Opportunities to improve yield in Food & Beverage
Concerns about food security and the resulting rise in demand for processed food worldwide have led to an opportunity for Food & Beverage companies to expand their global reach. However, costs remain a real constraint meaning that production facilities must meet this rising demand using their existing asset base as much as possible by increasing throughput and yield.
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The Food & Beverage industry is a complex processing environment with some challenges that hinder facilities from achieving their optimum yield. Yet, despite these challenges, there are several opportunities that Food & Beverage companies can explore to improve the yield of their production facilities.
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In this blog, we explore opportunities to increase yield in various process phases of Food & Beverage production.
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If you’re interested to learn more about how you can optimize your processes and maximize your efficiency, you might like to take a look at our website . There, you’ll find more detailed information on processes that offer maximum opportunity for increasing productivity and yield.
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Accurate measurement of raw material reception
Raw materials reception is a critical phase of Food & Beverage production, impacting all downstream processing. Accurate accounting for raw material volumes is essential for payment to suppliers, but measuring volume can be challenging. Some transfer processes introduce air bubbles or other entrained gas into the process stream. The phase variation in the line can play havoc with some measurement devices. It is critical to select measurement devices that provide accurate readings taking into account any material or phase challenges in the process stream.
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Additionally, every raw material has some impurities. The material must meet the contract quality requirements; otherwise, the Food & Beverage company will pay for impurities instead of the desired material. Raw material quality also affects recipe calculations. If the purity is lower, more raw material must be added to the recipe to achieve the product specifications. Accurate inline measurement of raw material volumes and quality can help Food & Beverage producers to optimize their processes and maximize their yields.
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Avoiding losses from raw material storage
As the number of ingredients and additives along with the complexity of recipes has grown, the management of storage systems in Food & Beverage has also become more challenging. More complex systems have a higher risk for an incident. Overfilling a tank can have significant environmental and cost impacts. Running a tank dry also has consequences through running pumps dry, thus adding to their maintenance costs and downtime. It is vital to ensure that every storage system has sufficient process measurement in terms of levels and flowrates to provide operators with the real-time information they need to prevent an incident.
Storage conditions are also important as some materials degrade in quality when not stored in appropriate conditions. Some materials need to be kept in a narrow temperature range, while others may need to be kept free from any possible moisture ingress. There are even materials that could create an explosive environment or health hazards to operators due to dust particles. Real-time process measurements, like temperature, moisture content, or oxygen levels can help operators to manage their storage conditions in a safe zone that preserves the quality of their materials.
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Improving control for mixing and blending
Mixing and blending operations have evolved as Food & Beverage products have become more specialized. Energy drinks, protein smoothies, organic health beverages and new sodas with artificial sweeteners all add to the complexity of recipe management. At the same time, consumers demand a consistent experience from their favorite brands. They expect the taste and texture of a product to be the same no matter when or where they make their purchase.
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More complex product formulations have more factors to control. Losing sight of any of these factors increases the risk of an incident, like overfilling or accidental drainage, which can result in substantial product loss. There is also an increased risk of adding too much raw material or additives, leading to product quality issues and higher costs. The more inline process measurements available to operators, the better their recipe control will be. Automation systems can use this real-time information to optimize recipe ingredients and
provide alerts when in danger of a quality or product loss incident.
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Changing the CIP approach
Food & Beverage is a highly regulated sector with strict requirements for cleaning systems between production batches and when transitioning from one product to another. Traditional approaches to Cleaning in Place (CIP) are time-based. This means that the CIP cycle must run for a fixed duration before testing the status of the equipment for release back into production. Engineers tend to set CIP times conservatively to ensure that the cleaning completes during the cycle, but the longer the CIP duration, the more production time is lost. Valuable product and chemicals can also be lost to waste by prolonging this cycle longer than necessary.
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Access to real-time information about the status of the CIP process takes the guesswork out of CIP durations. Engineers can monitor the CIP cycle through its phases and trigger a transition from one phase to the next based on real-time information. Using a quality-based instead of time-based CIP approach enables engineers to minimize the time in the CIP stage, thus maximizing production time. An added bonus is that the accumulation of waste during CIP will be reduced, leading to higher production yields and lower chemical consumption.
Conclusion
The Food & Beverage industry is under pressure to increase throughputs and yield using existing assets to meet the growing global demands. Despite the challenges of being in a highly regulated sector, there are opportunities in various production phases to improve production yields. Access to real-time process information can help Food & Beverage producers to manage their raw material reception, optimize the CIP cycles and enhance their control of mixing and blending.
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To learn more, head on over to our website .
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