Food and beverage manufacturing facilities have requirements for flow measurement at almost every stage of the production process. Storage, pumping, and dosing of ingredients are fundamental activities in food and beverage production and require accurate flow measurement to assure product quality and consistency. Water is widely monitored in its various roles for washing, as steam for heating and as a coolant. Flows of fuels such as gas and oil are typically measured as part of process monitoring and control.
The diverse applications within food and drink manufacturing call for a wide range of flow technologies from open-channel flowmeters for water discharge to Coriolis mass flow meters in dispensing plant. Process factors such as high temperatures and very high viscosities (eg oils and syrups) can present significant challenges in flow measurement. The required accuracy of flow measurement varies with application and quality control. For instance, accuracies better than 1% might be required for product dispensing while wastewater discharge may only require 10%. Against this complex background there is often a need for hygienic or sanitary meters to prevent contamination of the product. It is also necessary to comply with environmental regulations in the case of alcohol, regulatory requirements.
Typical food and drink applications for measuring the flow of liquids or gases include: dosage of additives such as flavourings, colorants or vitamins; sealing, coating and sterilisation of packaging; aeration of liquids; measurement of incoming water usage; flow and volume measurements of process water for proper blending, diluting, or rinsing; monitoring discharge volumes of waste water from either rinse water or process waste; batch control during the mixing process; monitoring flow to the condensate return and of make-up water in boilers; monitoring the amount of water flowing through the heat exchanger in cooling towers; flow measurements in dechlorination; inline measurement when mixing components in the production of soft drinks; product blending and dispensing to packaging.
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