Cleaning food processing with dry ice

Cleaning food processing might be a long-lasting nightmare if the job is not done right but fret not because dry ice blasting machine has taken over the market as an ultimate solution for you and your businesses. Together with our Specco2 team, let’s find out more about this superior cleaning method used for cleaning food processing with dry ice in the article below!

Food processing explanation

Food processing is known as a procedure that transforms agricultural products into food by heating, freezing, drying, fermenting, canning, etc. It’s like processing the raw materials so that you can create the end products that are labeled as “ready to use”! This procedure offers crucial benefits to businesses and consumers, including a more varied food supply and foods with a much longer expiration date (generally about a year). For you to imagine easier, it’s like creating baking flour for cooking from grinding grain or even the cheese and apple juice you are drinking daily.

The problem with food processing

After a long time of operating, certain aspects of food processing, however, are raising concerns over food safety and its outcome. This includes hygiene, quality, and the taste of the product after it is made; mainly due to the pieces of equipment and machines are not thoroughly clean. Leaving the conveyor belts oily, filled with crumbs and mixed with other food remainings. 

As you can see, food processing accumulates a large amount of grease, crumbs, seasonings, proteins, harmful microorganisms, carbonized residue, adhesives, etc. that traditionally consume a lot of time to clean along with a lot of workforce to get things done. Methods such as manually scraping, scrubbing, the using of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting often reduce the longevity of machines and wear them out from time to time. Not to mention the additional cost you have to pay to clean up the secondary waste and also a high chance of the residues still being left behind in small crevices and corners where our hands cannot reach. This can cause issues as the residues have been in touch with water, chemicals can appear somewhere inside the food while it is being processed and get into the packaging. 

To solve this problem, a new superior cleaning method has taken over the market and it is no other than the dry ice blasting machine!

What is dry ice blasting and how does it work?

So what is dry ice blasting machine? Dry ice blasting is an alternative option for conventional cleaning methods but a much better one. This superior cleaning device uses material such as dry ice made primarily from recycled carbon dioxide. Unlike sandblasting or glass bead blasting, dry ice blasting is an ecologically friendly cleaning method applied in not only in the food industry but also many industries like cleaning wood. It leaves no chemical residue, as dry ice sublimates at room temperature and most the important part? It does not cause erosion at all. 

Dry ice blasting machines have various types of nozzles that come in different sizes to serve the cleaning purpose of the users. The machine is operated by blasting dry ice at supersonic speed and colliding with the surface that needs cleaning. The combination of kinetic and thermodynamics will break the bond between the debris and the surface of the device, removing stains in just one use. At this time, the dry ice will sublimate immediately, turn from solid to gas then evaporate. There will be no secondary waste left behind. You can have a look of our Icetech series dry ice blaster

This cleaning device is designed with cutting-edge technology that allows it to operate at optimum efficiency and deliver the best quality. Some of the advantages of the machine can be mentioned as:

• Reduce significantly cleaning time and labor costs 
• Restoring wooden structures to their original condition
• Improve the appearance of wooden materials, even if there are scorch marks
• No harmful chemicals are used, increasing the safety of employees and workers
• Dry cleaning and moisture-free; eliminates the appearance of termites and molds
• Non-abrasive which helps big time in maintaining the quality of the material; minimizes the possibility of scratches
• Excellent cleaning as no secondary waste is left behind; super friendly to the environment.

For instance, a baking company uses dry ice blasting to clean dough, flour, and baked-on greases and oils from the various metal and plastic surfaces of their equipment. Their previous cleaning method involved cleaning manually with water together with other harmful chemical substances but they are extremely time-consuming as workers need to rest in between and the production downtime is extended; resulting in a loss of revenue. After that, said company chooses another alternative which is the dry ice blasting machine and the result is very satisfying. The dry ice blasting process allowed them to clean considerably faster (up to 85% compared to the old cleaning method) and more efficient (resulting in superior cleaning and pristine machines’ surfaces). This also enabled the facility to eliminate water from its cleaning process and maximize productivity.

Because dry ice blaster and dry ice making machine don’t harm the environment, we recommended using this machine for your industry

Types of dry ice blasting suitable for cleaning food processing

The Aero 2 Series

Following the birth of the Aero series is the Aero2 series – this is the most efficient dry ice blaster available on the market; giving you full control, even when you’re not on site.

Aero2 PLT 60

Built on ground-breaking Aero2 technology, the PLT 60 is designed for applications that require more robustness, making it the most efficient dry ice machine available. This machine is enabled through SPECCo2’s 4.0 technology solution, SPECCo2 CONNECT which provides remote monitoring and diagnostic capabilities.

With the SureFlow feeding system, it not only helps users to minimize air pressure loss but also maximizes air supply capacity and limits dry ice waste. In addition, the Aero2 PLT 60 features a 7” LCD display with digital controls, providing an intuitive display that allows the user to easily view, program or adjust the firing parameters. dry as well as install the machine. Such as setting and saving burst pressure and feed speed parameters.

Aero2 PCS 60

The Aero2 PCS 60 is designed to give users full control using SPECCo2’s patented Particle Control System (PCS), which allows users to customize dry ice firing parameters. Besides, the dry ice will also be cut into diamond-shaped particles to the exact size selected by the operator (from 0.3mm to 3mm).

Some advantages of the PCS 60 series:

• Performance changes industry: The blast stream is consistent and pulse-free.
• Intuitive screen: Easily view and control blasting parameters and machine settings on the 7” color LCD display.
• Full control provides a level of precision and flexibility even at a distance..
• Programmable applications: The user can set and save application formulations (burst pressure, particle size, feed rate), thereby ensuring the most efficient use of materials and preventing errors during operation.
• Ergonomics: The machine is designed to optimize and combine materials, reducing weight and size with redesigned bellows for greater flexibility and durability.
• Lower noise level and effective cleaning at lower blowing air pressure.
• IoT capabilities for remote monitoring and diagnostics with the industry’s first SPECCo2 CONNECT.

PCS 60 is IoT enabled through SPECCo2’s 4.0 technology solution, SPECCo2 CONNECT. The system provides remote monitoring and diagnostic capabilities.

Conclusion

Cleaning food processing can consume a lot of money, time, labor, resulting in a significant reduction in revenue if it is not done properly. With the dry ice blasting, everything problems can be solved easily thanks to outstanding advanced technology, which reduces up to 85% the cleaning time compared to other traditional cleaning methods. It is not only environmentally friendly but also has excellent cleaning capabilities; requiring only 1-2 people to operate the machine while online. This process is completely dry for better machine operation and longer service life.

For more details and consulting on dry ice blasting machines, you can contact us, the Specco2 team for support. Specco2 is proud to be the official distributor of SPECCo2 in Vietnam, specializing in distributing dry ice machines and producing dry ice.