Applications of titanium in the food industry

Relevance

The newest technologies in the food industry require the use of alternative construction materials for technological equipment, replacement and improvement of obsolete units. Specificity of modern food equipment requires numerous acutely scarce materials: non-ferrous metals, stainless steels, etc. The need for them is very difficult to meet. Machines and equipment are usually made of low-alloy steels, which in the conditions of aggressive food environments have low strength. This leads to a significant reduction in the operating durability of equipment and to an increase in material costs for repairs. Corrosion protection of metals in the food industry is characterized by a number of features. While a small amount of metal ions transferred into an aggressive environment is of little importance for the rest of production, for the food industry it is unacceptable.

Special features of technology

Food processing technology is a complex biochemical process. Sanitary and hygienic requirements for equipment materials are very strict. Non-compliance can lead to significant losses of valuable food products or alter their quality. In light of these problems, titanium is almost an ideal material that meets all the requirements. The economical feasibility of using titanium alloys has been studied in All-Union Scientific Research and Experimental Design Institute of Food Machine Building (VNIIEKIprodmash), Institute of Metallurgy of the USSR Academy of Sciences and Institute of Metallurgy of the GSSR Academy of Sciences, Titanium Institute, a number of branch institutes and Design Bureau.

Comparative experience in the use of various materials

Food industry and food machine building have accumulated large experience of production and operation of equipment made of titanium alloys. Recently at Nezhensky, Bolkhovsky, Smelyansky, Tbilsky plants and "Rospischepromavtomatika" community, special types of equipment and machines have been started to produce. In addition to all this, a wide range of products are produced at the machine-building plants Minhimmash Russia. There are a great number of examples taken from foreign practice of long-term use of various titanium equipment in food industry. For example, titanium is used in the USA for making brine, tomato products and sauces. Tests have shown that titanium is unaffected by food acids. Refrigerators made of titanium provide an opportunity to reduce refrigerant consumption and use higher pressures. Heinz (USA) has great experience in the use of titanium in the food industry. About three hundred grades of different nickel and stainless steel alloys were compared. But in conventional canning plants they showed low endurance when exposed to processing solutions that contain sodium chloride and acetic acid.

Titanium equipment

As a result of the tests carried out, new recommendations were developed for storage and transportation of foodstuffs as well as for the production of equipment for vegetable processing using titanium alloys. In soviet times, application of titanium was widely used in wine-making industry. The Titanium Institute, the All-Union Research Institute of Winegrowing and Winegrowing "Magarach", and the All-Union Research and Experimental Design Institute of Food Machine Building determined the list of equipment that was made from titanium, viz:

- centrifuges, vessels for preserving and ageing, as well as processing of wine materials;

- measuring tanks;

- containers for the transportation of products;

- barrels;

- dispensers;

- apparatuses designed for processing;

- filters.

Economic effect

The positive side of titanium containers application gave its advantages: its weight was considerably decreased, efficiency of loading-unloading operations increased, tare durability increased, costs for transportation, repair and maintenance decreased. These advantages were reflected in the general economic effect of production. For titanium tanks of 25 m3 capacity the factories have developed recommendations for use and technical documentation. Multifunctional tanks are used for ageing and transportation of various vintage wines and cognac alcohol. The supply of these tanks is carried out abroad and gives a significant technical and economic effect. In 1969 the first ten industrial containers for storage of cognac alcohol and color were produced at Tbilisi cognac factory "Samtrest". They are still in use today. Later, drawings and technical documentation for different capacity tanks for wine products were developed by Smelyanski Machine-Building Plant.

Zeer .

This is a welded construction, with a cross-section equilateral trapezoid, consisting of rods, dialed in a circle. Absolutely all details of zeer are made of titanium of VT1-0 grade. Production of valuable products from waste products occupies a large volume of industrial production in winemaking. Production of tartaric acid is characterized by the presence of aggressive media. For this purpose a vacuum apparatus made of titanium alloy was manufactured, which was successfully tested in the tartaric acid shop of Tbilisi production plant "Samtrest". During several years of operation the absence of material corrosion and scaling was proved. This significantly improves heat exchange and increases by 3 times the yield of the evaporated solution. The resulting product is of high concentration and quality.

Piping

All production in the food industry, use a huge amount of liquid media, requiring transportation, filtration and pumping. Earlier glass pipelines made at the winery "Grape" were widespread. They are hygienic, convenient, but do not always meet the requirements of operation. Because of temperature fluctuations, they deteriorate, require more frequent cleaning, as they are covered with sediments. But the industry does not stand still, many kilometers of pipelines have been made from titanium, very economical, requiring no maintenance for many years of use. Titanium Institute and Nezhensky mechanical plant have produced prototypes of titanium fan cylinder for VPO-20 press. Titanium equipment is supplied as a complete set: pipelines and stop valves, pumps and filters. True, this equipment is quite expensive, but its high cost is paid back by the long service life, reliability and biological inertness of the material it is made of. As an example, one can take the hydrolysis plant in the town of Khorsk, Khabarovsk Territory, which still successfully uses titanium valves manufactured in 1969 by the plant "Penztyazhpromarmatura".

Separators

Increase of capacity of liquid separators for separation of multiphase systems (fruit juices, yeast suspension, wine, nutrient media in medical industry) is directly connected with the increase of rotation speed of the drum and its diameter. If the centrifugal forces increase, stresses can arise in the parts that can lead to destruction. Since titanium has half the specific weight of steel and a higher safety margin, it is much more feasible to use it in the production of such separators. This is especially true in starch production where liquid media has a high corrosive activity. Therefore, it is best to use titanium alloys for such applications and replace the existing stainless steel separator drums.

Fish industry

Entire floating processing plants are used for fish processing. All machinery used for processing are in constant contact with sea water, so they need to be especially corrosion-resistant. Mechanisms made of titanium alloys are the ideal solution in this industry.

Sugar industry

This industry has extensive experience in the use of titanium equipment and piping. Titanium tubes used in evaporators have proved not only their high corrosion resistance, but also the possibility of increasing the concentration of acid solution used for periodic scale removal. This has resulted in less equipment downtime and lower labor costs.

Other industries

Evaporators made of titanium alloys have been used at the Belgorod citric acid plant for three years. During this period of operation they did not corrode or need repair. The Beslan maize plant successfully operates tank equipment made of titanium grade BT1-0. Melitopol distillery successfully operates a carbon column made of titanium BT1-0, designed for vodka filtration. It has been specially designed by Titanium Institute for this purpose. Titanium Institute together with the Leningrad Institute "Rospischepromavtomatika" designed, produced, tested and put into mass production washing heads made of titanium alloy VT1-0. They can clean almost any container within a few minutes. Application of titanium alloy was able to provide lightness of the head, its exceptional resistance in environment of disinfecting solutions. The Titanium Institute together with the Odessa Institute of Technology named after Lomonosov, developed a design from titanium alloy for sherry in the flow, or acceleration of sherry ripening. And since this process is too sensitive to the slightest presence of extraneous ions, the use of titanium for this purpose, it turned out to be the most acceptable, so that the sherry made was only of high quality.

Specialists of the Simferopol Institute of essential oil crops together with the Institute of Titanium have developed and manufactured a pilot column from titanium alloy VT1-0 for the production of toffee oil. It was caused by the necessity to improve quality of products, because the old steel column could not meet the requirements of production. Products made of titanium alloys and have undergone numerous tests should also include chocolate cutting discs; turbo blower wheels for transferring saturator gas; milk pouring machine heads made of pressed titanium powder; malt sieves in the brewing industry and much more.

Buy, price

Evek GmbH sells rolled metal products at the best price. It is formed taking into account the LME (Londonmetal exchange) rates and depends on the technological characteristics of production, without including additional costs. We supply a wide range of products made of titanium and its alloys. All batches have quality certificate for compliance with standards requirements. With us you can buy in bulk the most various products for large-scale productions. The wide choice, exhaustive consulting of our managers, reasonable prices and timely delivery determine the face of our company. There is a system of discounts for wholesale purchases

Relevance

The newest technologies in the food industry require the use of alternative construction materials for technological equipment, replacement and improvement of obsolete units. Specificity of modern food equipment requires numerous acutely scarce materials: non-ferrous metals, stainless steels, etc. The need for them is very difficult to meet. Machines and equipment are usually made of low-alloy steels, which in the conditions of aggressive food environments have low strength. This leads to a significant reduction in the operating durability of equipment and to an increase in material costs for repairs. Corrosion protection of metals in the food industry is characterized by a number of features. While a small amount of metal ions transferred into an aggressive environment is of little importance for the rest of production, it is not permissible for the food industry.

Special features of technology

Food processing technology is a complex biochemical process. Sanitary and hygienic requirements for equipment materials are very strict. Non-compliance can lead to significant losses of valuable food products or alter their quality. In light of these problems, titanium is almost an ideal material that meets all the requirements. The economical feasibility of using titanium alloys has been studied in All-Union Scientific Research and Experimental Design Institute of Food Machine Building (VNIIEKIprodmash), Institute of Metallurgy of the USSR Academy of Sciences and Institute of Metallurgy of the GSSR Academy of Sciences, Titanium Institute, a number of branch institutes and SKB.

Comparative experience in the use of various materials

Food industry and food machine building have accumulated large experience of production and operation of equipment made of titanium alloys. Recently at Nezhensky, Bolkhovsky, Smelyansky, Tbilsky plants and "Rospischepromavtomatika" community, special types of equipment and machines have been started to produce. In addition to all this, a wide range of products are produced at the machine-building plants Minhimmash Russia. There are a great number of examples taken from foreign practice of long-term use of various titanium equipment in food industry. For example, titanium is used in USA for making brine, tomato products and sauces. Tests have shown that titanium is unaffected by food acids. Refrigerators made of titanium provide an opportunity to reduce refrigerant consumption and use higher pressures. Heinz (USA) has great experience in the use of titanium in the food industry. About three hundred grades of different nickel and stainless steel alloys were compared. But in conventional canning plants they showed low endurance when exposed to processing solutions that contain sodium chloride and acetic acid.

Titanium equipment

As a result of these tests, new recommendations have been developed for the storage and transportation of foodstuffs as well as for the production of vegetable processing equipment using titanium alloys. In soviet times, application of titanium was widely used in wine-making industry. The Titanium Institute, the All-Union Research Institute of Winegrowing and Winegrowing "Magarach", and the All-Union Research and Experimental Design Institute of Food Machine Building determined the list of equipment that was made from titanium, viz:

- centrifuges, vessels for preserving and ageing, as well as processing of wine materials;

- measuring tanks;

- containers for the transportation of products;

- barrels;

- dispensers;

- apparatuses designed for processing;

- filters.

Economic effect

The positive side of titanium containers application gave its advantages: its weight was considerably decreased, efficiency of loading-unloading operations increased, tare durability increased, costs for transportation, repair and maintenance decreased. These advantages were reflected in the general economic effect of production. For titanium tanks of 25 m3 capacity the factories have developed recommendations for use and technical documentation. Multifunctional tanks are used for ageing and transportation of various vintage wines and cognac alcohol. The supply of these tanks is carried out abroad and gives a significant technical and economic effect. In 1969 the first ten industrial containers for storage of cognac alcohol and color were produced at Tbilisi cognac factory "Samtrest". They are still in use today. Later, drawings and technical documentation for different capacity tanks for wine products were developed by Smelyanski Machine-Building Plant.

Zeer .

This is a welded construction, with a cross-section of an equilateral trapezoid, consisting of bars, dialed in a circle. Absolutely all details of zeer are made of titanium of VT1-0 grade. Production of valuable products from waste products occupies a large volume of industrial production in winemaking. Production of tartaric acid is characterized by the presence of aggressive media. For this purpose a vacuum apparatus made of titanium alloy was manufactured, which was successfully tested in the tartaric acid shop of Tbilisi production plant "Samtrest". During several years of operation the absence of material corrosion and scaling was proved. This significantly improves heat exchange and increases by 3 times the yield of the evaporated solution. The resulting product is of high concentration and quality.

Piping

All production in the food industry, use a huge amount of liquid media, requiring transportation, filtration and pumping. Earlier glass pipelines made at the winery "Grape" were widespread. They are hygienic, convenient, but do not always meet the requirements of operation. Because of temperature fluctuations, they deteriorate, require more frequent cleaning, as they are covered with sediments. But the industry does not stand still, many kilometers of pipelines have been made from titanium, very economical, requiring no maintenance for many years of use. Titanium Institute and Nezhensky mechanical plant have produced prototypes of titanium fan cylinder for VPO-20 press. Titanium equipment is supplied as a complete set: pipelines and stop valves, pumps and filters. True, this equipment is quite expensive, but its high cost is paid back by the long service life, reliability and biological inertness of the material it is made of. As an example, one can take the hydrolysis plant in the town of Khorsk, Khabarovsk Territory, which still successfully uses titanium valves manufactured in 1969 by the plant "Penztyazhpromarmatura".

Separators

Increase of capacity of liquid separators for separation of multiphase systems (fruit juices, yeast suspension, wine, nutrient media in medical industry) is directly connected with the increase of rotation speed of the drum and its diameter. If the centrifugal forces increase, stresses can arise in the parts that can lead to destruction. Since titanium has half the specific weight of steel and a higher safety margin, it is much more feasible to use it in the production of such separators. This is especially true in starch production where liquid media has a high corrosive activity. Therefore, it is best to use titanium alloys for such applications and replace the existing stainless steel separator drums.

Fish industry

Entire floating processing plants are used for fish processing. All machinery used for processing are in constant contact with sea water, so they need to be especially corrosion-resistant. Mechanisms made of titanium alloys are the ideal solution in this industry.

Sugar industry

This industry has extensive experience in the use of titanium equipment and piping. Titanium tubes used in evaporators have proved not only their high corrosion resistance, but also the possibility of increasing the concentration of acid solution used for periodic scale removal. This has resulted in less equipment downtime and lower labor costs.

Other industries

Evaporators made of titanium alloys have been used at the Belgorod citric acid plant for three years. During this period of operation they did not corrode or need repair. The Beslan maize plant successfully operates tank equipment made of titanium grade BT1-0. Melitopol distillery successfully operates a carbon column made of titanium BT1-0, designed for vodka filtration. It has been specially designed by Titanium Institute for this purpose. Titanium Institute together with the Leningrad Institute "Rospischepromavtomatika" designed, produced, tested and put into mass production washing heads made of titanium alloy VT1-0. They can clean almost any container within a few minutes. Application of titanium alloy was able to provide lightness of the head, its exceptional resistance to disinfectant solutions. The Titanium Institute together with the Odessa Institute of Technology named after Lomonosov, developed a design from titanium alloy for sherry in the flow, or acceleration of sherry ripening. And since this process is too sensitive to the slightest presence of extraneous ions, the use of titanium for this purpose, it turned out to be the most acceptable, so that the sherry made was only of high quality.

Specialists of the Simferopol Institute of essential oil crops together with the Institute of Titanium have developed and manufactured a pilot column from titanium alloy VT1-0 for the production of toffee oil. It was caused by the necessity to improve quality of products, because the old steel column could not meet the requirements of production. Products made of titanium alloys and have undergone numerous tests should also include chocolate cutting discs; turbo blower wheels for transferring saturator gas; milk pouring machine heads made of pressed titanium powder; malt sieves in the brewing industry and much more.

Buy, price

Evek GmbH sells rolled steel products at the best price. It is formed taking into account the LME (Londonmetal exchange) rates and depends on the technological characteristics of production, without including additional costs. We supply a wide range of products made of titanium and its alloys. All batches have quality certificate for compliance with standards requirements. With us you can buy in bulk the most various products for large-scale productions. The wide choice, exhaustive consulting of our managers, reasonable prices and timely delivery determine the face of our company. There is a system of discounts for wholesale purchases