Technical and organizational optimization of the product freezing in a meat processing company

Enrique Cabrera M.Sc. Energy Systems Bochum, Germany 06/March/2015

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Theoretical Background

• Experimental Settings - Product Slicing Parameters - Grouping of Products

• Results - Nitrogen Determination - Process Analysis - Reduction of Nitrogen Consumption

• Conclusions

• Appendix

Agenda

2

Introduction

Glocken-Beune GmbH (1952):

•2011 achieved 5,000 Tons production (150 staff workers)

•Exports around 50% of its products

-30% of Rohwurst (raw sausage),

-approximately 50% of Bauchspeck-Artikel (Bacon products) and

-20% of Schinken (ham)

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Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Freshline® QF Tunnelfroster; Technische Gase Hattingeng, Germany (2000); www.airproducts.de/food

Cryogenic freezing by liquid nitrogen:

• high productivity,

• high cooling performance,

• and high freezing quality of frozen product

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Theoretical Background

• Experimental Settings

• Results

• Conclusions

• Appendix

Agenda

4

1. To determine the nitrogen consumption depending on the meat production rate of the company Glocken-Beune GmbH

2. To propose the technical and organizational operation optimizations to reduce the amount of nitrogen used in the freezing process of the meat production process

Objectives

5

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Theoretical Background

• Experimental Settings

• Results

• Conclusions

• Appendix

Agenda

6

Theoretical Background (Freezing process)

Freezing curve of food

1. Cooling to the freezing point (removal of sensible heat above freezing point),

2. Freezing (removal of latent heat) and

3. Further cooling to the desired subfreezing temperature (removal of sensible heat of frozen food below freezing point).

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Cengel, Yunus A.: Heat Transfer:A Practical Approach; McGraw-Hill, United States (1998); ISBN 0-07-011505-2

Theoretical Background (Cryogenic Freezing)

• Type: : QF1220.6. It is 6 m long and 1.22 m wide.

• Method:

• Refrigeration effect: 50% nitrogen phase change other 50% via convective heat transfer

• Product heat load represents 85% to 95% of the total heat load

• Consumption of cryogenic substances is the major cost-component of cryogenic operations

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Mascheroni, Rodolfo H,: Operations in Food Refrigeration; Taylor and Francis, Hoboken (2012); ISBN 9781420055511. Valentas, Kenneth J., Rotstein, Enrique, Singh, Paul: Handbook of Food Engineering Practice; CRC, USA (1997);ISBN 0-8493-8694-2.

Theoretical Background (Cryogenic Freezing)

Advantages

• Fast cooling rates

• High productivity

• Reduction of food safety risks

• Low setup costs

• Low energy consumption during freezing/chilling

• Simple operation, compact equipment with low maintenance requirements

Disadvantages

• The operating costs of cryogenic systems can be roughly eight times higher than mechanical refrigeration systems

• To determine the relationship of each factor to control and configure the proper condition of the freezer to the highest quality

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Mascheroni, Rodolfo H,: Operations in Food Refrigeration; Taylor and Francis, Hoboken (2012); ISBN 9781420055511. Uporn, R. and Luangpaiboon, P.: Cryogenic Freezin Process Optimization based on Desirability Function on the Path of Steepest Ascent; World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, vol: 6 (2012) (1287-1288).

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Theoretical Background

• Experimental Settings

- Product Slicing Parameters

-Grouping of Products

• Results

• Conclusions

Agenda

10

Experimental Settings

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Article Nr. Name

Temperature

before Tunnel

[°C]

Lead time

[min]

Temperature

of the

freezer[°C]

Cutting Temperature

in the core [°C]

Flow

diagram

92254 Saulardons 0 - 6 22 -60 (-7- -9)

1

92256 Saulardons 0 - 6 22 -60 (-7- -9)

92259 Saulardons 0 - 6 22 -60 (-7- -9)

92257 Schweinelardons 0 - 6 17 -50 (-7- -8)

92258 Schweinelardons 0 - 6 17 -50 (-7- -8)

92253 Schweinelardons 0 - 6 16 -50 (-7- -8)

922235 Bacon Bauch 0 - 6 27 -50 (-5,5 - -6,5)

92300 Kräuterlachsschinken 0 - 6 32 -50 (-5,5 - -6,5)

2 92301 Lachsschinkennatur 0 - 6 29 -50 (-5,5 - -6,5)

92320 Pfefferlachsschinken 0 - 6 31 -50 (-5,5 - -6,5)

92240

gekochte Mettwurst

mit Aspik 0 - 6 18.5 -50 (-3,5 - -5) 3

Article Nr. Name Production Line

1 2 5 6

92254 Sauladorns x x

92256 Sauladorns x x

92259 Sauladorns x

92257 Schweinelardons x x

92258 Schweinelardons x x

92253 Schweinelardons x

92235 Bacon-Bauch x

92300 Kräuterlachsschinken x

92301 Lachsschinkennatur x

92320 Pfefferlachsschinken x

92240 gekochte Mettwurst mit Aspik x

12

Experimental Settings

13

Experimental Settings (Slicing Parameters)

Example slicing lines 1 and 2: “Saulardons and Schweinelardons”

14

(-8 -9)°C

(-7 -8)°C

(-7 -9)°C

(-8 -9)°C

Experimental Settings (Slicing Parameters)

Slicing lines 1 and 2: “Saulardons and Schweinelardons”

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Experimental Settings (Groping of Products)

Flow

Diagram Article No. Name Group Image

1

92254 Sauladorns

1

92256 Sauladorns

92259 Sauladorns

92257 Schweinelardons

92258 Schweinelardons

92253 Schweinelardons

92235 Bacon-Bauch 2

2

92300 Kräuterlachsschinken

3 92301 Lachsschinkennatur

92320 Pfefferlachsschinken

3 92240

gekochte Mettwurst mit

Aspik 4

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Theoretical Background

• Experimental Settings

• Results - Nitrogen Determination - Process Analysis - Reduction of Nitrogen Consumption

• Conclusions

• Appendix

Agenda

16

Results

• Calorimetry (Experimental) nitrogen consumption determination

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0.00

25.00

50.00

75.00

100.00

125.00

150.00

175.00

200.00

225.00

250.00

92254 92256 92259 92257 92258 92253 92235 92300 92301 92320 92240

Co

olin

g h

eat

req

. kJ/

kg

of

meat

Article No.

Results • Theoretical nitrogen consumption determination

i. Theoretical calculation measuring enthalpies and

ii. Air Products tunnel sizing software

- Freezing point of -2°C and a density of 1000 kg/m3

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Group Article No. Water

content [%] Length [cm] Width [cm]

Thickness

[cm] Weight [Kg]

1

92254 51.73 88.60 33.00 2.90 6.20

92256 52.82 82.40 30.40 2.30 6.66

92259 47.01 77.40 29.20 3.20 5.90

92257 54.98 57.00 24.00 3.20 5.90

92258 52.07 58.80 22.40 2.46 2.72

92253 52.86 61.20 22.00 3.26 2.94

2 92235 45.53 50.00 21.40 2.96 3.04

Results

• Nitrogen Consumption Comparison

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Group Article No. Ti

[°C]

Tf

[°C]

Calorimetry

cooling heat

requirement

[kJ/kg]

Theoretical

Cooling heat

requirement

[kJ/kg]

AP Program

Cooling heat

requirement

[kJ/kg]

1

92254 3.4 -13.7 139.00 138.00 151.2

92256 5.2 -15.1 160.33 158.00 162.4

92259 5.25 -24.4 234.33 160.00 169.6

92257 5.7 -8.3 134.00 130.00 142.4

92258 3.8 -9.1 116.00 119.00 135.2

92253 3.15 -11.7 127.50 133.00 147.2

2 92235 3.9 -8.7 196.00 83.00 119.2

3

92300 2.75 -8.1 130.60 156.00

153.6 92301 2.75 -8.1 138.50 172.00

92320 2.75 -8.1 130.60 161.00

4 92240 4.65 -4.1 152.50 126.00 109.6

Results

• Nitrogen Consumption Comparison

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0

50

100

150

200

250

92

25

4

92

25

6

92

25

9

92

25

7

92

25

8

92

25

3

92

23

5

92

30

0

92

30

1

92

32

0

92

24

0

Co

olin

g h

eat

req

. kJ/

kg o

f m

eat

Experimental "Calorimetry"

Theoretical "Enthalpies" Theoretical "AP Program"

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0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

92254 92256 92259 92257 92258 92253 92235 92300 92301 92320 92240

50.72 52.33 47.01

55.68 52.22 54.40 46.64

61.65 64.26 62.45 63.63

21.93 19.91 25.17

16.60 22.29 19.50 34.81 4.41 3.14 3.44

15.60 7.09 7.41 7.96 5.15

6.25 5.81

4.01

4.09 4.67 4.54

2.32

19.08 19.11 20.32 22.06 19.50 20.99

16.09

26.77 24.45 26.43

17.01

%

ArticleNo.

Water Content [%] Fat [%] Salt [%] Protein [%]

Results (Product Characterization)

Results

• Nitrogen Consumption Comparison Validation

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Group Article No. Water content

[%] Fat [%]

Calorimetry

cooling heat

requirement [kJ/kg]

Theoretical Cooling

heat requirement

[kJ/kg]

Difference

(Δ)

[kJ/kg]

1

92254 51.73 21.93 139.00 138.00 1

92256 52.82 19.91 160.33 158.00 2.33

92259 47.01 25.17 234.33 160.00 74.33

92257 54.98 16.60 134.00 130.00 4.00

92258 52.07 22.29 116.00 119.00 -3.00

92253 52.86 19.50 127.50 133.00 -5.50

2 92235 45.53 34.81 196.00 83.00 74.00

3

92300 61.65 4.41 130.60 156.00 -25.40

92301 64.26 3.14 138.50 172.00 -33.50

92320 62.45 3.44 130.60 161.00 -30.40

4 92240 63.63 15.60 152.50 126.00 26.5

Results

• Nitrogen Consumption Comparison Validation

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y = 0.1304x + 20.145 R² = 0.65

15.00

17.50

20.00

22.50

25.00

27.50

30.00

32.50

35.00

37.50

-10.00 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00

Fat

(%)

Delta (kJ)

Results

• Process Analysis:

• Process Flow Diagrams and Process Temperature Behavior

- Process before the cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

- Cryogenic freezer operation (Tunnel Operation)

- Process after the cryogenic freezer (Tunnel)

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(25 - 33)°CTumbling Hanging

Smoking 92254,92257

0)

Smoking 92259,92253,

0)

Drying92256,92258

0)

Transport to HS32)

Cooling in HS33)

Transport to K114)

Cooling in K115)

Cooling in chamber 1)

Freezing Tunnel6)

Waiting time after tunnel

7)

Transport to K38)

Storage in K39)

Transport to slicing machines

10)

Storage in K12Froster11.b)

Waiting time in K1111.a)

Slicing Machines 1 and 2

12)

Process Analysis: Group 1

Results • Process Analysis: before the cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

0.00 2.50 5.00 7.50 10.00 12.50 15.00 17.50 20.00 22.50 25.00

T(°C

)

Time (Hours)

Results • Process Analysis: Group 1

4/7/2015 27

Results • Process Analysis: before the cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

• Cooling heat requirement in K-11 and LIN consumption to cool down Bacon from Ti=10°C to Tf=3°C, in 10 hours time:

• Bacon requires 0.552 kg of N2 / kg of 92235

• from Ti=10°C down to Tf=1°C, same conditions:

• Bacon requires 0.544 kg of N2 / kg of 92235

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Results • Process Analysis: before the cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

• To decrease the initial temperature of 17,239.6 kg of Bacon at the beginning of the tunnel operation from 3°C to 1°C:

- 2.70kW extra are required (conventional refrigeration system) Cost of 12.17kW in 10 hours is: cost of 9.46kW is 11.35€

- Extra cost using conventional refrigeration system: 3.25 €

- 0.008 kg of N2 / kg less (from 0.552 to 0.544 kg of N2 / kg)

- Savings of 137.92 kg of LIN, at 97.00€/Ton of LIN are13.38 €

- Net savings are 10.13€

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Results • Process Analysis: Cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

• Crust freezing Product “Lachsschincken”

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Results • Process Analysis: Cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

• Product 92301 “Lachsschincken”

• For Group 3 Lead Time in tunnel was decrased from 29 to 23 min.

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Results • Process Analysis: after the Cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

• Transportation to freezing room K-3 and transportation to slicing machines

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Results • Process Analysis: after the Cryogenic Freezer (Tunnel)

• Temperature influence at the core of “Lachsschinken”, after 1 hour waiting in the slicing machine room at T∞ = 10°C.

• Calculation:

- Cylinder shape and Ti of the ham is -8.5°C, uniformly distributed.

• Represents an increase in the meat temperature of 3.88°C at the core of the meat

- λ1=1.19922 and A1=1.18842

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Results • Reduction of Nitrogen Consumption

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0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

July August September October

0.60

0.54 0.56

0.47

kg N

2 /

kg

of

mea

t

• Introduction

• Objectives

• Theoretical Background

• Experimental Settings

• Results

• Conclusions

• Appendix

Agenda

35

Conclusions

4/7/2015 36

Conclusions • Decrease the temperature of the meat before the tunnel reduces the load of

the cryogenic freezer, thus nitrogen consumption. Addition of HS-3 cooling room, as a fixed stage of the cooling down process before the freezing tunnel, is a mile stone in the optimization of the general freezing process.

• For a batch of 17239.6 kg of Bacon, decreasing the temperature by 2°C (from 3°C down to 1°C) saves 137.92 kg of LIN equivalent to 13.38€ regarding to nitrogen consumption. Due to the extra energy requirement from the conventional refrigeration system net savings are 10.13€.

• Crust freezing process in the Tunnel operation reaches the slicing parameters required for the meat. Though, deformations on the slices reduced yield production.

• LIN consumption savings are from 0.60 kgN2/ kg of meat to 0.47 kgN2/ kg of meat during the project. For 2000 Ton of meat it represents around 200 LIN Ton savings.

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List of Literature 1. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Freshline® QF Tunnelfroster; Technische Gase

Hattingeng, Germany (2000); www.airproducts.de/food

2.Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Calorimetry using Liquid Nitrogen; (1999)

3.Cengel, Yunus A.: Heat Transfer:A Practical Approach; McGraw-Hill, United States (1998); ISBN 0-07-011505-2

4.Evans, Judith A.: Frozen Food Science and Technology; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; University of Bristol, UK (2008); ISBN 978-1-4051-5478-9

5.Mascheroni, Rodolfo H,: Operations in Food Refrigeration; Taylor and Francis, Hoboken (2012); ISBN 9781420055511

6.Singh, Paul R. and Heldman, Dennis: Introduction to Food Engineering; Elsevier Inc., USA (2014) Fith Edition; ISBN 978-0-12-398530-9

7.Uporn, R. and Luangpaiboon, P.: Cryogenic Freezin Process Optimization based on Desirability Function on the Path of Steepest Ascent; World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, vol: 6 (2012) (1287-1288).

8.Valentas, Kenneth J., Rotstein, Enrique, Singh, Paul: Handbook of Food Engineering Practice; CRC, USA (1997);ISBN 0-8493-8694-2

9.VDI-Gesellschaft Verfahrenstechnik und Chemieingenieurwesen: Heat Atlas -Second edition-; Springer, Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (2010); ISBN 978-3-540-77876-9

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