Republic of the Philippines

Romblon State University ABE 4238 DESIGN AND

MANAGEMENT OF
Romblon, Philippines AB PROCESSING
SYSTEMS

LESSON 4
Food Plant Utilities

ENGR. EMIE M. FAJEL

Instructor
 Determining the utility requirements
of the plant’s operating systems is a critical
part of the design process that involves the
plant’s owner, as well as the agricultural,
mechanical, and electrical engineering team.
The principal plant utilities in a food
plant are: process water, process steam,
electric power for motors and lighting, and
fuel, and plant effluents.
 Process Water
Process water is required for washing
the raw materials and for various cooling
operations. In fruit and vegetable processing
plants, water may be used for the
transportation of the raw materials from
receiving to processing areas. Water used in
steam boilers may require ion exchange
treatment to reduce its hardness. The total
water requirement in fruit and vegetable
processing may range from 5 to 15 m3 / ton
of raw material.
 Process Steam
Steam boilers are needed in most food
processing plants to provide process steam,
used mainly in various operations, such as
heating of process vessels, evaporators and
dryers, sterilization, blanching, and peeling.
A medium size food plant (80 tons/day raw
material) may require a boiler producing
about 10 tons/h of steam at 18 bar pressure.
 Process Steam
Two principal types of steam boilers
are used in the food processing industry:
1. Fire tube boilers - operate at relatively
lower pressure (1–24 bar) and produce
cleaner steam.
2. The water tube boilers - operate at
higher pressures (100–140 bar) and they
are suited for co-generation.
 Process Steam
Steam boilers are rated in Btu/h, kW, or
boiler HP (1 Btu/h = 0.293 W, 1 boiler HP =
9.8 kW). The heat flux in the boiler heating
surface is about 0.75 k W/m2.
The boiler efficiency is about 85% with
most of the thermal losses in the dry gases
and the moisture.
 Electricity
Electrical power in food processing
plants is needed for running the motors of
the processing, control, and service
equipment, for industrial heating, and for
illumination. For a medium-sized food plant
processing about 100 tons/day of raw
materials, the power requirement may be of
the order of 500 kW.
 Electricity
Single-phase or three-phase alternating
current (AC) of 110 V (60 cycles) or 220 V
(50 cycles) is used in food processing
plants. The electrical motors are either
single-phase or three-phase squirrel cages.
Energy-efficient electrical motors
should be used in various food processing
operations.
 Electricity
A measure of the efficiency of
electrical power is the power factor (pf),
which should be equal to or higher than
0.85.
Illuminating (lighting) industrial food
plants should utilize fluorescent lamps,
which can save significant amounts of
energy.
 Effluents
Plant effluents consist mainly of
wastewater, but including solids and gas
wastes require special handling and
treatments to comply with the local laws
and
regulations. Food plants should be designed
and operated so that a minimum pollution
is caused to the environment.
Short Quiz