Primary Dairy and Food Processing Industry Sectors
Within the dairy and food processing industry, there are many subsectors, including:
- Animal Food Manufacturing
- Animal Slaughtering and Processing
- Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing
- Dairy Product Manufacturing
- Butter
- Cheese
- Condensed Milk
- Dry Milk Products
- Fluid Beverage Milk
- Ice Cream
- Whey Products
- Yogurt
- Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing
- Grain and Oilseed Milling
- Other Food Manufacturing
- Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging
- Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing
Dairy and Food Processing Industry Fan Selection & Specification
Because centrifugal fans are prominent at many points in and around dairy and food processing industry applications, virtually any of our fans could be used in one or more ways as supply air, exhaust air, combustion air, process heating air, or process cooling air. Select and design your fans based on function, flow, and pressure. Here’s a quick overview of the top fans for each main function:
Supply Fans
Exhaust Fans
Process Heating Fans
Process Cooling Fans
Combustion Air Blowers
Fan Arrangements
Fan Arrangements indicate how the motors mount to and drive the fans. The specification will depend on your application and the fan/s selected.
Dairy and Food Processing Industry Specific Accessories & Design
When it comes to design and accessories, it’s all about protecting and optimizing operations, maintenance, and life of the fan and bearings. For the food and dairy processing industry, that means many additional considerations to make all or part of the system food grade as designated by the US FDA.
Most dairy and food processing applications require stainless steel fans. For some, only the fan airstream parts are stainless, while others dictate that the entire fan be stainless steel, including the motors and safety guards. They also require a smooth, uniform finish and no threads to avoid catching food and water.
These are not suggestions for many food and dairy fan applications. The USDA and FDA inspect food-grade machinery and are meticulous about these requirements, and the fans are required to pass inspection before startup and operation.
Food Grade Considerations for Dairy & Food Processing Industry Fan Applications
- 304 or 316 Stainless Steel materials of construction
- Glass Bead Blasting to SSPC-SP10 (the highest weld rating) or chemical treatment for removal of weld discoloration
- 32RA Polishing of the Welds and stainless steel materials for a uniform 32 micro-inch finish
- A Simple Epoxy finish for non-stainless steel components
- Clean-in-Place (CIP) Nozzles inside the fan housing along with a drain system at the bottom of the housing for cleaning access during use
- Stainless Steel Washdown Duty Motor with a Stainless Steel shaft for those requiring all parts in contact with the product be food grade
- Ferrule (Sanitary) Drain, Cap & Gasket with no threads
- Teflon Fan Seals and Housing Gaskets to provide food-grade sealing capabilities.
- Flange, Slip inlet & Slip Outlet allows a flexible boot to connect the fan to the ductwork
Accessory & Design Considerations
Talk with Our Application Engineers
If you feel overwhelmed by all this information, don’t despair! We have a team of application engineers who are happy to talk with you and select the best fan for your application. You can call 715-365-3267, email [email protected], or send us your information, and one of our engineers will connect with you.
Content Related to Food Processing Industry Applications
Here are related posts and case studies that might be of interest as you think about your application.
