Bakery Adabiatic Cooling Case Study
A Sealpump Engineering Case Study
Employee Comfort Cooling: Bakery Adabiatic Cooling
Issue:
A UK manufacturer of cookies was in need of a cooling system for a particular area of the bakery where temperatures were too high, creating an uncomfortable environment for those working there. Installing traditional air conditioning and cooling in this area was to be extremely expensive, which made the bakery look for an alternative method.
Part of the manufacturing process involved manually unloading flour into mixing vessels, this process was on a mezzanine floor in the bakery which only made the area warmer.
Another issue caused by this process was that flour dust was being created when the flour bags were unloaded into the mixers, so while the cooling of the area was the main issue, eliminating the dust was of great benefit to the bakery
Solution:
Following a site visit by Sealpump engineers, it was recommending that our Dry FogDry fog humidification is a method of adding moisture to air using extremely... ...click for moreFog nozzleA fog nozzle is a specialized spray device that creates a very fine mist by ... ...click for more system would be most suitable for this area. The dry fog nozzles use compressed air and low pressure water to create an ultra fine fog which has an adiabaticAn adiabatic humidifier is a type of humidification system that adds moistur... ...click for more cooling effect and is proven in efficient dust control applications. The 5 micronA Micron is one millionth of a metre. ...click for more droplet size means no wetting of product, equipment or surfaces occurs while, the nozzle valve controls the on/off operation with no drips, whilst cleaning itself when it turns off, stopping any blocking.
8 nozzle assemblies were placed around the mezzanine floor, with some placed above where the flour bags were being unloaded. In terms of water treatment and control, we installed a water treatment unit that filters the mains water to 5 micron, and then through a ultraviolet disinfection unit.
As the area was not used all day everyday, we supplied our dry fog control unit with built in timer control.
This allowed the operators to set the timed operation for when the area was being used and especially when the area was warmer in the spring and summer months,
Results:
During the initial site visit it was noted that the mezzanine was extremely warm and uncomfortable, with a lot of flour dust airborne and on the floor and surfaces away from the flour loading areas.
Following the installation, the fogging sprays created an adiabatic cooling effect on the mezzanine which reduced the temperature to a much more comfortable environment.
On inspection following the installation, operators commented on how much improved dthe area was and how much cooler it felt. This was especially noticed when the outside temperature was higher, but the operators said they also turned the system on in the cooler months as the bakery process made the factory warm even then.
The fogging sprays were also very effective in controlling the airborne dust created when the flour bags were unloaded. The air became fresher and the amount of cleaning needed on the mezzanine was reduced.
The reduced cleaning was due to some nozzles were placed above the bag unloading which stopped the dust escaping into other areas of the mezzanine floor and the factory itself.
