What is the quality grade of compressed air used in puffed food?

Compressed air quality requirements for puffed food

many people may not know that we usually eat potato chips, shrimp chips and other puffed foods, in the process of production and packaging, in fact, can not be separated from compressed air. So the compressed air used in these foods should be clean to what extent.

First talk about puffed food in which links will use compressed air. The most common is the packaging link. Puffed food is crisp and light, and it will break at the slightest touch, so when packaging, it is necessary to fill the bag with gas to support the bag to protect the food from being crushed. In addition, the purging, conveying and driving packaging machinery on the production line also need compressed air to provide power.

Because compressed air in these links, some will be indirectly exposed to food, and some even directly involved in the packaging process, so the air cleanliness requirements are very high. Specifically, there are so many aspects.

First, there is no oil. Oil is the most troublesome pollutant. Traditional air compressor in the internal use of oil to lubricate parts, a long time will inevitably have a trace of oil mixed into the compressed air. If these oils follow the air into the food packaging, it will not only make the food smell, but also have an impact on human health. Therefore, the compressed air used in the food industry requires very, very low oil content, almost to the point where there is no oil at all.

Second, there is no water. After the air is compressed, the water inside will condense into small water droplets. If this moisture follows the air into the package or comes into contact with the food, it will make the food damp and soft, affect the taste, and may also breed bacteria. Therefore, the compressed air must be fully dried to reduce the moisture to a very low level.

The third is not to have dust and microorganisms. If small particles or bacteria are entrained in the air, it will also contaminate the food. Therefore, it is necessary to stop all these invisible dirty things through sophisticated filtering devices.

The fourth is no smell. Compressed air itself should be no smell, if there is a strange smell, that the air mixed into something that should not be, must be treated clean.

With a simple proportion to describe, the food industry usually requires compressed air to achieve such a pure state, that is, particulate pollutants, moisture, oil these three things, to achieve very few particles, very low moisture, oil completely no. In other words, under the most stringent requirements, the oil content must be zero.

What role can the water lubricated air compressor play here. Ordinary air compressors use oil to lubricate the internal rotating parts. Oil and air will inevitably come into contact. If you want to completely remove the oil, you need to add a lot of filtering and purification equipment, which not only costs more money, but also troubles later maintenance. The water-lubricated air compressor uses water instead of oil for internal lubrication, which will not produce oil pollution from the root. The compressed air it discharges naturally does not contain oil, and only needs to deal with moisture and particles, and the whole system becomes much simpler.

For puffed food, which requires high air quality, the air output by the water-lubricated air compressor is very clean, and the subsequent drying equipment and filters can easily achieve the purity required for food production. Moreover, water can be obtained everywhere, so there is no problem of changing oil after long-term use, and it is more worry-free to use it for a long time.

So to sum up, the compressed air used in the production of puffed food must be clean air without oil, extremely low moisture, no dust and bacteria, and no peculiar smell. Water lubricated air compressor is becoming a more and more popular gas supply choice for food production enterprises because it solves the problem of oil pollution from the source.