Food industry

• The food and beverage industry is committed to the sustainability of its products. Consumers should be protected by purchasing clean and hygienic products.
• The production process in the food industry often uses components such as compressed air, nitrogen or other gases, the use of which often requires a great deal of energy.
• The environment is significantly impacted by the production and further processing of food and beverages.
• Therefore, special specifications are required in the food industry with regard to hygiene, purity and cleanliness.
• In the food sector, the hygiene management concept HACCP comes into play, which also regulates the requirements for the quality of compressed air.
• Clean and hygienic compressed air generation and treatment can only be ensured by regular and energy-efficient system adjustments, measurements and checks of the compressed air system.

Compressed air quality plays a particularly important role in the food and beverage industry. All the requirements and regulations of the HACCP hygiene management concept must be taken into account down to the last detail when planning a compressed air station, as even the smallest particles of dirt can contaminate foodstuffs during the manufacturing process. This therefore requires safe and careful compressed air preparation.

PREPARATION OF THE COMPRESSED AIR

• Oil-free compressor: Compressed air often comes into direct or indirect contact with products in the manufacturing process. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the compressed air is oil-free.
• Water separator: A water separator in the compressed air network removes water in a liquid state from the compressed air.
• Refrigeration dryer: Water vapor saturates the compressed air after the compression process. A refrigeration dryer removes the steam from the compressed air.
• Adsorption dryers: Adsorption dryers are used to ensure the recommended pressure dew point of -40 °C in the food industry in the event of direct or indirect contact.

THE THREE STAGES OF FILTRATION

• Ultra-fine filter: Solid, liquid or very fine contaminants are filtered in small quantities
• Activated carbon filter: Filtration of gaseous contaminants such as oil vapor
• Fine filter: filtration of solid, liquid or fine contaminants in medium quantities e.g. activated carbon residues

Compliance with legal requirements and hygiene regulations form the basis for the purity of foodstuffs. To ensure the required compressed air quality, the basic principles of the ISO 8573-1 standard must be observed and complied with. This standard defines compressed air quality. The content of water and oil as well as the number of dirt particles are evaluated as important factors for the quality of compressed air. In the food industry, the purity classes 1:2:1 apply.