New hot water system for N.Irish sauce factory

Spirax Sarco has equipped a new boiler house and hot water system installed during a major expansion at Rich Sauces' factory in Northern Ireland.

Spirax Sarco has equipped a new boiler house and hot water system installed during a major expansion at Rich Sauces' factory in Northern Ireland.

A new steam to hot water package is 35% more efficient than the electrical system the company was previously using to generate hot water.

Rich Sauces supplies the catering trade with mayonnaise and other sauces and has expanded its production facility from 1,160m2 to just over 5,017m2.

Adding a third production line has increased the capacity of the site by 80%, with room for two further lines in the future.

Before the expansion the company did not have a boiler house.

Instead, it used electricity to heat the water it needed in 200 litre industrial tanks.

Now Rich Sauces uses steam to provide instant hot water for handwashing and for its new clean-in-place (CIP) system.

"We chose steam for maximum efficiency," says Derek Doherty, a partner in the firm.

Steam is more efficient than electricity for heating hot water.

Not only is the steam to hot water package more energy efficient than the electrical heating system, but it also provides hot water almost instantly.

Previously, people would have to wait for hot water to arrive at the taps.

The package incorporates an Alfa Laval TS6M Plate Heat Exchanger and includes all the necessary ancillaries, factory tested by Spirax Sarco and mounted on a space-saving skid.

Steam also heats the hot water for the new 500-litre CIP system.

In this case, the shorter cleaning cycles minimise process downtime and the water can now be brought up to temperature 50% faster than previously.

The new boiler supplies 2000kg/h of steam at 7 bar g.

As well serving the three production lines now in place, the boiler house was designed with future expansion in mind and could serve a further two lines.

Spirax Sarco supplied the accompanying blowdown vessel and energy saving blowdown controls, along with a host of separators, strainers and valves.

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