Page 54 - Food&Drink magazine April 2022

PRODUCT NEWS
LUBRICATION FREE RODS FOR BIG LOADS
MAINTENANCE-FREE igus igubal spherical bearings from Treotham are an economical and safe alternative to the constant relubrication of metallic bearing points in the food industry.
Now, the motion plastics specialist is introducing a new model for higher loads. It is equipped with a stainless-steel housing, a self- lubricating polymer inner ring
and a stainless-steel spherical ball, which allows for higher-load applications to be converted to future-proof tribo-technology.
Igus product manager Thomas Preißner said, “The new plastic- metal hybrid consists of a steel housing and spherical ball, and an inner ring made of the high- performance plastic iglidur A160, which meets the requirements of both the FDA and EU 10/2011.”
As with all iglidur plastics, there is a solid lubricant in iglidur A160, which is released in microscopic amounts over time. It ensures a low-friction dry operation between the inner ring and the stainless-steel spherical ball. The absence of lubrication also significantly speeds up cleaning the rod ends. Without grease, dirt and dust have little chance of settling. To further increase food safety, the high- performance plastic iglidur A160 is blue, allowing the easy detection of food residue and mould spores.
They have a higher breaking strength and rigidity compared to a plastic rod end, are resistant to moisture, acids, alkalines, and UV rays, and are suitable between -40°C and +90°C. Its abrasion resistance is ten times better than polyamide according to the igus test laboratory - even with fast rotational movements of the mounted shaft.
The new rod ends are available in sizes M6, M8, M10, M12, M16 and M20.
THE VALVE SOLUTION FOR ESL
THE GEA Aseptomag LV mixproof double-seat valve is designed for food and beverage manufacturers looking to maintain high safety standards in process lines for extended shelf life (ESL) products including soft drinks, fruit juices, milk- based and lactic acid fermented products, and chilled plant-based alternatives.
The new leakage valve closes the gap in GEA’s valve portfolio between products that need to be processed hygienically and those needing an aseptic process.
GEA senior director Product Management & Engineering, Aseptic Valve Pascal Bär said, “Most customers produce products that need ‘UltraClean’, the second highest hygiene level. While the products have a greater hygiene risk than classic hygienic applications, they don’t need the high-end, complete aseptic process chain.”
Its single seat lift for the leakage valve offers a flexibility boost in plant design with. It means both seats can be individually controlled for precise routing of product flows, and for cleaning all areas that contact the product. The new LV valve uses stainless steel bellows. These block microorganisms from being drawn uncontrollably into the product chamber, keeping the process and product safe. With hermetically sealing valve stems, bellows valves achieve a higher hygienic standard, making for better product quality and longer minimum shelf-life.
THINKING TOP TO SAVE BELOW
DRAIN valves comprise up to 20 per cent of all valves in a typical processing plant, but cleaning them is costly, difficult, and time-consuming. The new Alfa Laval ThinkTop pulse seat clean addresses all these issues while delivering savings of up to 95 per cent in Cleaning-in-Place (CIP) liquid.
Alfa Laval product portfolio manager Valves and Automation René Stietz said, “The ThinkTop pulse seat clean brings unheard-of savings in CIP liquid to process plant owners and operators compared to conventional programmable logic controller (PLC) timer-controlled seat cleaning.”
The savings come when triggered by a rising PLC signal. The valve position is not controlled by the PLC timer but by the Alfa Laval V50 and V70 sensing and control units. Besides reducing the volume of CIP liquid used, setting the sensor to open and close the seat quickly ensures faster, more rigorous cleaning and hygiene than timer-controlled cleaning. The ThinkTop also verifies that valve cleaning has been completed. It is intended for use with single-seat valves or butterfly valves used as drain valves.
LOCAL WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS
LEADER in meat, dairy and livestock wastewater treatment
CST Wastewater Solutions is now manufacturing its rotary drum screen and screw screen/compactors locally to ensure their quality and certainty of supply in Australia and New Zealand.
CST managing director Michael Bambridge said, “Our experience with the meat, dairy, and livestock industry tells us that not only do they need certainty of supply of technology vital to their efficiency and sustainability objectives, but also this technology needs to be of the highest quality and reliability to deliver the absolute best ongoing performance.”
CST’s range of screening equipment now fully designed and fabricated in Australia includes: internally fed rotary drums – Model RDs; in- channel horizontal rotary drum
– Model FS; and screw screens and associated equipment – Model SF.
Screen and compactor technology is a first line of defence in preventing
blockages, overflows, and environmental incidents. It is integral not only to processing operations, but for the sustainability of industries sharing valuable water resources with local communities and maintaining their social license to operate.
“Integral to the new, locally manufactured rotary drum screens and auger extractors is industry-best screening, which provides 50 per cent finer apertures for greater waste solids extraction and recovery.
“Not only does local manufacture deliver a more robust and low- maintenance product – and better whole-of-lifecycle value – it places the customer next to the source of supply for spare parts, future extensions and retrofits to boost performance long-term,” Bambridge said.
54 | Food&Drink business | April 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au