Intelligence for food processors in a pipe

A smart pipe that helps to reduce waste, and an instrument to assist buyers predict powder flow behaviour. John Dunn reports

By John Dunn

- Published: 07 February, 2005

Page 38

A piece of plastic pipe just 50mm in diameter is saving a soft drinks manufacturer over 200l of valuable product between batch changes. But the i-Pipe is no ordinary bit of tubing. It is an intelligent electronic device that detects and remembers the chemical signature of food and drink products and continuously monitors them for any changes. By fitting it into a processing line, the i-Pipe will instantly detect any changes in the chemical makeup of a product as it flows by, and spot the interface between different products.

Developed by Manchester company, Kaiku, from an invention by two former instrumentation researchers, the i-Pipe is now helping manufacturers reduce the amount of food and drink going to waste during clean-in-place (CIP), batch mixing, and batch changeovers. And if fitted either side of critical process equipment such as filters, the i-Pipe will also detect equipment breakdowns and failures.

In the case of drinks maker Britvic in Leeds, Kaiku used its i-Pipe to monitor the water/product interface during the batch pasteurisation of soft drinks. At the start of a new batch, the pasteuriser would be filled with aseptic water. This would then be pushed through and out down the drain as the new batch was pumped in. Control was via a timer on the drain valve.

The problem was that the drain valve closed too late, allowing valuable product to go to waste. But once the i-Pipe was installed, the interface between the water and the new batch could be detected and the drain valve switched off, saving valuable product.

According to co-inventor and Kaiku chief executive, Richard Dowdeswell, the i-Pipe is an impedance spectrometer -- it measures the electrical impedance of the food passing by in order to monitor changes in its composition. It takes less than two seconds to generate a unique signature for what's in the pipe, he says. And as the product changes its chemical properties the system spots these changes. All sorts of things from beer and baked beans to jams, curry sauces, yoghurts, and sponge pudding mixes can be monitored, says Dowdeswell.

The next stage, says Dowdeswell, is to develop a 150mm diameter unit for the brewing industry, and to detect caustic and sodium hydroxide solutions.

Contact: r.dowdeswell@kaiku.co.uk

Probing the properties of powders

If you change your sugar supplier from Tate & Lyle to British Sugar -- or vice versa even -- how do you know the new supplies will go through your existing handling equipment? Will the new sugar flow the same, or will it clog up your silos and chutes?

You could buy a proper shear cell of course and measure its bulk flow properties. But that could set you back £20-50,000 and require a PhD in powder flow to use it.

Now a new three-year Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Link research project aims to develop a low-cost, simple-to-use instrument to help manufacturers determine the flow properties of their powders, and so improve their handling and processing operations. The project is being run by Greenwich University in conjunction with instrument maker Brookfield Viscometers.

According to project leader, Dr Mike Bradley, the instrument is aimed at powder users and buyers, not at bulk handling equipment makers and designers. "The fact is, more powder handling systems fail than succeed. And a lot of the problems come from the ignorance of the buyer -- they buy the wrong stuff. This project is aimed at the people making and buying powders."

The idea, he says, is that food companies will be able to use the new instrument to quickly and easily assess the flow properties of new supplies and new formulations to check if they will run smoothly through their equipment. It will also be a useful tool in quality control and in ensuring consistency between batches, he says.

Liquid measuring equipment supplier Brookfield Viscometers will develop the new instrument, which is likely to be based on an annular rotary shear cell, says Bradley. And Greenwich is currently trying to pin down exactly what powder problems food companies hope to tackle with such an instrument. "There is an established science of powder technology. What we're looking at is what part of that powder technology is easiest and most effectively deployed to help people working with powders."

The other project partners are United Biscuits, Cadbury Trebor Basset, Glaxo-Smith Kline, and Kerry Ingredients.

Contact: m.s.a.bradley@gre.ac.uk