Citrus Flavor Technologies: Citrus Oils — Processing, Separation, Application

Citrus flavors play a significant role in the beverage industry. Citrus-based beverages and those containing citrus flavor components lead the flavor category for beverages today. The essential oils used in flavors are obtained during fruit juice processing. In order to process these essential oils for flavor applications, various separation technologies are used. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of various aspects of citrus flavor technology. It will give a brief review of factors that affect oil quality during processing operations. Basic distillation principles and factors affecting distillation are presented as well as flavor application, separation technology and alternative process technologies. Paper published with permission.

Process Safety Management and Risk Management Program (PSM/RMP) Audits: Are You Prepared?

In June 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated 40 CFR Part 68, Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs (RMP) Under Clean Air Act, Section 112 r (7), commonly called the RMP rule. Much of the RMP rule was already required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.119 Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (the PSM Standard), which had been issued four years earlier. Because both of these regulations include anhydrous ammonia at a threshold level of 10,000 lbs., many refrigerated warehousing and manufacturing facilities are subject to them. Since the two regulations have the same threshold quantity for ammonia, facilities that are subject to RMP are also subject to PSM. While the focus of the two regulations differs, there are many common requirements, as shown in Table 1, Comparison of Process Safety Management and Risk Management Program Requirements. Both rules require the development of extensive accident prevention programs, which include Process Hazard Analyses, operation and maintenance procedures, training, and emergency response plans. The RMP rule also requires Offsite Consequence Analyses and a Plan summary submittal to the EPA before a process starts up and at five-year intervals thereafter. The Program 3 Prevention Program required to satisfy RMP, is almost identical to a PSM program. Most subject facilities, therefore, use their PSM Program to serve as their RMP Prevention Program. In Florida, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) took delegation of the RMP rule from the EPA and is the enforcing agency in this state. Since the summer of 2000, the DCA has been auditing RMP facilities for compliance with the rule, and their list of audit subjects has included several citrus manufacturing facilities. The DCA staff has been performing very thorough audits, looking closely at all of the RMP Prevention Program, or PSM Program, elements and evaluating their implementation status at each site. The DCA typically cites RMP Prevention Program deficiencies in the following areas: Mechanical Integrity, Standard Operating Procedures, Process Hazard Analysis, training records, incident investigation reporting, compliance audits, and emergency response planning. Although Florida does not have a State-OSHA program, the DCA is, effectively, serving in this function as they audit the PSM programs of refrigerated facilities throughout the state. Facility owners should therefore ensure that their PSM/RMP Prevention Programs are well developed and well implemented prior to a DCA audit. Paper published with permission.

Brazil: Citrus Benchmarking

More and more, the Citrus Business is becoming a global operation, narrowing the technological opportunities gap between processors around the world. Most of the largest Brazilian processors already have process units or commercial partners in the United States, which makes any new technology available worldwide virtually instantaneously. However, there are several market and environmental differences that directly impact the best use of the available technology according to the individual market. Paper published with permission.

Juice Room Environmental Control Through Misting

Waste from an orange juice manufacturing operation generally contains significant quantities of citric acid from the extraction process. Not considering environmental factors and the kind of process fruit, sometimes the citric acid concentration in the air can reach unacceptable conditions. The purpose of this work is to define some methods of environmental control in order to avoid high citric acid concentrations in the air. The main idea is to explain in “common language” how to keep an appropriate room temperature and humidity index in order to reduce the citric acid concentration in the air by evaporative cooling. Paper published with permission.

Tank Cleaning With Impact

Different types of tank cleaning device technologies are used for inside cleaning of tanks today. Many devices with different capacity, design, quality, function and price from a variety of manufacturers are seen on the market and the selection has become difficult. The increasing focus on product quality, low operating costs, low consumption of water and chemicals, rapid tank turn around time, cleaning validation, regulation fulfillment, and environment protection policies have led to an awareness of the benefits by optimizing the cleaning process. The importance for an effective, reliable device has become an important factor, and many of the latest tank cleaning devices on the market today have been developed with these keywords in mind. The selection has become a key factor in achieving the optimum cleaning process. Paper published with permission.

Improved Agitators Applied to High Viscosity Fluids in Concentrated Juices

The main objective of this work was to investigate a new agitation system, which would improve the standard process for concentrated juice after evaporation. The commonly used agitators for this kind of application were analyzed, including anchor agitators with tangential flow and pitched-blade agitators with axial flow. A pilot unit was installed “in company.” The results of the pilot test were scaled-up to an industrial size agitator with pitched-blade impellers. Three impellers, each with four blades at a 45° angle, were mounted on an off-center shaft. Better results were obtained in all the aspects analyzed. Process time was reduced by a factor often, power consumption was reduced by a factor of five, without air incorporation into the product. The new system had less internal surface area to be cleaned than the old system with an anchor impeller. Additionally, the new equipment was only one-fourth the cost of a similar installation with an anchor impeller. This innovative solution demonstrates the practical substitution of pitched-blade impellers for an anchor impeller in viscous fluids. Paper published with permission.