Vertical sterilization experiences
Publicación:
Revista Palmas; Vol. 28 Núm. especial, (2007); 126-130
0121-2923
Revista Palmas; Vol. 28 Núm. especial, (2007); 126-130
0121-2923
Abstract
Vertical sterilizers made their first appearance in the early days of milling but the many issues associated with their operation like the capacity and the charging and discharging times gave way to the now popular horizontal sterilizers. With the ever increasing capacities of mills, horizontal sterilizers had no substitutes and therefore stayed on as the leading sterilization system in the industry. During Mongana trials, attempts were made to find a better way of sterilization by creating a vacuum in the sterilizer chamber in order to improve heat penetration of the bunch but the U - tube configuration for doing that did not find favour with the industry due to the complexity of the system. For the next five decades there was no further progress in the direction of developing a good sterilization system using partial vacuum. The present vertical sterilization system is based on good engineering principles using a simple logic like draining the water from the bottom of the chamber to produce a partial vacuum coupled with reasonably fast charging and discharging times using hydraulically operated automation system. The pressure cooking performance has been found to be equal to or better than the horizontal sterilization system as the cooking done in an ideal vacuum offers least chance for air to act as an insulating medium which effects efficient heat transfer to the bunches. Although it is a batch system, FFB charging and discharging operation is automated. So far the response from the industry had been encouraging based on the 30 odd units successfully been commissioned in seven plantation companies in Malaysia as well as overseas. Once the cooking is established in the vertical chamber the rest of the processing follows the conventional system in terms of product loss and quality. As the vertical chamber is filled to the brim with bunches and water, there is no empty space in the vertical chamber unlike the horizontal system where half the space is filled up with air. The industry has been anxiously waiting for a perfect system for efficient heat transfer into the bunches in a vacuum chamber for nearly fifty years and we do hope that we have come up with the ideal system that will fulfill the desire of the industry. Los esterilizadores verticales han estado presentes desde los comienzos de las plantas de beneficio del fruto de la palma de aceite, sin embargo, muchos aspectos asociados con su operación como la capacidad y el tiempo de cargue y descargue abrieron paso a los ahora populares esterilizadores horizontales. Con el continuo incremento de la capacidad de las plantas de beneficio, los esterilizadores horizontales no tuvieron sustitutos y por tanto se han mantenido como los sistemas líderes en la industria. Durante los ensayos del Reporte Mongana, varios intentos fueron hechos para encontrar una mejor forma de esterilización a través de la creación de un vacío en la cámara del esterilizador la cual ayudaría a mejorar la penetración del calor en los racimos. Sin embargo, el tubo en forma de U para hacer esto, no encontró aceptación en la industria debido a la complejidad del sistema. En las siguientes cinco décadas, no hubo mayor progreso en el desarrollo de sistemas de esterilización usando vacío parcial. El sistema actual de esterilización vertical está basado en buenos principios de ingeniería usando una simple lógica como lo es el drenaje de agua desde el fondo de la cámara para producir un vacío parcial, el cual está acoplado con tiempos rápidos de carga y descarga usando sistemas hidráulicos operados en forma automática. El comportamiento de la presión en la cocción ha sido reportado como igual o mejor que en los sistemas de esterilización horizontal. Esto es debido a que el cocinado es hecho en un vacío ideal ofreciendo menos oportunidades para que el aire actúe como un medio aislante que afecta la transferencia de calor a los racimos. Aunque éste es todavía un sistema a batch, la operación de cargue y descargue de los racimos de fruta fresca (RFF) es automática. Hasta el momento, la respuesta de la industria ha sido muy alentadora, con base en más de 30 pares de unidades pedidos en siete compañías en Malasia y en otros países. Una vez establecida la cocción en la cámara vertical, el resto del proceso es convencional en términos de pérdida de productos y calidad. Como la cámara vertical es llenada hasta el borde con los racimos y agua, no existen espacios vacíos en ésta como sí sucede en los sistemas de esterilizadores horizontales en los que la mitad del espacio es llenado con aire. La industria ha esperado con impaciencia por casi 50 años, el sistema perfecto para la eficiente transferencia de calor a los racimos en una cámara de vacío. Nosotros esperamos haber desarrollado el sistema ideal para satisfacer a la industria.
Vertical sterilizers made their first appearance in the early days of milling but the many issues associated with their operation like the capacity and the charging and discharging times gave way to the now popular horizontal sterilizers. With the ever increasing capacities of mills, horizontal sterilizers had no substitutes and therefore stayed on as the leading sterilization system in the industry. During Mongana trials, attempts were made to find a better way of sterilization by creating a vacuum in the sterilizer chamber in order to improve heat penetration of the bunch but the U - tube configuration for doing that did not find favour with the industry due to the complexity of the system. For the next five decades there was no further progress in the direction of developing a good sterilization system using partial vacuum. The present vertical sterilization system is based on good engineering principles using a simple logic like draining the water from the bottom of the chamber to produce a partial vacuum coupled with reasonably fast charging and discharging times using hydraulically operated automation system. The pressure cooking performance has been found to be equal to or better than the horizontal sterilization system as the cooking done in an ideal vacuum offers least chance for air to act as an insulating medium which effects efficient heat transfer to the bunches. Although it is a batch system, FFB charging and discharging operation is automated. So far the response from the industry had been encouraging based on the 30 odd units successfully been commissioned in seven plantation companies in Malaysia as well as overseas. Once the cooking is established in the vertical chamber the rest of the processing follows the conventional system in terms of product loss and quality. As the vertical chamber is filled to the brim with bunches and water, there is no empty space in the vertical chamber unlike the horizontal system where half the space is filled up with air. The industry has been anxiously waiting for a perfect system for efficient heat transfer into the bunches in a vacuum chamber for nearly fifty years and we do hope that we have come up with the ideal system that will fulfill the desire of the industry.
Palabras clave:
aceite de palma
esterilización
racimos de fruta fresca
ácidos grasos libres
extracción de aceite
aceite de palma
esterilización
racimos de fruta fresca
ácidos grasos libres
extracción de aceite