Page 49 - Food and Drink Business Magazine May 2019

TECH ADVANCES FOR FOOD- WASTE BIOGAS ENERGY
A NEW biogas dehumidification system (BDS) from HRS Heat Exchangers removes water from biogas with technology that optimises anaerobic digestion (AD) plants ,which are fuelled with food waste.
The majority of Australia’s food waste AD plants produce electricity using combined heat and power (CHP) generation units. Removing water from biogas protects CHP engines from corrosion and cavitation.
The BDS comes with a heat recovery section, increasing the plant’s overall energy efficiency to maximise environmental and economic returns. Inefficient CHP engines can mean loss of revenue from electricity sales so heat recovery systems are critical, HRS says.
“The BDS reduces biogas temperatures from around 40oC to approximately 5-7oC,
condensing more than 90 per cent of the water volume,” HRS international sales and marketing director Matt Hale says.
“With a CHP engine being one of the most expensive pieces of equipment on a food waste AD plant, protecting it makes good business sense. By removing water from biogas before it enters a CHP engine, the BDS helps to extend an engine’s lifespan,” Hale says.
Suitable for anaerobic digestion plants of all sizes, the HRS BDS comes skid-mounted for easy access and freedom of movement, and features an automatic control panel for full process control.
✷ PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
PRODUCT NEWS
HEAT AND CONTROL INNOVATES ROASTING TECHNOLOGY
AUSSIE INNOVATION TO REDUCE INDUSTRY EMISSIONS
UNIVERSITY of South Australia researchers have developed a new technique that could reduce industry’s dependence on natural gas. The carbon-free solution for industrial heat applications combines renewable energy and low-cost thermal storage to deliver heat for high-temperature industrial processes.
The industrial sector is said to be the third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the world and it faces mounting pressure to reduce its carbon footprint. Research indicates around 20 per cent of global fossil fuel emissions are currently produced by industry, mainly
through burning natural gas to create heat. UniSA’s Barbara Hardy Institute researcher
Rhys Jacob said the system developed by his team uses renewable energy from solar or wind combined with a novel approach to energy storage to deliver industrial heat at temperatures between 150°C and 700°C.
“Rather than trying to store renewable electricity in a battery, our system uses electricity to generate heat and then stores that heat in a bed of rocks and phase change materials, so it can be available on demand for high temperature applications,” Jacob said.
GRAIN PROTECTION SOLUTION
A COMPRESSED air specialist has found a simple solution to grain waste through better grain protection in silos. BLUEprotect from Boge Compressed Air Systems is an environmentally-friendly container solution for grain silos, organic products and brewery suppliers.
Granary weevils, parasitic fungi, mice and rats are the cause of a large portion of silo-stored grain wastage worldwide. So-called breathing losses due to a lack of oxygen is another problem for the industry.
BLUEprotect uses nitrogen from ambient air via a compressor that produces compressed air close to the silo. The air reaches a membrane filter via a dryer and combined filter, which separates the nitrogen (N2) from the oxygen (O2) and feeds it into a silo. This replaces the oxygen so pests that threaten grain in silos cannot survive.
Boge says the nitrogen is completely harmless when it comes into contact with foodstuffs and after use, it is re-absorbed into the ambient air.
BLUEprotect is a viable pest control method when chemical agents are not permitted or desirable.
E: info@heatandcontrol.com P: 07 3877 6333
W: www.heatandcontrol.com
The Rotary Dryer Roaster (RDR) is the latest innovation in nut roasting technology from Heat and Control. It advances the company’s snack line capability and offers an end-to- end solution for snack food operators.
The RDR has a multizone convection dryer/roaster system, which uses the latest technological advances in dry roasting.
It allows food processors to continuously process high volumes of snack foods,
such as nuts, seeds, and protein/ meat-based snacks.
Heat and Control president Tony Caridis says the RDR reinforces the company’s strength in thermal food processing technology.
Along with nut products, the RDR is ideal for applications such as the drying of meats and poultry to create jerky and meat chips, as well as drying pet products to create food and treats.
Caridis says it also strengthens Heat and Control’s snack line capability and notes that manufacturers can take advantage of the cost savings using a single source supplier.
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www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | May 2019 | Food&Drink business | 49