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This unique system provides significant hygiene, H&S and energy
saving benefits, whilst giving the user greater control over their production
processes.
The customer, a well-known confectionary
manufacturer in the UK, had chosen Inditherm in preference to its traditional
electrical trace heating, because of the significant benefits provided by their
conductive polymer technology. These include energy efficiency, uniform
heating, improved temperature control and significantly lower energy
consumption.
Their brief to Inditherm was to provide
heating and insulation to 300 metres of pipe to maintain liquid Maltitol (a liquid sweetener
that is an essential ingredient in many sugar-free confectionary
products) at the right temperature, whilst it is pumped through the production
process. At 55°C Maltitol is easy to pump, reducing energy consumption and the
work load on pumps and ancillary equipment.
The specification also stated that should unforeseen
circumstances result in the product temperature falling below 50°C, the
Inditherm heating system must be capable of raising the temperature to 70°C to
prevent it from crystallising.
Another innovative feature of the installation
is the modular, ‘plug & play' pipework system. The modular concept
enables sections of pipe to be installed much more rapidly than existing
practices, whilst providing an extremely hygienic solution, so vital in many
production processes. This innovation involves the off-site manufacture of
the pipework, addition of the 24 Volt Inditherm heating pads, then the
insulation and stainless steel cladding. The whole assembly is then shipped to site
and secured onto pre-installed brackets, wired in and commissioned.
The whole process is much faster than traditional methods of
installation.
The stainless steel cladding has a number of innovations
designed to eliminate the ingress of potential contaminants; these include
specially profiled end caps with a hygienic quality sealant applied to all
joints.
In addition to the modular pipework system, Inditherm heating
pads and cladding were applied to two external tanks, each containing 30,000
litres of the Maltitol.
The customer is so pleased with the
installation that a sister plant in central Europe has also placed an order with
Inditherm for a similar installation, worth
£94,000.
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