A sweet solution
8 Oct 2013
New pumps installed at a Bonn factory are said to be highly suitable for viscous substances such as hazelnut spread.
The Kessko factory in Bonn, Germany is using four MasoSine SPS series pumps to help deliver high quality products to customers in the bakery, confectionery, ice cream, biscuit and soft drink trades.
The SPS pumps, supplied by Watson-Marlow Pumps Group, can transfer up to two tonnes of hazelnut spread containing soft solids every 60 minutes.
Inside the production hall the exact weight of 12.5kg of hazelnut spread per container is entered into the filling system. The sweet chocolate and hazelnut mixture is pumped into the containers with the help of a MasoSine SPS pump operated by foot pedal.
“We fill 160 containers in this process every hour which is the equivalent of two tonnes of hazelnut spread,” says technical manager Reiner Liffmann.”
With their powerful suction, the MasoSine SPS pumps are said to be highly suitable for viscous substances such as the chocolate spread being handled at Kessko.
They provide a gentle, virtually pulsation-free pumping operation which is claimed to set them apart from other positive displacement models such as gear pumps.
The sinusoidal design of the rotor creates four chambers in which the spread is pumped from the inlet port to the higher-pressure discharge port.
The rotor, unlike on rotary lobe pumps with multiple shafts, is powered by a motor via just one shaft.
The scraper gate prevents any liquid from flowing back from the discharge side to the lower-pressure suction side of the pump.
Since the chamber volume does not change, the system is said to be particularly suitable for pumping liquids containing soft solids or viscous media.
A heated jacket for the housing is used for this type of application, while other pumped liquids require a cooling jacket to keep the product temperature constant.
Cleaning of the SPS pump is designed to be a straightforward process, with the pump being stripped down in 10 minutes. Once the pumphead front cover has been taken off, all relevant internal parts can be removed for cleaning without the need for tools.
The SPS pumps are also suitable for Clean in Place (CIP) and Sterilising in Place (SIP) cleaning processes.
“Our four MasoSine SPS pumps are good, fast and extremely reliable,” says Mr Liffmann.
Vacuum packed
Rotary vane vacuum pumps are said to offer increased energy efficiency with reduced power requirements.
The oil lubricated rotary vane vacuum pump from Busch is used extensively in the food processing and packaging sector. This operates via an eccentrically installed rotor which rotates inside the cylinder. Centrifugal forces throw the moveable vanes towards the cylinder wall and separate the sickle-shaped space into chambers. When the chambers are connected with the inlet channel, gas is sucked in and compressed during the rotation and then forced into the oil separator. Differential pressure constantly causes the oil to be pulled into the pump cylinder and then the oil, along with the process medium, are discharged into the separator box. The oil and exhaust air are separated by filters and gravity. The latest models of rotary vane vacuum pump, such as the Busch R 5 0155 A, are said to offer increased energy efficiency with reduced power requirements and optimised pumping speeds at low end pressures, enabling faster pump-down times and shorter process cycles. Rotary vane pumps are suitable for continuous operation when pumping large air volumes and working at ultimate pressure. Also available are dry-running, rotary claw vacuum pumps which feature shaft-mounted asymmetric rotors shaped like a claw. In the case of the Busch Mink these claws rotate in opposite directions within a chamber and are synchronised by gears. The geometric design of the claws causes air to be sucked into the chamber as they constantly rotate, compressed within the housing of the pump and then discharged under pressure. A key advantage is the non-contact design of the rotors, resulting in virtually no wear and requiring minimal maintenance. Another increasingly popular technique is the screw vacuum pump. With the Busch design, two variable pitch screws rotate inside a cylindrical chamber. The screw design draws gas into the pump and compresses the gas within the length of the screw and then the gas discharges into the pump silencer. There is no contact between the screw rotors and therefore no lubrication is required. This technology is used in tough industrial environments including furnaces, heat treatment, metallurgy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
