Tetra Pak® Powder Mixer B now delivers faster cleaning with Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning system for Powder
Tetra Pak Air Jet Cleaning system for Powder represents the fastest dry cleaning technology in the industry and cuts your downtime for cleaning significantly for big savings on your overall operational costs.
Powder-to-powder mixers are key elements in food production lines and one of the biggest equipment investments producers make – but cleaning them has previously been a time-consuming and costly affair. That’s why every element of our Tetra Pak Powder Mixer B is designed to streamline the cleaning process – so cleaning takes less time and effort.
Nevertheless, it still takes one operator about 90 minutes for a thorough cleaning with a vacuum cleaner followed by dusting with a cloth. In addition, each time a mixer is opened, a small cloud of powder dust can be released leading to more cleaning and an extended area for explosion risk.
Patented method for cleaning with air
To address the challenges of cleaning, we have developed an innovative new technology called Air Jet technology available as an option with all the models in our Tetra Pak Powder Mixer B range as well as other brands of mixers. The same technology can also be applied to other powder equipment such as hoppers, pneumatic conveying tanks and discharging units.
This is a new patented technology that uses a unique combination of air jets and vacuum extraction. High-speed compressed air from nozzles is used to break the interaction between particles of powder and stainless steel surfaces and between the particles themselves. The powder particles become suspended in the air so they can be extracted from the mixer thanks to a vacuum system.
The system is so effective that it takes just 30 minutes to clean the mixer with jets of air. In trials with milk powder, only ~50 ml of milk powder was left on the surfaces of a Tetra Pak Powder Mixer B with a capacity of 3,500 litres. This compares to a minimum of 70 litres of powder left after discharging without the use of Air Jet technology.
If all traces of powder need to be removed after cleaning with air jets, a thorough wipe by hand with a cloth can be done after opening the mixer.
An hour can be saved in each cleaning cycle; time that can be used for more mixing so production capacity can be increased. In infant formula production, for example, with two cleaning cycles a day, the annual savings in the cost of operators amount to around €50,000 depending on the level of salaries.
Flushing during discharging
Another way to use Air Jet technology is to flush the mixer during the discharging cycle to reduce the amount of powder remaining. As an example, using flushing during discharge results in 50 more litres of product being discharged from a 2,000-litre batch. This amounts to increased revenues for producers of powder mixes.
Inspection hatches allow quick assessment of cleaning needs
How often you need to clean varies widely depending on the products and capacities you mix each day or hour. Inspection hatches on either side of the mixing vessel enable operators to assess when cleaning is necessary and when it is not – without requiring them to completely stop production, discharge the mixer and lose valuable time.
Large doors and quick dismantling of paddles
Once operators assess that cleaning is required, the mixer is fully prepared with closures and locks for electricity and compressed air that quickly and easily stop and secure the machine for safe, fast cleaning.
The large doors have patented ergonomic handles and high quality seals that are removable for cleaning purposes. Cantilevered shafts enable quick dismantling plus fast and full accessibility to the mixing vessel for cleaning. These retractable paddle shafts are easily cleaned outside of the mixing vessel and operators can turn the shafts by hand to access all paddle surfaces without extra tools or ladders.
Apart from the largest sizes of paddle mixers, operators do not need to enter the vessel for cleaning as they can reach all the surfaces from outside.
Inside the mixing vessel, the top is where dust can tend to collect depending on the composition of the powder. The top is designed to have a wide angle, eliminating places where dust can fasten. And a patented process for wet sand blasting the vessel’s interior surfaces, available as an option, makes it more difficult for powder to cling to the surfaces, for even faster and easier cleaning.
New patented discharge valve
Our patented new discharge valve is fully dismountable and rotates outward for easy and ergonomic access to the hatch and seals in just a few seconds. This differs greatly from all other solutions in the industry, which are bolted in place and require major maintenance time and assistance with a forklift to dismount – and still require operators to climb inside the hopper and under the equipment to clean the outlet.
How much can you save?
The fastest cleaning in the industry and reduced downtime add up to big savings for you – reducing your overall operational costs and boosting your profits with every hour of cleaning time saved. You are welcome to visit our Product Development Centre for a demonstration of Tetra Pak Powder Mixer B with Air Jet technology. Or contact sales for a calculation of how much you can save with our Tetra Pak Air Jet Cleaning system for Powder.
