What did you have for dinner last night? If part of your cooking involved peeling apart two pieces of plastic sealed together around a piece of meat or fish, you experienced the power of vacuum in food packaging and preservation. Like nitrogen, vacuum helps protect food and beverage products while extending their shelf life. Vacuum removes atmospheric oxygen from the package so aerobic bacteria and fungi have less chance to grow. This process works especially well with fresh foods such as meat, fish and vegetables, which can be stored longer in a vacuum pack.
The Rough Vacuum Utility Range in Food Packaging
In food packaging applications like meat or poultry packaging, the air within the package is evacuated by a vacuum during the sealing process. The amount of vacuum needed is about 1 mbar, or a little less than 29.9” HgV. At the point of use, however, the desired vacuum pressure is more like 26” HgV.
A typical setup for this type of application would include a 25-hp lubricated rotary vane vacuum pump, which might be supplemented by a vacuum booster at the front end close to the production area. In this scenario, the lubricated rotary vane pumps would be centralized, and the vacuum boosters would provide the extra “pop” to bring the pressure to the desired 26” HgV.
Energy Savings with Variable Speed Drive
Because there are multiple packaging lines that intermittently shut off and go online in an industrial food packaging operation, energy savings can be achieved by capitalizing on the variations of demand that occur during production. What if you could replace your current 25-hp system with a 15-hp machine that generates 60 cfm more at the desired vacuum pressure?
While it might seem contradictory for a machine with less hp to produce more cfm, our innovative GHS VSD+ range of oil-sealed rotary screw vacuum pumps modulates the flow at startup, which allows the use of a smaller motor in the vacuum pump.
To improve productivity even further, Atlas Copco’s ZRS vacuum booster features a hydrokinetic drive that uses oil viscosity to transfer power from the motor to the vacuum booster. Where typical machines may turn on at 50 mbar, the Atlas Copco GHS 730 VSD+ would already be running, helping the operator achieve the desired vacuum level quicker while improving production.
Explore Our Entire Vacuum Solutions Portfolio
Learn more about our comprehensive vacuum products portfolio by visiting our dedicated Atlas Copco Vacuum Solutions website, or get in touch by filling out our Request a Quote form.
