Hygienic steam compressor
AssigneeSPX Flow Technology Danmark A/S
InventorsOle POULSEN, Bent PEDERSEN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hygienic compression device having an impeller housing, an impeller, and a motor. The impeller housing having an axial inlet and radial outlet. The axial inlet receiving flash steam from a flash steam outlet of a flash vessel. The radial outlet suppling compressed flash steam to a heat treatment apparatus. The impeller is disposed in the impeller housing. The motor is configured to rotate the impeller. Flash steam enters the inlet and is radially accelerated and compressed in response to rotation of the impeller.
Claims25
A hygienic compression device comprising:
- an impeller housing having an axial inlet and radial outlet, the axial inlet to receive flash steam from a flash steam outlet of a foodstuff system flash vessel, the radial outlet to supply compressed flash steam to a heat treatment apparatus;
- an impeller disposed in the impeller housing;
- and
- a motor configured to rotate the impeller, wherein flash steam entering the inlet is radially accelerated and compressed in response to rotation of the impeller.
A method of compressing flash steam generated in an ultra-high temperature treatment plant with a heat treatment apparatus, in which fluid foodstuff is subjected to heat treatment via compressed flash steam, the method comprising:
- feeding the fluid foodstuff into the heat treatment apparatus;
- feeding live steam and/or flash steam into the heat treatment apparatus;
- removing the fluid foodstuff from the heat treatment apparatus;
- feeding the fluid foodstuff into a flash vessel;
- removing the fluid foodstuff from the flash vessel;
- removing flash steam from the flash vessel;
- and
- feeding the flash steam to a hygienic compressor arrangement having a compression device, the compression device comprising:
- an impeller housing having an axial inlet and radial outlet, the axial inlet to receive flash steam from a flash steam outlet, the radial outlet to supply compressed flash steam to a flash steam conduit;
- an impeller disposed in the impeller housing;
- and
- a motor configured to rotate the impeller, wherein flash steam entering the inlet is radially accelerated and compressed in response to rotation of the impeller;
- and the hygienic compressor arrangement compressing the flash steam, where after the flash steam is fed into the heat treatment apparatus.
A plant for heat treating fluid foodstuffs, the plant comprising:
- a heat treatment apparatus having a fluid foodstuff inlet arranged at a top of the heat treatment apparatus;
- a fluid foodstuff outlet arranged at a bottom of the heat treatment apparatus;
- and
- a first steam inlet arranged at a top of the heat treatment apparatus, the fluid foodstuff being subjected to heat treatment by feeding live steam and/or flash steam into the heat treatment apparatus, the live steam being fed into the heat treatment apparatus by a live steam conduit connected to the first steam inlet, a flash vessel having a fluid foodstuff inlet at a top of the flash vessel and a fluid foodstuff outlet at a bottom of the flash vessel, the fluid foodstuff outlet of the heat treatment apparatus being connected to the fluid foodstuff inlet of the flash vessel by a conduit and a pump, the fluid foodstuff outlet of the flash vessel being connected to a conduit and a pump for draining off fluid foodstuff from the flash vessel, the flash vessel further comprising a flash steam outlet arranged at the top of the flash vessel, the flash steam outlet being connected to a first flash steam conduit, the first flash steam conduit being connected to an inlet of a compression arrangement, the first flash steam conduit being adapted for feeding the flash steam to the compression arrangement, in which compression arrangement the flash steam is compressed, a second flash steam conduit being connected to an outlet of the compression arrangement, the second flash steam conduit being adapted for transferring the flash steam to the heat treatment apparatus, wherein the compression arrangement comprises:
- an impeller housing having an axial inlet and radial outlet, the axial inlet to receive flash steam from the flash steam outlet, the radial outlet to supply compressed flash steam to the second flash steam conduit;
- an impeller disposed in the impeller housing;
- a motor configured to rotate the impeller, wherein flash steam entering the inlet is radially accelerated and compressed in response to rotation of the impeller;
- and
- a hygienic cleanable compressor arrangement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.