Strengthening food safety and compliance with advanced air treatment systems

Deepesh Upadhyay, Vice President, Delair India Pvt. Ltd.

India’s food and beverage industry is bolstering at a phenomenal rate majorly underpinned by rapid urbanisation, shifting consumer lifestyle and the spike in demand for packaged and convenience food. Looking at the growth trajectory of the sector, in addition to expanding production capacities, industry players must focus on food safety, hygiene and regulatory compliance to fortify the growth in the long run.

As food processing becomes increasingly automated, manufacturers are being forced to re-evaluate the integrity of their production environments. In the process, one factor that plays a decisive role in maintaining food safety is compressed air but its importance is often overlooked in conventional hygiene and compliance framework. It is required for a wide range of applications across food processing, packaging and bottling operations, where impure compressed air can severely compromise the product quality. Therefore, to preserve the food integrity, advanced air treatment systems must be deployed, especially compressed air dryers to ensure food safety and hygiene compliance with the industry standards.

Here, moisture persistently threatens the food processing by creating ideal conditions for mould, fungi, and microorganisms to thrive. This leads to physical, microbiological, and biochemical deterioration of food. As a result, before supplying the compressed air, it is mandatory to properly dry the air to inhibit the entry of moisture into the production systems.

Compressed air finds application at multiple stages of food manufacturing, ranging from conveying, mixing, filling, bottling, and packaging to freezing, dehydration, and vacuum sealing. As a result, it comes into contact with food at every stage of processing where compressed air laden with moisture jeopardises hygiene, shrinks the shelf life and continuously amplifies the risk of contamination.

Apart from this, the side-effects of moisture extend to pneumatic machines as well, triggering corrosion in pipelines, accounting for inconsistent valve and cylinder functioning, ultimately resulting in premature wear & tear of equipment. These issues disrupt production continuity and increase maintenance costs. In colder operating conditions, moisture can freeze within air lines, further aggravating operational risks.

In PET bottle manufacturing, which forms a critical part of the beverage supply chain, compressed air quality is especially important. The presence of moisture gives rise to a host of issues such as clouding, diminished transparency, and impaired structural integrity of the bottles. Furthermore, the repercussions extend to contamination of PET resin, resulting in internal bubbles and causing defects on surface. In the long run, such quality issues can severely sabotage packaging reliability, weaken consumer trust and damage brand name.

To mitigate the impact of moisture, proactive air treatment must be performed where compressed air dryers efficiently remove moisture and other contaminants entailing dust, oil aerosols, and solid particles from the pressurized air. For optimal results, resorting to High Pressure Del-pet Refrigeration based Compressed Air Dryers drives reliability and efficiency across the F&B sector. The dryers come with the ability to deliver Compressed Air Quality with Standard of ISO 8573-1:2010 and achieve the best pressure dew point in the range of +3°C to +4°C as per industry norms. This level of moisture control prevents condensation in most food processing applications, ensuring both product safety and operational stability.

The High Pressure Del-pet refrigeration air dryers work by cooling down air to near freezing temperatures. The cold air is then reheated at nominal conditions to approximately 10°C below the temperature in comparison to incoming compressed air. The dryers consist of refrigeration circuit, compressed air circuit and integrated air drying units equipped with centrifugal cum demister pad condensate separator. Likewise, the refrigeration circuit is made up of a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, a volume liquid accumulator with liquid refrigerant, and an evaporator.

In this, heat exchangers well equipped with air-to-air heat exchanger and refrigerant-to-air heat exchanger are at the core for driving the outperformance of the dryers. It is responsible for curbing the load on the refrigerant system by employing air-to-air heat exchanger. Simultaneously, air-to-air heat exchanger warms the outgoing cold air to desired temperature. On the other hand, refrigerant-to-air heat exchangers enable cooling of air to required temperature and drive water vapor condensation in the air, which otherwise is susceptible to being easily drained out.

Likewise, for PET bottle manufacturing, High Pressure Del-pet dryers must be prioritized. The dryers are proficient at cooling the air to nearly freezing point for supporting elimination of moisture at a high pressure of 40 barg and a maximum of up to 45 barg in some special PET applications. This is followed by reheating of cold, dry air to approximately 10°C lower than the incoming compressed air temperature at nominal conditions.

In an industry standing at the intersection of rapid growth and heightened accountability, compressed air dryers are no longer optional add-ons. They are a prerequisite requirement for strengthening the safety and compliance of the F&B sector. It goes a long way in preserving the taste and quality of the product for a longer period of time.