Today’s food and beverage processors face increasing operational challenges. Conserving water and energy and improving efficiency while protecting food safety and quality are major priorities for many processors.

To succeed, you need to take a proactive approach and scrutinize your entire plant operations. A partner that understands your operation and can tailor solutions to take advantage of hidden opportunities between interconnected systems is the key to achieving measurable results that translate to a significant, sustainable business value.

Do not underestimate the impact of taking a comprehensive, systematic approach to improving plant operations. One global food and beverage processor is on track to save an estimated 29 million gallons of water annually—the equivalent of 3.8 billion glasses of drinking water—as a result of its partnership with Ecolab and Nalco, an Ecolab company. Nalco (the world’s largest sustainability services company focused on industrial water, energy and air applications) recently merged with Ecolab (a global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety and infection prevention products and services) to create a global company that leads the way in water, hygiene and energy solutions.

Measurable Results in Sanitation Program
To optimize clean-in-place (CIP) system water usage, Advantis® 330, a hot CIP program for beverage processing, helped reduce CIP water usage by 45 percent while reducing CIP labor cost by 48 percent. The innovative, three-step system eliminates two water-intensive CIP steps to reduce the amount of water and energy needed for cleaning and rinsing.

The processor also used several other Ecolab sanitation solutions to achieve measurable improvements, including Surpass® 100, an EPA-registered product that provides bacteria and fungi control in bottle and can warmers so warmer water does not have to be dumped daily. The antimicrobial additive provides water, time and utility savings while reducing microorganism risk. The DryExx® Conveyor Management System saved 3 million gallons of water annually for a five-line plant location; it also eliminated excess water and foam on plant floors, thereby creating a safer workplace. Exelerate® HS liquid pretreatment reduced cleaning time and saved water in fryer boil-out cleaning while helping protect workers through lower operating temperatures.

Cooling Water Management
As is common in beverage plants, the manufacturer uses two evaporative condensers for cooling and HVAC. By implementing the innovative 3D TRASAR® cooling water automation, Nalco enabled the systems to operate at a lower blow-down rate, thereby conserving 24 million gallons of water per year.

Water Treatment Processes
The manufacturer’s water pretreatment system was plagued by a number of issues, including oxidized membranes, poor reverse osmosis (RO), excessive water consumption and high operating costs. 3D TRASAR® Technology for Membranes provided superior dosing control, which reduced chemical use and decreased RO reject water by 27 percent. The company saved 2 million gallons per year while reducing its energy consumption (by significantly lowering operating pump pressure).

After Nalco conducted an extensive audit of the wastewater treatment processes, the manufacturer was able to reduce its sludge hauling by 90 percent, saving more than 1,000 million metric British thermal units of energy and avoiding 100 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. The plant’s initial aeration tank flow was re-engineered and a belt press chemical approach and feed system was tailored to increase production of profitable animal feed sludge.

Proactive Partnership
For companies looking to achieve measurable results and optimize operations, it pays to take a proactive approach and examine all plant processes. By working with the combined Ecolab-Nalco team, you can have confidence that every part of your operation is protected. Our unique Total Plant Assurance approach helps ensure you meet your goals in food safety and quality, sustainability and operational efficiency, while providing consistency across your operations.

ecolab.com