During our visit to the global front-runner trade fair for the food industry ANUGA, Meat Tech Pro was introduced to numerous innovative technologies, each aiming to redefine the food processing landscape. One such notable innovation was the cross-flow principle in smokehouses, securing its position as a laureate by the GERMAN AGRICULTURE ASSOCIATION – DLG. This new approach aims to minimize energy consumption while delivering faster processes.
Economical and reproducible thermal processes are of elementary importance in food processing. However, conventional methods for generating a uniform air flow require a lot of energy and are therefore very cost-intensive. Given the increasing focus on green and sustainable solutions, energy efficiency is thus playing an ever greater role.
The system is a universal unit for all thermal processes, such as drying, smoking, cooking, cooling and baking of horizontal products with horizontal airflow. For the first time, however, it has been possible to transfer the air pressure and air speed of a modern hot-smoking system to cross-flow technology. The up to four times higher speeds in the system result in higher loading (up to 50 layers in a standard trolley), significantly faster processes, higher yields and lower energy consumption.
The “cross-flow” is characterised by an appropriate system geometry combined with an innovative form of injection nozzles that enable the air to flow out evenly over a large area at high speed. Movable injection and extraction ducts also facilitate maintenance and cleaning of the system.
The plant system is modular in design and can thus be expanded almost at will. The new, foamed chamber insulation allows temperatures of up to 200°C without any problems. Another feature is the use of a special heat exchanger, which enables the recovery and utilization of waste heat and further minimizes energy consumption.
In addition, the cross flow system – based on semi-batch operation in combination with an automation solution – can be used to set up a fully continuous, yet flexible, production line. The plant system is modular in design and can thus be expanded almost at will.
While the market focus to date has been on the meat industry, the flexibility of this system allows it to be used in other areas of application and other sectors, such as plant-based products or pet food.
