Sanitary progressing cavity pumps improve lecithin and cream transfer at a UK food manufacturing plant
In our latest case study, we’ re discussing three new hygienic progressing cavity pumps we supplied to a UK food manufacturer.
They needed proven, reliable food grade pumps for the smooth and uninterrupted transfer of lecithin and cream in their production facility.
So what is Lecithin?
Lecithin is a generic term which is used to describe any type of yellow-brownish fatty substances which are found in both animal and plant tissues. They are amphiphilic which means that they attract both water and fatty materials.
It occurs naturally and comes from egg yolks, corn, marine foods, milk, rapeseed, cottonseed, soybeans and sunflowers.
In the human body, it’ s a mixture of fats which are essential to many of our body’ s processes. Lecithin is used in the metabolic process and to move fats around our bodies. In our diet, Lecithin is the main source of choline, a nutrient similar to the various B vitamins. It’ s converted into acetylcholine, a substance that transmits nerve impulses.
Where is it used commercially?
In food manufacturing, Lecithin is commonly used as a food additive to combine foods. It’ s also a natural emulsifier that’ s often used in many everyday foods, it keeps flavour in mixtures and is an antioxidant.
More specifically, Lecithin also plays a big part in animal feed, pharmaceuticals, paints, and other industrial applications.
How is it made?
Lecithin is a mixture of phospholipids which is found in plant and animal tissues and is vital for proper biological function. In fact, phospholipids are a major part of all cell membranes.
16 FDPP- www. fdpp. co. uk
Commercial lecithin is made from vegetable oils, usually soybean oil, through a production process that starts with degumming. Here, the crude soybean oil is mixed with up to 3 % water or steam and slowly agitated to add water to the lecithin.
Next, the hydrated gums are taken out by being spun in a centrifuge, and the wet gums are dried by batch or film drying. Finally, the lecithin is filtered, deodorised, and divided up, and the oil residues are taken out.
Our specification for this project
Here at North Ridge Pumps, we’ re not restricted to just one type of pump technology.
We use our wide-ranging expertise to provide a tailor-made solution, not something straight off the shelf. We choose the best pump for each specific client and job – and offering the lowest lifetime cost.
For this demanding application, we specified three of our DX range of hygienic progressing cavity pumps.
Our DX sanitary progressing cavity pump series are state-of-the-art units specifically designed to meet the exacting requirements of the food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and cosmetics industries.
The whole pump design complies with EHEDG and 3A hygiene standards to ensure the highest levels of sanitisation.
High hygiene standards
The geometry of the pumps is designed precisely to provide the best sanitisation characteristics thanks to the design of the casing and the rotating parts. These allow maximum drainage, and avoid dead zones and stagnation where bacteria can accumulate.
In addition, we manufacture every component to the highest level of finish and utmost cleanliness. All parts have excellent finishes, and the casings are polished to make sure that the surfaces are completely sanitised.
The parts in contact with the product being transferred can be constructed from AISI 304 or AISI 316 stainless steel. As well as the parts that touch the liquid, the block and base plate too are made of stainless steel AISI 304.
This all means that all these pumps are top rated for adhering to Clean-in-Place( CIP) and Sterilisation-in-Place( SIP) automated processes. These mean that units can be cleaned and sterilised without the need for disassembly. These systems are widely used in the food and pharmaceuticals industry to ensure total hygiene and sterilisation of critical processes.
Why this pump was selected
The brief from our client was to specify a pump which would smoothly transfer the cream and lecithin at a range of flows from 10l an hour to 10m ³ h at pressures up to 8 bar.
We chose these pumps because of their low pulsating, shear-sensitive flow and high hygiene rating. In addition, they will consistently transfer the product at the flow rates the client required regardless of changes in viscosity or pressure.
In short, using our DX sanitary progressing cavity pumps will ensure that the fats in the cream and lecithin will remain suspended, spread evenly and that the mixtures will remain unchanged from source right through to delivery.
Have an application needing the transfer, circulation or injection of any liquid of any viscosity and need help and advice? Contact North Ridge Pumps to see how we can help.