Condensing machine targeted at food industry
condensing machine, offering the food industry a cheaper method of
doing evaporation and condensation processes, the company claims.
The new machine, released this month, is being promoted as a more efficient and cheaper alternative to shell-and-tube heat exchangers and barometric condensers, currently used by the industry.
The AlfaCond 400 is a lower-capacity model of the AlfaCond, which the Sweden-based company describes as the world's first purpose-built plate condenser.
The AlfaCond condenses vapors underlow-pressure, high-vacuum conditions in evaporation and distillation systems.
The bigger model was built for distillation systems and the evaporation and crystallization processes used in larger capacity sweetener plants, sugar mills, starch and ethanol plants.
The smaller version has been designed directly for the food industry, which typically has smaller processes, Alfa Laval's marketing manager, Tomas Kovacs, told FoodProductionDaily.com.
It can beused for processes involving boiling, condensation and concentration of foods.
The AlfaCond 400 is about 20 per cent to 30 per cent cheaper than the current machines used by food processors.
It also has smaller space requirements and less weight leading to lower installationand maintenance costs, Kovacs said.
Due to its modular design, the condenser is also scalable to meet the size of the processing operation.
The AlfaCond 400 is based on the plate-and-frame heat exchanger concept, the company stated in a press release.
"It provides high thermal efficiency as a result of asymmetrical plate design with normal width channels on the water side and wide semi-welded channels on the vapour side,"the company stated.
"This creates high turbulence and velocity on the water side while maintaining low pressure on the vapour side."
The vapor inlet is designed for large amounts of low-pressure vapour with moderate velocity and low pressure drop.
"These features make the AlfaCond 400 the most cost-effective choice for most low-pressure condensation applications," the company stated.
External links to companies or organisations mentioned in this story: Alfa Laval
