Allpax Products, which is a specialist in retort technology and automation, introduced its new retort room energy and water saving system at Pack Expo, which it says reduces the cost of water disposal and usage by 50%.
Free hot water is also made available for plant operations by the system.
Re-using water
The cooling water can be recovered: giving manufacturers the opportunity to utilise hot water from a standard water spray retort cycle in the first stages of cooling. In the second stages of cooling the warm water can be contained and used again, rather than being disposed.
In steam retort operations, a waste-heat recovery system captures steam in a vented tank, where it can be condensed into hot water.
This water can be used in other processes at the plant.
Why invest in energy and water saving systems?
Greg Jacob, vice president and general manager at Allpax, said the system could help contribute to LEED certification (The US’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification, which recognizes green building strategies and practices).
It can also help facilities reach the ISO 50000 energy standard (for the continuous improvements in reducing carbon footprint and improving energy management systems).
There may also be state and federal tax benefits, he added.
“Since our energy and water saving system is a modular, turnkey design package that is implemented at the outset of a new or retrofit water or steam installation, it eliminates the substantial expense of hiring an engineering firm to create a custom solution after a retort process has been developed,” Jacob said.
Allpax supplies tanks, controls and valves. It also offers instrumentation that gauges water temperature, flow, pressures and pumps. This means that customers can use a single source supplier, which is more cost effective, Jacob added.
Also debuting at Pack Expo was an Allpax modular pasteurization tunnel. The tunnel has been combined with products from other Pro Mach businesses, in order to create an integrated system covering filling through to packaging.