Certain rules and regulations are coming down the pipeline, leaving manufacturers with no choice but to become more energy efficient.
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When it comes to energy efficiency, there are some common challenges dry food processors face. For instance, where in the line can you be more energy efficient? How do you become more energy efficient without impacting other areas of the line/plant? And what does the overall return on investment look like?
All challenges aside, achieving—and maintaining—energy efficiency of any kind is paramount. Not just because customers are paying more attention to how their food travels through the chain, but also because certain rules and regulations are coming down the pipeline, leaving manufacturers with no choice but to become more energy efficient.
The Witte Company, for instance, manufactures Fluid Bed Dryers, which are considered one of the most energy-efficient types of dryers available.
“The drying process is often one of the more energy-intensive steps in dry food processing; any efficiency gains found here can go a long way,” says Tyson Witte, President, The Witte Company. “The first step in addressing dryer efficiency is to do a thorough examination of current sizing and operation to be sure that basic measures are not being overlooked.Many times, older pieces of equipment are used in a process they were not necessarily designed for, and time was never taken to evaluate proper equipment settings. When specifying new equipment, increased energy efficiency can be found with exhaust air stream heat recovery. Heat recovery can be achieved by recycling warm exhaust air as well as utilizing fresh air heat exchangers to heat incoming air to the dryer, lessening the load on the inlet air heaters.”
To drive maximum energy efficiency in a fluid bed drying process, features such as adjustable product retention time and exhaust air heat recovery can be both used to drive overall dryer efficiency, Witte says. That’s because maximizing product retention time inside a dryer allows more heat to be transferred from the heated air stream to the product, increasing efficiency.
Coperion's test center expansion will allow the company to conduct more comprehensive and diverse testing, providing customers with a broader range of solutions for their specific material handling needs.CoperionFor its part, Coperion K-Tronexpanded its state-of-the-art test center at its Niederlenz, Switzerland, facility. This strategic move is designed to enhance the company's capabilities, particularly for tests involving materials that require containment, and will be equipped with the latest technology and equipment, ensuring the highest standards of safety and efficiency.
Added equipment will feature advanced containment systems for handling all types of materials, including an airlock system with filtration, ensuring the safety of both the testing process and the staff as well as the environment.
Coperion also enhances energy efficiency in plastic processing through new process designs, such as an energy-efficient ABS blend extrusion process using its ZSK twin screw extruder. To date, Coperion extruders are said to provide energy savings of between 8-14%, on average.
Herbold Meckesheim, a brand of Coperion, debuted the SMS 80-200 Granulator, which integrates energy-efficient double cross-cutting action and pre-adjustable rotor and bed knives to produce a high-quality regrind with minimal fines and consistent particle size distribution.
The Xchanger model shown is used to cool, dehumidify, reheat, and filter low-pressure conveying air.XchangerThe Xchanger system from Xchanger Companies, Inc. is an energy-efficient solution that saves buildings 19.3% in HVAC electricity and 25.2% in gas yearly with its extra pressure drop and 37.4% in HVAC electricity and 7.7% in gas without added pressure drop, according to research conducted at the University of Maryland's Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS).
Meanwhile, Choice Organic Teas installed the stainless-steel Munson blender from Munson Machinery to eliminate waste. The Munson blender uses a gravity-driven mixing process that employs internal mixing flights to produce a tumble-turn-cut-fold mixing action said to yield 100% batch uniformity in less than three minutes using minimal energy.
When it comes to energy efficiency overall in relation to impending regulations, equipment manufacturers are still challenged with how to invest in the equipment needed to keep up with customer demand alongside meeting all of the potential energy savings possible.
“In an ever-evolving processing environment, making sure drying equipment is properly matched to its current process and operating at its maximum potential can go a long way towards increasing energy efficiency,” Witte says. “Taking the time to ensure that basic steps are not being overlooked is often all that is needed to make a big impact on a dry food processors bottom line.”
New Energy-Efficient Regulations Affecting Dry Food Processing
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a final rule on new energy conservation standards for Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers (CRE), with the compliance date of Jan. 22, 2029. U.S. commercial refrigeration and cooling for dry processing facilities involves specialized temperature and humidity control to protect shelf-stable ingredients and finished goods. Similarly, new efficiency standards for Walk-In Coolers and Freezers (WICFs), based on the updated Annual Walk-In Efficiency Factor (AWEF2) metric, follow this same timeline, with compliance by Dec. 31, 2028.
Under California Climate Investments, the Food Production Investment Program (FPIP) continues to support food producers in improving energy and emissions performance through grants. For fiscal years 2022–2024, more than $26 million has been allocated.
As it pertains to the European Union regulatory landscape, the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)—amended in 2024 by Directive 2024/1785—continues to require use of Best Available Techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions across industrial processes, including dry food processing.
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