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Pumps make light of heavy viscose products

A PCM Pompes product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 16, 2006

Recent investment at the Wisbech factory of fresh potato products company Greenvale AP has resulted in improvements to the company's potato processing and waste handling procedures.

Recent increased investment at the Wisbech factory of fresh potato products company Greenvale AP has resulted in improvements to the company's potato processing and waste handling procedures, and Corby based PCM Pumps played a key role in these improvements.

Greenvale has the capacity to produce 6000 tonnes of potato product each year for use in the production of fresh and ready meal products.

Improvements to the potato waste disposal process were necessary, largely to free-up operators involved in the time consuming job of emptying waste from mobile hoppers; the company was also searching for a pump capable of handling the processing of the heavy, sticky, high viscosity abrasive product.

At the start of the process, potatoes are emptied into an industrial washing and peeling machine which has a capacity in excess of 3 tonnes.

This process ejects a waste consisting of potato, skins and warm water which was discharged via slow speed augers into mobile hoppers and wheeled away by operators a distance of 70m before being emptied into a 7m high holding hopper.

Greenvale concluded that considerable savings and a reduction in effluent could be made by pumping the waste from the outlet of the auger directly into the holding hopper.

PCM recommended a system specifically designed for heavy viscose products and a PCM GVA pump with integrated closed loop level control was selected for the duty.

The quiet operation and self-modulating speed control of the pump performed without any problems from the outset and also had the benefit of freeing up operators.

As with the potato waste solution, the main process had to also take onboard the heavy, sticky and high viscosity of product and an absolute minimum of product damage was top of the priority list.

The pump had to be stainless steel, fitted with food grade elastomers and be capable of transferring warm (65C) mashed potato at a rate of 675 to 1000kg/h.

PCM recommended the installation of GBB hopper pumps to handle the process, and since the installation, PCM's new efficient closed system has proved to be more hygienic, cut down on cleaning requirements, ensured an optimum packing rate of 675kg/h, provided a quiet running operation and generally saved money.

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