Food Industry Case Study: Dairy Products Manufacturer

Because liquid water, oil emulsion fluids and solid particulates are continually removed by the Expel filter, the trolley packing machines are no longer at risk of being compromised by these substances.

About the customer

This company is a multinational producer of dairy products. They have an annual turnover of about €6 billion. It is one of the bestselling yoghurt brands in the United Kingdom.

Project Background

At this particular site, problems with moisture in compressed air lines occurring at point of use were rife. The most damaging problems were appearing in the Chill Store because it is (as the name suggests) a very cold and damp environment which causes pneumatic lines leading to the trolley packing machines getting frozen.

Freezing compressed air lines are notoriously problematic because they cause ice blockages in the lines. Some deal with problem by adding anti-freeze into the lines to get rid of the ice, but this adds yet another unwanted fluid to the airlines which results in equipment damage and production downtime. Therefore, anti-freeze does not solve the problem. The Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Manager and Maintenance Excellence Manager knew they needed a solution which would continually remove harmful liquids like water to ensure that there is never enough water in the lines to freeze and cause problems.

Why did this company choose Expel?

After speaking to both managers, we were confident that Expel would offer a permanent solution to the problems occurring at this site.

Expel offers a revolutionary approach to compressed air filtration and is unlike anything else currently on the market. EXPEL is a high efficiency compressed air filter which uses computational fluid dynamics to continually pass all liquid water, oil emulsion fluids and solid particulates down to 1 micron through the unit and into an AVG Auto Drain. This means that the performance of Expel does not drop with use and remains 99.999% efficient and does not require any replacement filter elements or maintenance to operate. This makes Expel the perfect solution to the problem of freezing water in compressed air lines, as Expel continually ensures there is never enough water in the lines to freeze.

Traditional compressed air filters are not as efficient as Expel because they contain internal elements that retain the water droplets they collect in an absorbent element, which will become less effective as they are used or can be easily overwhelmed with the water if there is a large volume. When this problem occurs, water can freeze in the compressed air lines resulting in the problems this site was experiencing.