Key points
Regulations, economics and reputation are all driving demand for more water efficient technologies in the food and beverage (F&B) industry. Solutions are needed to help businesses better control their operations, increase productivity, maximise energy and cost savings, and use water responsibly and efficiently.
Products that focus on reliability, quality and operational efficiency are needed to help businesses save time and water resources through advanced technologies, whilst also meeting stringent quality standards and safety regulations.
With pumps, motors, and other equipment operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the F&B industry is among the largest consumer of energy, making next generation highly efficient solutions crucial.
The F&B market demands reliable, innovative energy saving products for everything from water supply and reuse to boosting and fire suppression. New technologies are crucial to improve the way water is used, conserved, and re-used.
Each year the F&B industry uses about as much water as the total utility water supply throughout the Middle East and North Africa. If every U.S. food & beverage company switched to high-efficiency electrical systems, annual savings would equal 20% of the federal government’s annual energy bill.
Addressing Water Productivity, Water Quality and Water Sustainability
The F&B industry’s water requirements and energy demands are significant, affecting both company finances and the environment. To boost water productivity, highly efficient pumps combined with variable speed drives can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%.
To improve water quality, advanced technology and R&D can provide substantial benefits. Water sustainability can be achieved via integrated solutions across the water lifecycle, covering filtration, pumping, transport and treatment equipment to water reuse.
Solutions in Action
Source water
Source water can pose a significant challenge for some F&B companies, where products require the highest quality of water, no matter the plant location or available water source. This is especially true for Italian tomato processing company Rodolfi.
Washing 250,000 tons of tomatoes requires moving up to 400 m3 of water an hour from its own wells, with an internal solution to treat the water used for washing. This requires proper pumping, filtration and water-handling systems.
A crucial challenge, particularly in Rodolfi’s Ozzano Taro plant, is a high concentration of sand in the water, which causes the pump impellers to wear out quickly. This issue led Rodolfi to install a desander and a series of filters to intercept the grass and branches that also come along with the tomatoes.
While this reduced the debris issue, it was not able to prevent the wear caused by sand and the company had to repeatedly service the pumps. To solve the wear problem, Rodolfi adopted the Flygt 3171, a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient wastewater pump with N-technology and an innovative self-cleaning impeller.
After one year of use there are still no traces of wear. Integrated offerings provide efficient pumping and treatment, minimise energy use and maximise uptime.
Food Processing
When it comes to food processing, abrasive materials, temperature requirements, and food transfer needs can challenge efficient, hygienic food processing, bottle filling and beverage dispensing. Innovative pumps, treatment systems and other equipment support safe, convenient, economical food and beverage handling.
Gold Ochsen brewery produces 600,000 hectolitres of beer and non-alcoholic drinks a year and need to meet water quality regulations while maintaining taste. They implemented a reverse osmosis membrane to desalinize and treat water.
Lowara variable frequency pumps maintain constant operating pressure regardless of pressure variants in the plant inlet duct. This eliminates hammering and extends membrane life. Unlike ion exchangers, it operates continuously, improving water quality and availability, avoids aggressive additives and cuts electricity costs by more than 30%.
Reducing Wastewater and Energy Costs
Reducing wastewater is crucial for obvious reasons but for one company it was fundamental to their business. An organic shrimp farm in the Alps needed a solution to keep the saltwater in the tanks at a constant temperature of 28-30 degrees Celsius with almost 100 percent humidity.
Xylem installed a pump system in the rearing and filtration tanks that keeps almost 700,000 litres of water in constant motion, with no wastewater produced.
In order to further improve the efficiency of the farm, solar heating is used. The solar system on the roof heats a water-glycol mixture. Xylem’s Lowara-brand Ecocirc XL pump circulates the mixture between the roof and a heat exchanger, ensuring that the main heating system only has to work on cloudy days without any sun.
A final thought
With food production the largest single consumer of water, the F&B industry must make every drop count, from transporting source water from wells or surface water, to treating water used in production of food products, to internal reuse within the processing facilities, to wastewater treatment and discharge.
By working together, it is possible to solve the toughest water challenges, energy consumption demands, quality monitoring needs, productivity and operational challenges and safety issues. Solutions must be energy efficient, reliable and compliant with the applicable regulations, standards and codes.
For more information , visit www.xylem.com/en-uk/solutions/food-beverage
