The processing and packaging of food is one of the largest and most important industries in the United States. Without vacuum technology, the consumer products we are familiar with would not be available for mass distribution and consumption. Vacuum pumps play a vital role in many applications but not without stress to the vacuum pump itself.
Challenges caused by vapor and other residues of individual processes are often ingested into the pumps. This inevitably results in higher maintenance costs, in terms of both money and time. Adding a gas ballast valve to a vacuum pump is a proven but simple method to battle the high levels of moisture and vapor, not only in the food processing and packaging industry but in most applications where moisture is present.
Vacuum Use in the Food Industry
In the food packaging and processing industry, maintaining a high level of packaging and product quality is essential. Vacuum pumps are crucial to ensuring this standard is met throughout the various steps in the process. Vacuum technology is used for a variety of processes related to food processing. Meat products are an optimal example that illustrate a few of the several touch points with vacuum-supported processes from farm-to-table.
Beginning in the slaughterhouse, vacuum pumps help keep the process and product clean. All unwanted parts are separated and transported by the help of vacuum in a quick, clean and efficient manner. In the case of marinated meats, almost all industrial marinating machines use vacuum technology to shorten process times and tenderize meat to the highest quality. The reason why formed meat products always look the same and there are no air bubbles in bratwursts or hotdogs is because of vacuum technology. Sausage fillers pull any excess air that would negatively affect texture and quality of the product. After the products are processed, they are preserved and packaged with vacuum technology before making their way to the consumer.
Vacuum pumps are used to thermoform the packaging, which typically comes in the form of a plastic tray or pouch. This technology is also used to vacate air from the packaging or container before the packaging itself is sealed. For the sealing, the pump’s job is to create a vacuum by removing air molecules, reducing the pressure inside the packaging. This process ensures the package is tightly sealed, maintaining the desired low-pressure environment. It is then ready to get flushed with a different gas to create a modified atmosphere inside the packaging (MAP). This process helps extend the shelf life of food products by reducing oxygen levels and inhibiting the growth of spoilage-causing microorganisms.
There is a countless range of additional processes that use vacuum technology. All these applications have one thing in common: oil lubricated rotary vane vacuum pumps. This type of pump is the most popular style of vacuum pump used in the food industry.
How to Deal With Moisture in Challenging Applications
Moisture presents a challenge for most types of vacuum pumps. In many cases, the moisture enters the pump, almost undetectably, in the form of water vapor, limiting the use of conventional liquid separators. Before resorting to an expensive external vapor separator or condenser, there is another option that is suitable for solving this challenge in many processes.
The gas ballast valve offers many benefits in food packaging and processing applications. Instead of complex separation, there is the simple possibility of passing the vapor through the pump without condensate forming. The use of a gas ballast valve increases the pump’s resistance to water vapor. In the vacuum industry, this is referred to as water vapor compatibility or water vapor capacity. Details of how much water vapor the pump can deal with can often be found in the pump manufacturer’s data sheet. Most oil lubricated rotary vane vacuum pumps are equipped with gas ballast valves, but adjustments are often needed to have the right setup for the individual applications.
The gas ballast valve is a small component added to the compression chamber of the pump. It is an opening in the vacuum pump that allows a controlled amount of dry ambient air into the pump’s compression chamber. This enables the expulsion of vapor without condensing it or impacting the overall performance of the pump. The compressed air helps remove water vapor and other condensable vapors from the pump’s working fluid, reducing the risk of oil contamination and corrosion.
Highlighting Core Benefits
Using a vacuum pump with a gas ballast valve offers many benefits. Most importantly, the gas ballast valve helps extend the life of the pump’s oil. In the food packaging and processing industry, the working fluid can become contaminated with water vapor, condensable vapors and other impurities. This contamination can degrade the oil’s performance and reduce the pump’s life span. Using a vacuum pump with the high-performance oil specified by the pump manufacturer and a gas ballast valve helps reduce the risk of oil contamination, which, in turn, extends the pump’s working fluid life.
Secondly, the gas ballast valve helps improve the vacuum pump’s performance. In applications that involve the packaging of wet or moist products, the vacuum pump can become overloaded with condensate. The boiling of this condensate will cause the pump to lose vacuum performance and increase the risk of pump failure.
As an example, in the case of food packaging, this can lead to longer packaging cycles because it takes longer to reach the desired level of vacuum and may affect the quality of the overall packaging. The gas ballast valve helps reduce the risk of pump overload and improve the vacuum pump’s performance.
Lastly, the gas ballast valve helps reduce maintenance costs and pump downtime. In the food packaging and processing industry, the costs of downtime can prove severe. Regular maintenance of vacuum pumps is essential to ensure they maintain optimal caliber of performance. Using a vacuum pump with a gas ballast valve helps reduce maintenance costs by reducing the risk of oil contamination and pump failure. This reduces the frequency of maintenance required, saving time and money in the long run.
Gas ballast valves are available in different sizes. The choice of the right valve depends on the required operating point of the vacuum pump. The larger the valve’s volume flow, the greater the influence on the final pressure of the vacuum pump. The requirements are different for vacuum packaging compared to processing. It is recommended to consult a vacuum specialist to find the best solution for an application.
Besides the gas ballast valve and the use of a high-performance oil, the temperature of the pump is crucial for a moisture resistant pump. The pump’s temperature and the gas ballast valve performance are interconnected. The higher the temperature, the more moisture the pump can handle without building up condensate.
For the optimal operating temperature of the pump and oil, consult the pump’s manufacturer. To reduce the risk of condensation inside the pump and guarantee an optimal operating temperature, a warmup run of up to 30 minutes before starting the process and a follow-up run after the process is completed is highly recommended.
Using an oil lubricated rotary vane vacuum pump with a gas ballast valve not only offers many benefits in the food packaging and processing industry, but also in a variety of other applications. The gas ballast valve is a simple and cost-effective method that helps the overall system’s reliability, supports the longevity of the pump’s working fluid and components, improves the vacuum pump’s performance and reduces the overall maintenance and ownership costs. These benefits are critical in maintaining high product quality and ensuring the efficient operation of the overall process.