Major production changes set for
MEAT, POULTRY & SEAFOOD
meat processors
A number of successful trials using rotary screw vacuum pumps instead of rotary vane pumps in operating industry-standard rotary vacuum packaging machines is set to have a major impact on the meat processing industry.
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ntil now, energy consumption for vacuum pumps in the meat processing industry was never considered that seriously. The usual practice is to start the vacuum pumps in the morning and turn them off at the end of the shift. They run for the full duration of the shift unless the operator is conscientious and shuts them down during breaks. However, this is about to change as Atlas Copco’s GHS VSD+ rotary screw vacuum pump offers savings for these particular scenarios. The trials, held recently at two of Australia’s leading meat processing plants in Queensland, clearly showed that Atlas Copco’s rotary screw technology is far superior to the rotary vane technology presently used in the industry, in both energy efficiency and maintenance costs. Atlas Copco Regional Business Line Manager – Utility Vacuum Pierre Matschke explained that the first trial involved 32
November/December 2016
replacing a 22 kW rotary vane vacuum pump with a 15 kW rotary screw vacuum pump on the second stage of one of the meat processor’s vacuum packaging machines. “The trial showed that our rotary screw vacuum pump, which has now been running reliably for six months, is far superior in life cycle costs to the traditional rotary vane vacuum pump. “While the customer was very pleased with the +17% energy saving the machine was achieving, it was when we looked at the customer’s maintenance costs we realised our machine was able to make even larger savings by reducing their maintenance costs drastically.” The most recent trial achieved even better results, which involved replacing two 22 kW rotary vane vacuum pumps with just one 37 kW rotary screw vacuum pump, and one for one 15 kW on the second stage.
www.foodprocessing.com.au