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Industrial Cooking Kettles are among the fundamental equipment in food processing [1]. These enable heat treatment of a broad array of food products at elevated temperatures and pressures. Food, beverage and dairy sectors utilize them for cooking and mixing [2]. Available in multiple sizes, large food factories find them as useful as small restaurants [3].

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Industrial Cooking Kettles are among the fundamental equipment in food processing [1]. These enable heat treatment of a broad array of food products at elevated temperatures and pressures. Food, beverage and dairy sectors utilize them for cooking and mixing [2]. Available in multiple sizes, large food factories find them as useful as small restaurants [3].

High pressure inside cooking kettles delivers distinct advantages. It boosts the safety and shelf life of food products while retaining nutrients and minimizing energy costs [4]. That apart, high pressure shortens cooking times, imparts better odor and taste to the food product, and maintains its catchy appearance [5].

Applications

Cooking kettles are utilized to:

Cook, Stew, or Mix Foods.

Lower Liquid Content in Foods.

Pasteurize or Sterilize Foods.

Pressure cooking via kettles makes delicious sauces by dissolving caramelized and mallaird-ized products back into the main stock [2]. Baby foods, ketchups, marmalades, chutneys, confectionaries, custards, jams, gravies, syrups, pet food, aseptic fruits, mayonnaise, preserves, and fruit jellies can all be produced by cooking kettles [2].

These are best suited for preparing and stewing meat, legumes, vegetables, and cereals [5]. Rice, pasta, beans, stew, sauces, gravy, soup, desserts, and stocks - all are cooked [6]. Cooking kettles also simmer or slow boil beans, stocks, and soups to lower their liquid content [6].

Types and Operation

Most cooking kettles include one vessel inside another vessel. The vacant space between the two vessels is the steam jacket, into which steam is directed. Steam condenses and releases heat to the walls of the inner vessel. The inner vessel houses the food products which receive this heat from condensing steam via conduction [7].

Cooking kettles also operate the other way round. When ice water or cold water is circulated through the steam jacket, they cool down warm or hot foods. In this reverse mode, they work to mix cold salads [7].

Types of cooking kettles based on the energy source are:

Direct Steam Kettles: use steam directly from a boiler and pass it through the jacket [8]. Steam condenses into water and is drained out as more steam is introduced [7].

Self Contained Kettles: have a closed jacket containing distilled water. An electric or gas boiler mounted on the kettle stand converts jacket water into steam [8]. The condensed steam is not drained but re-heated into steam for continued heating [7]. Gas steam kettles are larger than electric steam ones [8].

Both types are available in the tilting or stationary type. The former can rotate about a horizontal axis allowing the pouring out of the finished food product. Stationary types have a sanitary drain valve to remove the prepared foodstuffs.

Here are general design and operational guidelines for steam kettles:

Direct Steam Kettles:

Flow control valve and pressure lowering valve are important devices on the boiler-to-kettle piping [7].

Steam loses pressure while flowing through the pipe as also at every fitting and bend in the pipe. Insulated pipes minimize pressure drop [7].

Perform boiler size calculations at the kettle side to factor in all these pressure drops [7].

These kettles need a steam trap, which prevents steam from escaping with drain water [7].

Self Contained Kettles:

Come with temperature control, pressure gauge, and distilled water mixed with corrosion inhibitor and anti-freeze solution [7].

Safety valve prevents excessive jacket pressure and enables distilled water replenishment [7].

Steam Traps must be 2-3 times larger than the condensate flow rate warrants [9]. Recommended types for [9]:

Fixed/Stationary Kettles: inverted bucket type, thermostatic, and float-and-thermostatic.

Tilting Kettles: inverted bucket trap and differential condensate controller.

One trap per kettle avoids short circuit [9].

Returning condensate to boiler improves efficiency [9].

Install one pressure relief valve each at the boiler and kettle end with pressure settings respectively below the rated ones for boiler and kettle [9].

Before operating the kettle, check [6]:

Latches which are often clogged with sticky foods.

Compound Gauge must read "green zone," not "vent air zone."

Remove air from jacket before turning steam on. Air lowers steam condensation rate. Position air vents at maximum distance from steam entry points. Choose steam traps that can vent out air [9].

Merits

Direct steam kettles cook faster, are more efficient, and possess greater capacity than self contained kettles [6]. Plus, they are cheaper and simpler [8]. However, self contained kettles are easier to maintain and more flexible for they can integrate with gas or electric supply [8]. Large food processing plants with boilers prefer direct steam kettles while small food factories go for self contained kettles [3].

Uniform heating of food is a very useful feature of all cooking kettles, direct steam or self contained. This is because the jacket surrounds a large part of the kettle. Steam jackets of most kettles engulf 2/3 rd of their surface area [6]. Fully jacketed kettles are also available [6].

Large jacketed area exposes greater surface area for heat transfer, thereby delivering uniform cooking with lesser energy and higher efficiency. Again, precise temperature control via the steam control valve avoids overcooking [2]. Temperature range differs and can be between 267 and 338 ⁰F [6]. Some operate from 212 to 300 ⁰ F [10].

Mixer/agitator is another component that ensures uniform heating. Many mixers move the food vertically and horizontally for thorough blending. The mixer arms have scrappers at their ends to prevent food from sticking to the sides and burning [2]. Such burned food may obstruct heat conduction. Smooth internal surfaces also deter sticking.

Steam temperature rises with increasing steam jacket pressure [3]. Applying equal pressure from all directions (isostatic pressing) denatures proteins while eliminating microorganisms [4]. Denatured proteins are easily digested [11]. In short, isostatic pressing improves the safety, quality, and shelf life of food products. Maximum pressure rating of most cooking kettles runs from 35 to 50 psi [3], although 150psi is not unknown [12].

Load cells available with cooking kettles guarantee consistent quality production by providing an accurate weighing system [2]. Heat deflector shields safeguard personnel from heat-related burns [6].

Maintenance

Tell tale signs that a kettle needs replacement include:

Longer cooking times

Escalating repair costs

Fissures and pitted surface on kettle walls

Here are a few maintenance tips that improve the service life and safety of the cooking kettle [6]:

Regularly check and replace / top-up (if necessary) pressure relief valves, steam seals, water seals, screws, and distilled water (for self contained kettles).

Lubricate bearings periodically.

When cleaning:

Utilize non-caustic detergents, not chlorine-containing detergents.

Avoid abrasive cleaning tools such as steel brushes and scrapers.

Ensure the sprayed water does not touch gas or electrical parts.

Finally
In a way, cooking kettles are sophisticated versions of the humble pressure cooker. But their merits transcend the mere saving of cooking time and energy. It is precisely these advantages that explain their immense popularity.

Cybernetik has been manufacturing equipment and delivering automation solutions for the Food, Pharma, and Agriculture sectors since decades. Contact us at +91 20 6790 9600 or sales.automation@cybernetik.com to experience the power of seasoned experience.
References

1. Steam Jacketed Kettle, Gee Gee Foods & Packaging Co. Pvt. Ltd.

2. Product Batch Cooking Equipment, INOX Australia Pty Ltd.

3. Cornell Food Venture Center, Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

4. High Pressure Equipment Designs for Food Processing Applications, Robert W. van den Berg, H. Hoogland, H. L. M. Lelieveld, Ludo Van Schepdael

5. Industrial Pressure Kettle VKP, Food Tech Process

6. When to replace Steam Jacketed Kettles, Foodservice Equipment & Supplies

7. North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers

8. The Best Soups, Broths, and Sauces: Your Ultimate Guide to Buying the Right Steam Kettle, GoFoodservice

9. Steam Kettle Hookup, Tim Bowser, Oklahoma State University.

10. Steam Jacketed Kettle FAQs, Zhucheng Honest Industry & Trade Co.,Ltd

11. Protein Denaturation, Archana Madpathi.

12. Steam Jacketed Cooking Kettles, DC Norris - North America

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Cooking Kettles in the Food Industry - Cybernetik Technologies

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Industrial Cooking Kettles are among the fundamental equipment in food processing [1]. These enable heat treatment of a broad array of food products at elevated temperatures and pressures. Food, beverage and dairy sectors utilize them for cooking and mixing [2]. Available in multiple sizes, large food factories find them as useful as small restaurants [3].

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Better comprehension of aerodynamics and development of superior materials during the late 20th century revived the utility of windmills for harnessing wind energy. Their traditional applications were water pumping and corn grinding [1].

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Better comprehension of aerodynamics and development of superior materials during the late 20 th century revived the utility of windmills for harnessing wind energy. Their traditional applications were water pumping and corn grinding [1].

Government policies in many parts of the world favour wind electricity as a means to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) discharges and water use by the power industry, diversify power generation sources for better price stability over the long term, and technological advancements to boost global competitiveness [1].

About 28% [2] of globally produced electricity came from renewables in 2020. Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) placed wind power generation at 743 gigawatts (GW) [3] at end-2020, representing 6% [4] of global power. Onshore i.e. land-based wind turbines contributed 707.4 GW [4] of the 743 GW, the balance coming from offshore turbines based on water bodies.

China tops the list of generated wind power with 288.32 GW at end-2020 followed by the United States (122.32 GW), Germany (62.85 GW), India (38.63 GW), and Spain (27.24 GW) [5]. Denmark comes first with wind as the source for 41% of its electricity at end-2019. Next in line were Ireland (28%), Portugal (24%), Germany (21%), and Spain (19%) [6].

In many countries, wind power has achieved or exceeded grid parity wherein generation costs equal or are less than that from conventional sources [1]. This is welcome news for a world looking to cut carbon emissions to counter the menace of Global Warming and Climate Change.

What makes this critically significant is that the other two applications of energy viz. transport and heating are particularly tough to decarbonize. With renewable sources available, electricity is easier to de-carbonize. For example, renewables plus nuclear sources provide 36.7% of the world's electricity but only 15.7% of the global energy [7].
The Industry Standard: Three Blade Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT)
Efficiency and better controllability make the three-blade HAWT the industry standard. And with its global supply chain firmly entrenched, it will continue to be so for the near future. However, HWATs are hyper sensitive to alterations in blade design and profile.

Rotor speed is hard to control in vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). This variant also suffers from low tip speed ratio. Improvements however can make the VAWT more useful in the future.

For more than one reason, three is the optimum number of blades for the HAWT:

Three-bladed designs are smoother than the faster but jerky one- and two- bladed HAWTs.

Slight improvement in efficiency for a four-bladed HAWT vis-à-vis its three-bladed version does not justify the escalated cost of manufacturing an extra blade. Besides, heavier four-bladed turbines impose greater load on the tower.

One- and two- bladed designs also suffer from poor aesthetics and greater wear. Birds are also more likely to crash into them.

Efficiency & Blade Geometry
Aerofoil or airfoil generates lift force when positioned in a particular way in relation to wind. Aircraft wings and wind turbine blades have airfoil cross section. Important differences exist between the airfoils for these two applications as we shall see later.

Aerofoil Generates Lift. Image Courtesy of Michael32710, Wikipedia.

Horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) faces the wind. Relative wind i.e. wind incident on the turbine blade makes angle of incidence (β) with the overall wind direction. Relative wind velocity vector makes angle of attack (α) with the chord line.

Wind Turbine Orientation

Power (P) generated by a wind turbine is a function of air density (ρ), air velocity (V), and swept area (A), and is given by:

Defining the theoretical maximum efficiency (59.3%) of wind turbines is the Bertz Limit or Power Coefficient C P equalling 16/27 or 0.593. Actual efficiency falls below this number due to:

Wake Impacts relate to wind farms with multiple turbines. The downstream flow of one turbine becomes the upstream for another and lower the latter's efficiency. Real estate and cabling costs limit the space between turbines, whereby eliminating wake effects is unfeasible.

Therefore, wind turbines are spaced to minimize this impact:

5-10 rotor diameters in the direction of prevailing [8] wind [9]; and

3-5 rotor diameters in the direction of cross [8] wind [9].

Tip Issues such as leading edge erosion disturb aerodynamics to lower efficiency as well as useful life [10].

Simplified Blade Geometries such as reducing angle of twist lower the manufacturing costs as also the efficiency.

Losses in Drive Train viz. generator and gearbox are inevitable for parts that possess mass and move.

Methods to boost efficiency include:

High Lift to Drag Ratio Blade Shapes: Lift is the force that rotates the blade and depends on the angle of attack. Drag acts against blade rotation. Designers choose a ratio greater than 30. Resultant of lift and drag has a component in the rotational direction called Thrust and another that opposes rotation named Reaction.

Optimized blade geometry is an aerofoil cross section wherein the thickness, width, and twist angle increase as we move towards the hub [1]. Twist is the angle between the chord line of the blade at the root and the same line of the blade at the tip [11].

A wind turbine blade therefore consists of multiple aerofoil sections that are thicker near the hub and protrude into the wind. Those near the tip are thinner and almost perpendicular to wind direction.

Sufficient Tip Speed Ratios: This ratio is the tangential speed of the turbine blade tip divided by the relative wind velocity. Optimized tip ratio for three blade HAWTs is 6-9 and that for its two blade version is 9-10.

Efficiency rises with increasing tip ratio but so do noise, aerodynamic force, and centrifugal stress. Such turbines have issues with self-starting. Greater tip ratios necessitate the use of narrower blade profiles which cut material and production costs. However, slender blades have limitations withstanding the escalated forces.

Appropriate Tip Shapes wherein the tip is located on the pitch axis delivers superior torque to thrust ratio. This design is widely used [12]. Based on the wings of owls, serrated trailing edges near the tip improve aerodynamic efficiency and lower noise by enabling smoother mixing of the flow on two sides of the aerofoil section [13]. Whalepower Corporation has developed blades with leading edge serrations that too boost lift and reduce noise [14].

Factors that determine aerofoil profiles for wind turbine blades include:

Thicker sections to withstand loads versus thinner ones that deliver higher tip ratios, lower drag, and lesser material and production costs. Advanced materials with greater strength will enable use of thinner sections.

Increasing angle of twist to increase lift vis-à-vis lowering it to simplify blade design and production.

Vulnerability of blades to soiling and fouling as dust and insects accumulate on blade surface to disturb the aerodynamics and reduce efficiency. This is not an issue for airplanes.

Stall is the decline in lift and increase in drag at high angles of attack. Lethal for airplanes, stall is utilized beneficially to reduce lift for smaller turbines during high winds. However, it is brought about gradually.

Feathering is the reduction of angle of attack. The technique is generally used to reduce lift in high winds.

Pitching is the deliberate changing of angles of attack by twisting the blades along their length. This lowers or boosts lift respectively during high and low wind conditions. Pitch drive is located in the hub. Rotation plane and chord line are separated by the pitch angle [11]. Yaw drive rotates the hub along the vertical axis to keep it facing the wind.

Loads & Design Considerations
Primary conditions factored in when understanding loads on blades are:

Extreme Operational Loading due to ultra-high wind speeds; non-standard operations such as starting, yawing, or shutdown; or occasional wind gusts during low winds [15].

Emergency Stops are effected by means of aerodynamic and mechanical brakes. The former involves turning either the blades or their tips through 90⁰. Mechanical brakes are a back-up for the aerodynamic ones [16].

Parked 50-year Storm Scenario wherein the turbine is non-operational with a parked (locked) rotor and feathered blades [17].

Under these conditions, following loads are important:

Aerodynamic Loads include lift and drag. These depend on the wind and blade velocities, attack angle (α), surface finish, and yaw.

Centrifugal Loads caused by blade mass and their rotational speed are directed radially outward.

Gravitational Loads result from the blade mass acting downward.

Centrifugal and gravitational loads are crucial for rotors of or above 70 m diameter, slight for rotors up to 20 m, and insignificant for rotors of 10 m or below. Blades that can resist the three loads can endure these two minor loads:

Gyroscopic Loads that yawing creates.

Operational Loads that yawing, pitching, generator connections, and braking produce.

References

1. Policies to Support Wind Power Deployment, Clean Energy Solutions Center.

2. Report extract Renewables, IEA.

3. Global Wind Report 2021, GWEC - Global Wind Energy Council.

4. Renewable Energy, C2ES.

5. Profiling the top five countries with the highest wind energy capacity, NS Energy Staff Writer, NS Energy Business.

6. Wind Power by Country 2022, World Population Review.

7. Electricity Mix, Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, Our World in Data.

8. Turbine Wake Dynamics, Phillip McKay, Rupp Carriveau, David S-K Ting and Timothy Newson, IntechOpen.

9. Wind Farm Design, Park Effect, Mstudioblackboard.

10. Leading Edge Erosion: A BIG Problem For Wind Turbine Operators, Weather Guard Lightning Tech.

11. Twisting blade propeller and profile pitch, Mecaflux.

12. Wind turbine blade tip comparison using CFD, E Ferrer and X Munduate, IOPscience.

13. Does a Serrated Trailing Edge Cause Lightning Damage to Wind Turbine Blades?, Weather Guard Lightning Tech.

14. Whale of an Idea, Mike McLeod, Design Engineering, Annex Business Media.

15. Predicting Ultimate Loads for Wind Turbine Design, Peter Hauge Madsen, Kirk Pierce, Marshall Buh, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

16. Wind Turbine Safety, Danish Wind Industry Association.

17. Multivariate analysis of extreme metocean conditions for offshore wind turbines, V. Valamanesh, A.T. Myers, S.R. Arwade, Structural Safety, Volume 55.

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Wind Turbines & Renewable Energy - Cybernetik Technologies

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Better comprehension of aerodynamics and development of superior materials during the late 20 th century revived the utility of windmills for harnessing wind energy. Their traditional applications were water pumping and corn grinding [1].

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Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Food Manufacturing Process

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Safety is of course the core principle for RTE foods manufacturing. The process must also be rapid, energy efficient, and ergonomic while developing the required food flavor and texture.

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Safety is of course the core principle for RTE foods manufacturing. The process must also be rapid, energy efficient, and ergonomic while developing the required food flavor and texture.

Following are the general stages in manufacturing RTE foods:

Unloading & Transport: Unloaded raw materials are transported to the location of the cleaning equipment.

Cleaning: Removes dirt, dust, mud, stones, wood pieces and other such contaminants from the main raw materials. The cleaning stage may also include mechanisms for drying the raw materials wetted by the cleaning solution. Quality control check will affirm the efficacy of the cleaning process.

Transit: Cleaned raw materials are loaded into cooking kettles. Cybernetik's Buggy Lifters have:

350 liter Eurobins to hold raw materials.

Brake motor driven belt and pulley mechanism to lift the loaded Eurobin to the required height.

Tipping system to tilt the bin to the necessary angle for unloading raw material into the cooking kettle. Workers don't have to lift and tilt the bin, something which eliminates the risk of injury. Safety features include photoelectric sensors, emergency stops, and alarm interlocks.

Pressure Cooking: Industrial cooking kettles are fundamental equipment in the food industry. These can cook, mix, stew, pasteurize, sterilize, or lower the moisture content in raw materials or partially processed foods.

High pressure cooking improves the shelf life and safety of foods, maintains their nutritional value, and saves energy costs [6] while lending them better odor and taste, maintaining their attractive appearance, and minimizing cooking times [7].

Industrial pressure cooking involves multiple steps. Different raw materials are added at various stages after the cooked material is drained, rinsed, simmered etc. Quality control checks at the end of certain steps are instituted.

Features of Cybernetik's Cooking/Steam Kettles:

Automated for stop-start and the feeding-discharge of products.

Precise temperature control.

Uniform heating from all sides.

High-strength limpet/dimple jacket design allows use of thinner vessel shells.

Level indicators for accurate material feeding.

Load cell weighing option for batch-to-batch consistency.

Scraped surface agitator mixes materials to a homogeneous stage and prevents "burn-on" by not allowing material to stick to kettle wall.

Brisk meter checks process completion.

Safety devices and mechanisms include pressure-temperature sensor, pressure relief valves, safety interlocks, emergency stops, and indicator lamps.

Condensate recovery system for water reuse.

Clean in Place (CIP) provision for easy cleaning-maintenance.

Mixing: Double/twin shaft paddle mixers are the favorite mixers of the food industry for over three decades for bulk solid mixing. Cybernetik's Twin/Double Shaft Paddle Mixers:

Are automated.

Mix products gently to rapidly produce a homogeneous mix.

Are suitable for wet mixing.

Come with safety features such as emergency stop and alarm interlocks.

Have CIP facility for easy cleaning-maintenance.

Buffering: After pressure cooking, the mixture is buffered and checked for shelf life. Cybernetik's Buffer Tank has:

Dimple jacket design for high strength.

Ribbon blades for slow mixing.

Speed sensor to monitor mixing speed.

PID control for automatic temperature regulation.

Safety mechanisms such as emergency stop and alarm interlocks.

CIP system for easy cleaning-maintenance.

Holding: Maintaining or holding the temperature of cooked raw materials the required temperature for a specified duration prevents the growth of harmful disease causing microbes [8]. Holding process can be hot holding or cold holding.

Finally
Technological innovation empowers engineers to deliver on all the requirements of the RTE manufacturing process - safety, speed, efficiency, operator comfort, and quality.

Cybernetik has been delivering high-quality, purpose-built equipment and automation solutions to the Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food industry for decades.
References

1. Food Processing, Wikipedia.

2. Ready-to-Eat Food Market Report, Mordor Intelligence.

3. Safety of Ready-to-Eat Foods, ResearchGate.

4. Ministry of Food Processing Industries India Reports.

5. Food safety agency FSSAI launches 'Trans Fat Free' logo, Hindustan Times.

6. High Pressure Equipment Designs for Food Processing Applications, Food Engineering Series.

7. Industrial Pressure Kettle VKP, FoodTechProcess.

8. Food Storage, Preparation and Safety: In-depth, Croner-i.

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Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Food Manufacturing Process - Cybernetik Technologies

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Safety is of course the core principle for RTE foods manufacturing. The process must also be rapid, energy efficient, and ergonomic while developing the required food flavor and texture. Following are the general stages in manufacturing RTE foods: Unloading & Transport: Unloaded raw materials are transported to the location of the cleaning equipment.

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Why is Sugar Grinding & Processing Explosion Prone?

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Safety in the manufacturing setup not only ensures an incident-free factory that avoids medical, legal, and rebuilding costs, but also makes plant personnel feel valued. This may be the reason why a 2017 survey discovered a rise in manufacturing productivity following execution of a safety program [1].

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Safety in the manufacturing setup not only ensures an incident-free factory that avoids medical, legal, and rebuilding costs, but also makes plant personnel feel valued. This may be the reason why a 2017 survey discovered a rise in manufacturing productivity following execution of a safety program [1].

Dangerous Explosive Atmosphere (DEA) often results around a sugar grinding setup. At temperatures exceeding 150 ⁰ C, sugar dust is inflammable when available in sufficiently high concentrations. This forms a Dangerous Explosive Atmosphere (DEA) which can be set off by an ignition source.

Among the most disastrous examples of sugar plant explosions is the 2008 blasts at the Imperial Sugar Refinery, Georgia. Sugar dust had accumulated at various locations in the factory. A single blast triggered a chain reaction of explosions and culminated in the death and injury of several people [2].

Compliance with Atmosphere Explosible (ATEX) guidelines ensures that the manufactured mechanical and electrical products (equipment, parts, and protective mechanisms) are explosion proof while operating in blast-prone conditions.

Sugar Grinding: Inherently Explosion Prone
A large part of energy used to grind sugar is dissipated as heat which raises the temperature. Sucrose decomposes into glucose and fructose above 150 ⁰ C. Fructose then converts to hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is flammable [3] and the reason behind sugar's explosive nature.

Grinding breaks down sugar crystals into powder. The action multiplies the surface area and presents larger surface area for combustion. The mere presence of sugar powder is not a cause for concern. Explosion occurs when the following three conditions [4] occur at the same time [5]:

Sugar dust in sufficient concentrations, of adequate particle size distribution, and which can go airborne. Airborne and settled sugar dust are both explosion prone.

Ambience with enough oxygen levels.

Ignition source.

Talking of particle size, sugar dust is more explosive at smaller sizes because of the surface area magnification effect we noted. Sugar dust particles of:

0.063 mm size are explosion prone at 60 g/m³ concentration.

0.4 mm size are likely to be inflammatory at 750 g/m³.

Organic type and 0.8 mm thickness or more create a DEA when covering 5% or more area of a room.

Being an insulator, sugar dust prevents heat loss from hot surfaces when it settles on them. These hot surfaces are potential ignition sources. Major sources of sparks are:

Friction at pumps, ball bearings, motors, and electric switches.

Electrostatic discharge, entrapment of foreign particles between moving surfaces, and heated surfaces.

Vulnerable Zones
Measures to prevent blasts focus on avoiding the formation of a DEA. Sometimes when preventive measures are not practical, constructional controls are put in place to restrict the impact of explosions.

Structural and organizational controls which respectively deal with the plant structure and company work culture can either be preventive or constructional in nature. The starting point is of course the identification of blast-prone zones.

Grinder apart, following equipment and / or locations in a sugar milling plant is / are exposed to sugar dust accumulation:

Silo and hopper outlet and inlet

Conveyor transfer points

Elevators

ATEX classifies the areas in sugar grinding where DEA is formed frequently, constantly, or for longer durations as Zone 20. These are [5]:

Grinder and its accessory hoppers.

Dust extractor at its raw gas end.

Powder conditioners.

Finally
In theory, ATEX directives apply to the equipment and devices located inside the blast-exposed zone. But since the overall objective is explosion prevention-control, they should also apply to equipment and devices placed outside the said zone.

Extending the same logic, organizational controls form the backbone of safety measures because they make safety a part of the work culture, a culture that ensures the vibrant functioning of the other controls - preventive, constructional, and structural as we shall see in the next article.

Cybernetik adheres to the highest standards of safety for Sugar Grinding Solutions. Our focus on safety begins at the design stage wherein we build safeguards into our solutions. And, we continue with this approach across the manufacturing, testing, and deployment stages.
References

1. Vector Solutions. "Why is Manufacturing Safety so Important?

2. Hughes Enviromental. "What Caused the Imperial sugar Dust Explosion?"

3. Michelle Tsai. Slate. "What Makes Sugar Explode?"

4. Doug Carroll et al. Schenck Process. "Managing Explosive Dust Risk in Sugar Handling."

5. Nordzucker. "Guidelines for Prevention of Dust Explosions."

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Why is Sugar Grinding & Processing Explosion Prone? - Cybernetik Technologies

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Safety in the manufacturing setup not only ensures an incident-free factory that avoids medical, legal, and rebuilding costs, but also makes plant personnel feel valued. This may be the reason why a 2017 survey discovered a rise in manufacturing productivity following execution of a safety program [1].

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Key Role of Powdered Sugar in the Food & Pharmaceutical Industries

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Powdered sugar is a key ingredient of many food items and pharmaceutical formulations. Apart from imparting a palatable taste, it extends the shelf life of bakery products while imparting them a pleasant colour, tender texture, and fluffier form [1]. Size of crystal sugar is a major determinant of chocolate and cream quality [2].

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Key Role of Powdered Sugar in the Food & Pharmaceutical Industries - Cybernetik Technologies

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Powdered sugar is a key ingredient of many food items and pharmaceutical formulations. Apart from imparting a palatable taste, it extends the shelf life of bake