You might wonder about the type of wastewater that is generated from the food manufacturing industry. A good example is potato starch generated from processing potato crisps. Wastewater can also be released while separating grape pulp from grape juice.
In potato processing, wastewater is generated at two stages. The first batch comes from washing, loading, and peeling the raw potatoes, which produces water contaminated with stones, soil, and a little starch. The second batch comes from rinsing the crisps after paper-thin slicing, which releases more starch.
At the filtration level, this starch needs to be coagulated into a sludgy paste while the filtered water can be re-used since potato starch isn’t particularly toxic. The Interfil IC45 Vertical Clean Oil Centrifuge is an ideal piece of equipment for this purpose. It is attached to the automated helical peeler and slicer that are already in use at the potato factory.
There are two varieties of our IC45 centrifuge – the manual clean version and the vertical auto-clean version. Both models work well in the food industry, particularly for vegetable washes and pulp cleaning. The focus of these processes is to produce clean, reusable water, so the solid waste is produced as a thick paste rather than a dry cake. The maximum amount of water is extracted from the sludge so that none of it goes to waste. The sludge itself is biodegradable and can be safely disposed of because it’s an edible product with minimal toxins.
The IC45 is a simple basket centrifuge. It only requires two connections – plumbing to introduce the wastewater into the centrifuge, and an electrical connection to power the filtration equipment. It can be used as a standalone system that is manually loaded, or it can be linked to existing machinery, as in the case of the potato peeler and slicer.
Some food processes require the basket centrifuge to be linked to additional components. For example, in wine production, you can add an optional nitrogen blanket. Because of the volumes of water generated in food production, the IC45 centrifuge is designed to function in a continuous loop, minimising downtime.
In the manual system, you can stop the machine and manually clean the centrifugal bowl, so it works best with small batches of wastewater. With larger operations like a potato plant, an automatic vertical centrifuge is better, because the basket voids itself when the sludge reaches a pre-set level, while filtration proceeds uninterrupted. The centrifuge’s spinning stainless steel basket is lightweight and sits inside a bucket made from heavy cast aluminium with a weighted lid to prevent spills while the drum rotates.
All the metal is powder coated so that it doesn’t get corroded by any chemical contained in the solid waste. The automated self-cleaning model can handle ceramics and clays in addition to food waste because it has perpetual motion, higher energy output, and swifter basket rotation. However, it is designed for a low-noise and low power consumption.
For a better look at our centrifugal filters, industrial filtration media, and oil skimming equipment, call Interfil today on 02 9533 4433.
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