Cooling Technologies for a High-Quality Food Process

1. The company

In food & beverage, it is important to preserve the quality of the finished product even more than in other industries; therefore, the cooling circuit must also play its part. Closed-loop evaporative towers meet this need better than other solutions.

The client of MITA Cooling Technologies and CAMPreq is a manufacturer of beverages, juices and ciders. The historic location in southern Sweden also houses a restaurant and a boutique product outlet. This business, which began in the late 1800s, continues to leverage family ownership. “Fruit products continue to be processed locally thanks to the knowledge accumulated over four generations,” the owners proudly say.

It is a mission that has a natural ally in the fertility of Skåne, a southern region of Sweden with a much milder climate than the rest of the country. And with a rural landscape that encourages the continuation of these culinary traditions.

2. Installation context and requirements

The Swedish customer asked for support from MITA and CAMPreq to complement the bottling phase of its production process: once the bottles are filled with juice, the fluid used to cool them must be recovered and requires a heat exchange process to return to the initial temperature.

The required thermal difference was considerable, going from 45 to 22 degrees, but with a relatively modest required water flow rate: about 11 m3/h.

A key fact for choosing the best cooler: it is a fluid that comes in contact with sterilized bottles. It must therefore retain its purity properties so as not to contaminate the primary circuit.

3. The proposed solution

The analysis of the requirements led to the choice of a closed-circuit cooling tower, type MCC E3-17 D.

The closed circuit, in particular, is the best solution to preserve the quality of the liquid to be cooled: in fact, the latter circulates in a tube bundle and does not come into direct contact with the cooling water of the evaporative tower.

Two connotations are then the MITA autograph on the evaporative coolers: fiberglass as a non-corrodible material and side doors for easy inspection and maintenance of the internal components.

This is complemented by the MITA Control System: the integrated system for modulating the performance of the machine as it is used.

4. Key to success

Both MITA Cooling Technologies and CAMPreq have as their core mission customer service and support in making the best choice. Often the requirement is not clear to the user in every detail: the selection of the appropriate cooler must therefore follow a series of interviews with the end user and analysis of the production process.

The case of the Swedish food company was no exception. Temperature output and time requirements were not clear from the outset to the user: on-site support from a CAMPreq engineer was therefore essential.