New treatment is a breath of fresh air for deep fat fryers
Premier Foods has installed a novel patented exhaust air treatment technology at its Batchelors factory in Worksop to remove the atmospheric fat generated by two deep fat noodle fryers. Premier had previously used metal mesh filters but these were not particularly effective, resulting in fat spills on the roof and posing a potential fire hazard through the fat retained in filters.
Swedish firm Centriair installed two stainless steel centrifuges in March 2009 one connected to each fryer. The separated mix of fat and water is pumped out of the units, allowing the water component to be discharged to drains.
Each compact centrifuge installation is located on a platform above the fryer. Units have been successfully operating almost continuously since their installation. Their cleaning-in-place system keeps rotors clean by intermittently spraying them with hot water. The technology is claimed to be suitable for use on potato and tortilla crisp lines, as well as French fry, noodle and fish finger lines.
Since installation, there have been no more fat spills on the roof and the smell has been greatly reduced, according to Centriair's marketing manager Per Kaijser. The fire hazard has also eliminated, he claims.
Units are equipped with a remote monitoring system that Centriair uses in a preventative maintenance programme to detect any performance deterioration at an early stage and before major faults occur.
This was the second food industry installation using this technology. The first was with Swedish taco chip manufacturer Santa Maria. A further machine is now being shipped to Premier to treat its poppodum fryer exhaust this month. Centriair has also now received an order for two centrifuges for French fry lines from the McCains group.
Centriair is an exclusive distributor in the food industry for 3nine, which makes the air centrifuges. It specialises in odour treatment after fat separation and is working on a two-year EU-funded research project under the Eurostars (http://www.eurostars-eureka.eu) programme.
