Air Knives help specialist flavourings & ingredients manufacturer
The Problem
TasteTech Ltd is specialist manufacturer of ‘controlled release’ flavourings and ingredients for applications in bakery, confectionery and chewing gum products. After each product batch is processed, previously the production vessel required scraping down followed by a cold rinse, a hot wash and then a cold rinse to ensure all product residue had been removed. This was a time consuming activity and was effecting the company’s overall manufacturing cycle.
The Solution
Two ACI 1.3 metre long air knives were installed inside the cooling/drying vessel to create a barrier of air between the product and vessel wall. This air barrier prevents product adhering to the side wall, thereby reducing cleaning operations. In conjunction with the two fans also supplied, which deliver and extract chilled air from an existing heat exchanger, they help to reduce the temperature of the wax/fat encapsulated product down to 4°C.
The air knives are supplied with air by an ACI/EV 5.5kW fan. The fan is housed outside the building in a weather-proof, acoustic enclosure and delivers air to the air knives via ducting and a heat exchanger.
The Outcome
“The installation of the ACI air knives and fans has helped us increase our production levels and save time during the manufacturing cycles. ACI’s ability to incorporate a heat exchanger in the package and to facilitate the whole project for us has been a great benefit to TasteTech as a business.” Jason Ticktum, Factory Manager, TasteTech.
Air Knife Systems
ACI Air Knife Systems are blower-driven solutions that increase production efficiencies and save you significant running costs. Our air knife systems have a uniform slot design that projects an uninterrupted sheet of precisely controlled, high velocity air – thereby supplying a powerful flow across the entire surface of the product being processed.