly versatile and can be used for various applications in the food and beverage industry. From pasteurization and sterilization to cooling and heating processes, PHEs excel in delivering precise temperature control across a wide range of food and beverage products. They can handle different viscosities and can be easily adapted to suit specific process requirements, ensuring consistency and quality throughout production.

Hygienic and Sanitary Design:

Maintaining the highest standards of hygiene is paramount in the food and beverage industry. Plate Heat Exchangers are designed with sanitary requirements in mind, featuring smooth plate surfaces that are easy to clean and sterilize. By disassembling,  plate design allows for thorough cleaning, reducing the risk of contamination and ensuring food safety compliance. This design feature also facilitates regular maintenance and inspection, contributing to overall plant hygiene and product integrity.

Reduced Cross-Contamination Risk:

In food and beverage processing, preventing cross-contamination is essential to ensure product quality and safety. Plate Heat Exchangers are designed to minimize the risk of cross-contamination by providing efficient separation between the two fluid streams. The use of gaskets and proper sealing ensures there is no mixing or transfer of unwanted substances, protecting the integrity of the product and maintaining strict quality control standards.

With their compact design, precise temperature control, and hygienic features, PHEs contribute to improved productivity, reduced energy consumption, and consistent product quality. By adopting Plate Heat Exchangers in food and beverage processing, manufacturers can optimize their operations, meet stringent sanitary standards, and deliver high-quality products to consumers.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

The Perfect Temperature, Every Time

Are you looking for an efficient and cost-effective method for heating water?  Whether a central hot water system, a hose station, a tank or a CIP system, the right heat exchanger can provide on-demand hot water at a precise temperature with no energy loss and within a small footprint.

Hydro-Thermal’s EZ heater systems use Direct Steam Injection (DSI) heat

 exchangers for perfect water temperature control.  DSI heat exchangers are essentially 100% efficient, delivering up to 25% energy savings and achieving a rapid ROI.  They are easy to install and are simple to operate. Hydro-Thermal heaters have a strong reputation for best-in-class reliability and minimal unplanned maintenance.  The EZ Heater can maintain +/- 1F precision, enabling consistent process temperatures and production capabilities. This gives you efficient and cost effective heat control from your heat exchanger and the perfect water temperature.

How Does It Work?  

Internal Modulation
This unique patented design assures precise steam control and produces predictable results based on the position of the stem plug. A variable-area steam nozzle meters steam flow at the point where steam and liquid first contact and mix. This technique eliminates the need for an external steam control valve and provide efficient heating control to your process.

Choked Flow

Choked flow is the phenomenon of accelerating a vapor to maximum velocity by creating a pressure differential through an engineered nozzle. Establishing choked flow precisely controls the heating of the liquid by metering the steam flow. Because of this metered flow, your steam is used efficiently; providing effective heat control to your water.

SPECIFICATIONS

» Pressure and Temperature Rating: 195 psig @ 400°F
» Material: Cast 316 stainless steel [A351-CF8M] » Internal Wetted Parts: 316/316L Stainless Steel
» Connections: H310, H320: NPT; H330, H340, H360: Flanged, ANSI Class 150#
» Compliances: Designed to ASME Sec. VIII, Div.1, CE/PED and CRN available upon request

You can also visit Hydro-Thermal’s website: https://www.hydro-thermal.com/ 

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

An Overview of Sanitary Fittings

A lot goes into creating and maintaining a sanitary process, regardless of whether you are in food, beverage or pharmaceutical manufacturing.  The requirements to meet 3A, FDA and other sanitary guidelines are especially demanding.  Everything that the product touches, from pumps to tanks to piping, it is engineered to eliminate crevices that can create and harbor bacteria. Let’s tip our hat to the sanitary fitting, that is definetely one of the most useful pieces of equipment in your plant.

Sanitary Fittings 

A sanitary fitting connects different sections of your process – piping to pumps to heat exchangers and lastly to tanks.  A sanitary fitting is 2 ferrules, a gasket and a tri-clamp to hold them together. 

 A groove on the face of the ferrule provides a seat for the gasket.  The clamp provides the mechanical force to compress the gasket between the 2 ferrules.  Our hand tightens the clamp and we use torque tools to ensure a constant amount of force and eliminate over-tightening. 

 In sanitary processing, these fittings are more popular because they are easy to assemble, extremely easy to clean, leak-free and, when assembled correctly, have no small nooks or crannies to harbor bacteria.

The clamped union is the critical element for evaluating pipe pressure capacity.  Be certain your pressure ratings are for the union – not just the clamp.

Clamp Fittings 

Clamp style fittings are most popular because they offer easy assembly and breakdown of process lines and equipment.  They are available in 304 and 316L stainless steel in sizes ½” through 12”.

Weld Fittings 

Weld fittings is what we use are on permanent installations where process piping and equipment can be cleaned in place (CIP) and removal of the system components is not required.  We offer weld fittings in nominal tube sizes from ½” through 8” in both 304 and 316L stainless steel. Uniform wall thickness for ½” through 3” sizes measures 0.065.  In 4” size, wall thickness measures 0.083.  In both 6” and 8” sizes, wall thickness measures 0.109. It meets all 3A requirements. 

Bevel Seat Fittings 

We use bevel seat fittings on process equipment and piping to ensure rigidity of the system which is extremely important. Bevel seat unions consist of a threaded bevel ferrule mated with a plain bevel ferrule. We offer both in 304 or 316L stainless steel.  Bevel seat fittings meet all 3A requirements and are available in 1” through 4” sizes.

Gasket Selections

An again, 2 ferrules, a gasket and a clamp make up the tri-clamp fittings. Gasket selection is key to ensuring a leakproof connection.  The most common gasket materials are:

  • BUNA – nitrile rubber (NBR); a copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile
  • EPDM – ethylene propylene diene rubber
  • FPM – flourinated propylene monomer, commonly sold under the trade name Viton®
  • PTFE – polytetrafluoroethylene elastomer, commonly sold under the trade name Teflon®

For additional information on gaskets, check out our Elastomer Compability Guide and our Basic Elastomer Characteristics Guide.

Before tightening the clamp, make sure the gasket is seated properly into the seats of both ferrules.  Misalignment of the gasket is one of the main causes of leaks in tri-clamp fittings.

Check out our White Paper – An Overview of Sanitary Fittings – for more information or visit one of the links below.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Solving Separation Anxiety with Systems Controls

One would expect a systems control integrator to understand equipment controls.  But what happens when your controls integrator also understands the process?

You get an improved production process, reduced maintenance, and more productivity!

Separator with Systems Controls 

A beverage producer in SC uses a separator as part of a hot tea fill process.  The original separator program forced the bowl to spin down when flow was not detected after several minutes.  The customer deemed that the time to spin down and then speed back up to processing speed was too long. He was losing too much production time.

The original integrator who installed the hot fill line changed the separator controls which allowed the separator to spin. Even when tea was not flowing, the separator would spin.  Because of the continuous spin of the bowl it created excessive heat, leading to a breakdown of the bowl gaskets. The gasket wear created a flow path around the seals to the solids discharge port on the separator.     

The customer then contacted M.G. Newell for help.  Our Newell Automation engineer installed a flow switch and timer on the outlet of the pump feeding the separator and then added a water circuit that allowed water to flow through the separator and to the drain.  He also programmed the system to allow automated butterfly valves to open when tea flow was not detected for the timer set point.  The water would flow to the separator inlet, through the separator and then dump to drain until the flow requirement was met.

After three months, the life of the bowl gaskets has increased 4-fold. The plant no longer has unplanned downtime due to gasket failure.  This has resulted in increased productivity and reduced maintenance costs.

Our Newell Automation team has a goal to understand the purpose behind the process.  They work with our process engineers to troubleshoot and streamline the process.  Contact one of our associates today to see how We Make It Work Better.           

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Gama Jet

Optimized tank cleaning is an opportunity for significant savings, although often overlooked.  

By optimizing your tank cleaning, you can:

  • Decrease cleaning times by 70%
  • Reduce water and chemical usage by 70-80%
  • Reduce or eliminate confined space entry by 100%
  • Achieve cleaning effectiveness of 100%

Remember, its not just safer and cleaner tanks you are offering – you are giving them more time, and time is money!

Justify their purchase

Static Spray Ball

Easy to cleaning application, such as :

–Water tanks
–CIP tanks

Operating pressure :

30-43 PSI (2-3 bar)

Tank sizes : 
50-2.500 gallons

Rotary Spray Head

Easy-difficult to cleaning application, such as :

–Syrup tanks
–Milk tanks

Operating pressure :

30-43 PSI (2-3 bar)

Tank sizes :

50-10.000 gallons

Rotary Jet Head

Difficult to very difficult to cleaning application, such as :

–Syrup tanks
–Tanks with complicated structure

Operating pressure :

72-116 PSI (5-8 bar)

Tank sizes :
5.000-40.000+ gallons

Static Spray Ball

Consumption of water/chemical: 
High water / chemical consumption used, due to low cleaning efficiency
 
Cleaning efficiency:
Low cleaning efficiency, cleans in spot only and cascading water
 
Cleaning time: 
Long cleaning time = less production time

Rotary Spray Head

Consumption of water/chemical: 
Medium consumption
−30-40% less compared to a traditional spray ball
Cleaning efficiency: Medium cleaning efficiency
−10 times more wall shear stress compared to spray ball
Cleaning time: Medium
−Up to 30% reduced cleaning time compared to spray ball

Rotary Jet Head

Consumption of water/chemical: 
Low consumption
−70% less compared to a traditional spray ball
−20-30% less compared to a rotary spray head 
Cleaning efficiency :
− High cleaning efficient, high impact tank cleaning.
− 100 times more wall shear
 stress compared to traditional spray ball
Cleaning time : Fast cleaning = more production time
−50-70% faster cleaning compared to traditional spray ball

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Carlton Scale

Attached pipes are the crucial difference between tank scales and other industrial scales such as platforms. As a tank scale is loaded, it deflects downwards pulling with it the attached pipes which apply an increasing upward force. This reduces the amount of weight registered by the load cells effectively reducing the sensitivity of the scale. Metrology can be seriously impacted if the scale is not designed and calibrated correctly.

Ideally, calibration is done by applying test weights which exercise the scale support-structure and piping, thus simulating normal scale operation exactly.

This exposes the piping effect on scale sensitivity allowing it to be accounted for in the calibration process, something that cannot be achieved with any form of electrical or theoretical calibration. However, test-weight calibration can be difficult and time-consuming. Additionally, test weights are expensive and may not be available, especially for higher-capacity scales.

One to four RapidCal modules can be used, depending on the scale arrangement. They attach between anchor points on the scale and on the foundation directly below, using special hardware and threaded rod to adjust length. A hand-operated pump causes the hydraulic cylinders to retract, thus applying the downward force to the tank via the reference load cells. These load cells are connected to a separate terminal which monitors the process and provides the total load applied for calibration and/or adjustment.

The RapidCal method uses tension hydraulic cylinders to create the downward force that is measured by reference load cells. The equipment is modular; one to four calibration modules can be used depending on tank design and capacity. 

There are three main steps during design and installation: 

1. Select the number and capacity of the RapidCal modules to be used. 

2. Select the type and placement of T-anchor points on the tank.  

3. Select the type and placement of B-anchor points on the floor/base.

General Considerations 

  • Forces on anchor points.
  • Lugs used also for lifting.
  • Do not interfere with the scale’s weigh modules.
  • Symmetrical placement of anchor points.
  • Vertical alignment of anchor points.
  • Calibration of tanks on a deflecting structure.

Why a Service Program Matters 

  • Reducing Downtime.
  • Regulating Maintenance Budgets. 
  • Extending the Lifetime of Your Weighing Equipment.

Is it Necessary to Partner with My Equipment Manufacturer? 

• Expert service engineers trained and equipped by the manufacturer.
• Factory-designed service procedures.
• Spare parts that meet manufacturer specifications and third-party approvals.
• Fast turnaround times due to easy access to parts and support.

How Do I Benefit from Setup and Configuration Services? 

• Setup of weighing parameters to meet process and compliance requirements.
• Interfacing to data acquisition and automation systems.
• Tailoring of workflows to maximize operator productivity.
• Configuring of input and output behavior.
• Documentation of installation activities and initial performance.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Magnetic Flowmeters 101

Flowmeters 101 

Magnetic Flowmeters – How They Work 

Flowmeters play a vital role in sanitary processing.  They are used to measure incoming raw materials, incoming water supply, CIP solutions, ingredients in your formulation, final product production and even waste water leaving the plant.  Considering their use in critical applications, ensuring that you are using the right type of meter with the correct level of accuracy for your application can be the difference in the quality of your product and save you thousands of dollars in lost revenue or profit.

Magnetic Flowmeters

Magnetic flowmeters (or mag meters) use Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction to determine the flow of liquid through a pipe.  This type of flowmeter works by generating a magnetic field and channeling that through the liquid in the pipe.  Faraday’s Law states that flow of a conductive liquid through the magnetic field can cause a voltage signal that electrodes are sensing on the tube walls.   When the fluid is moving faster, more voltage is generating.  The voltage generated is proportional to the movement of the liquid.  Transmitters process the voltage signal to determine liquid flow.
The signals produced by the voltage are linear with the flow.  With this, the turndown ratio is very good without sacrificing accuracy.

Pros and Cons

Since these flowmeters measure conductivity, obviously the fluids measured need to be conductive – water, acids and bases.   Low conductive liquids, such as deionized water or gases, can cause the flowmeter to turn off and/or measure zero flow.  There is no obstruction in the path of the liquid, therefore no induced pressure drop across the meter.  One other benefit of mag meters is that they are able to use gravity-fed liquids.  With gravity-fed liquids, the flowmeter orientation is vertical so that the flowmeter is completely filled with liquid.  These flow meters are sensitive to air bubbles because the meter cannot distinguish entrapped air from the liquid.  Air bubbles will cause the meter to read high.

We choose mag meters because they have no obstructions, are cost-effective and provide highly accurate volumetric flow.  Additionally, they can handle flow in either direction and are effective at low and high volume rates.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Graco EODD Pump

A Massive Leap Forward in EODD Pump Technology

GRACO EODD PUMP
  • Quieter operation and smaller footprint enable easier installation and service—the design can pay for itself in energy savings in under a year
  • Efficient, affordable drop-in replacement to reduce energy costs up to 80% being competitively priced vs. AODD pump technologies
  • Only electric diaphragm pump that stalls under pressure, eliminating the need for pressure sensors and additional controls to prevent pump failures and reduce downtime
  • Integrated I/O allows for remote operation and speed control to minimize operator oversight
  • Smart control technology adjusts pump speed to aid in priming or prevent dry running cavitation that damages pumps
  • Plug-and-play installation for fast, easy and affordable transfer operations upgrades
  • Delivers clear advantages over other pumps, including centrifugal, lobe, gear, progressive, peristaltic and piston/ plunger technologies
Other Electric Pumps

• Are expensive
• Require a VFD
• Have flow and pressure limitations
• Are not as efficient as QUANTM
• Have a large footprint

QUANTM – Graco EODD Pumps 

Use up to 8X less energy than AODD 

The Economic Case for Energy Savings & Sustainability

• Consumers are purchasing from suppliers that show a real commitment to sustainability.
• Investors are more selective than ever about what brands they support, often based on factors like their sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
• Regulators provide a bevy of incentives like tax credits to manufacturers in exchange for sustainability bona fides, like reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions.
• Governments are investing significantly in solutions that help them meet global sustainability benchmarks

  • Talk to your energy provider.
  • Determine how much compressed air is costing you.
  • Find out what incentives you qualify for.
  • Decreased energy use.
  • Less use of compressed air.
  • Quick installation for less downtime.
  • Less specialized training & manpower required.
  • Up to 80% less energy use than AODD.
  • Plug-and-play into any 110V-240V outlet.
  • Initial Cost Comparable with AODD.
  • ROI: 1 year.
  • Establish baselines. Know how much energy you use today,
    even if it’s just a ballpark.
  • Invest in efficient equipment and practices. From pumps to
    lighting, the electric technologies outlined in this e-book are
    great places to start outfitting your facility for the sustainability focused future.
  • Collect and interpret data. If you’re replacing equipment, know how much energy and money it’s saving you. It’ll show you where your investments are having the most impact and identify more areas of opportunity.
  • Set specific goals. Once you start saving, don’t rest on your laurels. Using the information you collect, set milestones for your company to hit next, like kWh caps and recycling volume.

The recent development of our electric-operated double diaphragm (EODD) pump allows us to bring cost-saving ideas to manufacturers of all sizes.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Electropolishing vs. Passivation

Electropolishing vs. Passivation

Addressing Common Misconceptions 

One of the most frequently asked questions online, “Which is better, passivation or electropolishing?” is driven by a misunderstanding of the two processes and the different roles they play. In fact, the two processes are frequently complementary and doing one without the other can result in an unreliable system requiring constant maintenance.

For some applications, treating stainless steel with both electropolishing and passivation may be necessary to maximize the metal’s resistance to corrosion and meet specific standards. Two major industry standards with stringent surface chemistry requirements that may necessitate both treatments are: SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) standard, which is widely used in the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing industries.

What is Electropolishing? Superior Finish and Performance

What is Passivation? Enhancing Corrosion Resistance

Identifying and Addressing Contamination or Corrosion

Electropolishing utilizes a combination of electricity and chemistry to smooth the metal’s surface by removing the metal from the peaks of any raised surfaces on a microscopic level.

The metal removal rate is controlled by the electrical settings of the electropolishing equipment, the process is repeatable for a given alloy, electrolyte concentration and conductivity, and current density combination.

A well-electropolished surface significantly reduces locations where contamination can become caught on the surface and become a point where corrosion will flourish.

Passivation, on the other hand, is a chemical treatment to enhance stainless steel’s natural passive layer which protects the underlying metal from corrosion.

The passivation chemistry removes free iron or other metallic impurities on the surface which would become a source of corrosion.

The result is a contaminant-free, chromium-rich oxide layer that is chemically inactive, or “passive.”

Early warning signs of contamination or corrosion are typically found during the regular quality control sampling and inspection of a system and, depending on the situation, can be addressed by remediation, cleaning and a passivation treatment.

However, in situations where the symptoms are missed, or not addressed, both metallic and biologic surface contamination can result in accelerated corrosion through the underlying metal. In the most serious cases, the part fails and will have to be replaced. It goes without saying that any product that has passed through this system risks being seriously compromised.

Even if the situation is caught before failure, the pitting that occurs due to corrosion will need to be repaired. This will involve mechanical polishing, followed by electropolishing and then passivation of the affected area to bring it up to the same level of protection and cleanliness as the rest of the system.

Routine Maintenance and Preventative Measures

In most cases, electropolishing will need to be performed only once and then passivated as part of commissioning a system. The result is a smooth surface, meeting the surface roughness requirement of the system, presenting fewer opportunities for internal corrosion or contamination to spread through the system to other locations, or into the product itself.

By including passivation as part of a maintenance plan, plant owners can be proactive in preventing corrosion or other contamination buildup. This decreases the likelihood of
unscheduled remediation services and aids in the longevity of the system itself.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.

Cabinet Washers

Reliable, Consistent Cleaning for your COP parts

Food and beverage manufacturers have a significant number of parts that need to be cleaned daily; each with specific needs due to varying soil levels, manufacturing processes and soil properties. And, of course, everything needs to be cleaned quickly to keep production moving. That is where cabinet washers come into play.

Sani-Matic Cabinet-Washers

The automated Sani-Matic cabinet washers design and manufacture purpose is to address these challenges efficiently and effectively, while lowering long-term operating expenses.

Therefore each cabinet washer comes with an exclusively-designed sanitary spray assemblies that distribute cleaning solution evenly throughout the washer.

The cabinet washer’s spray arms and oscillating high-impact manifolds effectively remove difficult residues from interior and exterior product contact surfaces, while the PLC controls the cleaning cycle to ensure a repeatable and documentable process.

A complete clean, every time! That’s Cleaning Confidence!

Easy-to-Specify

The SaniCab P Series Configured Design Offering is model key driven and accompanied by a detailed Technical Datasheet for easy specification. Also if your process requires a system outside of the pre-engineering offering, Alternative Design Requests are met with a custom-engineered solution.

Sanitary Racks Designed and Optimized for Your Process

Each food and beverage manufacturer has different process soils to remove and parts to clean.

Sani-Matic’s engineers have designed Standard Racks for common clean-out-of-place process parts such as scale buckets or weigh hoppers, 3- and 5-gallon buckets, pallets, totes, trays, and buggies.

However, they also design Custom Racks following three design tiers: Customization – Standard Rack, Custom Rack, and Custom Active Rack.

The details for the General, Standard, and Custom Racks will be in the SaniCab P Series Technical Datasheet.

Why Sani-Matic Racks and Transfer Carts?

  • More Clean with One Machine. With multiple racks, operators can clean diverse process parts with one capital equipment investment.
  • Efficient. Racks design is for optimized load capacity and intuitive part placement.
  • Safe Transport. Transfer carts assist operators with easy and safe process part handling.
  • Sanitary Design. The transfer cart has an open channel design to prevent harboring bacteria. It remains outside of the washer to prevent the floor’s bacteria from entering the washer.

The Scale Bucket-Piston Filler-Tray-Pallet-Bucket-Barrel-Hose-and More Washer

The Sani-Matic SaniCab P Series is an automated, versatile cabinet washer designed to improve food and beverage processors’ productivity and cleaning results for a wide variety of product contact items. These items include scale buckets or weigh hoppers, totes, barrels, piston fillers, trays, buckets, hoses, buggies, and more.

Increased Productivity and Repeatable Cleaning Results

Food and beverage manufacturers face ongoing pressure to increase productivity while also meeting the sanitation preventive controls demands of FSMA and HACCP. With SaniCabs cabinet washer’s cleaning cycles as short as 10 minutes, and therefore racks designed to optimize productivity, a sanitary design, and documentation capabilities, manufacturers can achieve both.

For more information, visit our website:  www.mgnewell.com and www.newellautomation.com.