Product category:
Trade effluent monitoring + on-site treatment
News Release from: C-Tech Innovation | Subject: Ohmic heating wastes
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 05 March 2008
Heater for animal by-products / compost
leachate
A UK company, C-Tech Innovation, is developing small-scale, low cost heating systems that pre-treat animal by-products or compost leachate, enabling safe disposal
C-Tech Innovation is a technology development and multi-disciplinary consultancy company based near Chester Ohmic or direct resistance heating, developed by C-Tech Innovation, is an energy efficient method of heat processing an electrically conducting or moist material
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 17 Jul 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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An electric current is passed directly through the body of the material, which enables rapid and uniform heating of both liquids and particulates without the use of hot heat transfer surfaces.
The system has advantages for these new animal by-products and compost applications, as it will require minimal maintenance and is capable of handling any pumped fluid.
Traditionally, C-Tech Innovation has developed Ohmic heating systems for food manufacturers, including producers of soups, dairy products, fruit products, ready meals and casseroles.
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Ohmic technology can also be used for heating sludge and slurries with a high solids content and can be adapted for batch style applications as well as 'flow-through' systems.
Dr Rachel James, Project Manager at C-Tech Innovation comments: "C-Tech has already developed a range of Ohmic heaters for food processing environments and we are currently developing and testing higher temperature, higher pressure heaters for pre-treatment of both category 2 and category 3 animal by-products.
Working closely with Bioplex, a UK-based anaerobic digestion company, we are currently trialling the system at a farm in Oxfordshire.
The trials involve the C-Tech Ohmic heating system coupled to a Bioplex anaerobic digester".
According to Dr James, the Ohmic heating system is more energy efficient than traditional heating methods, at around 95 per cent.
In addition, the heating of the animal waste is more uniform.
This is critical in meeting Animal Byproducts Regulations that require all waste be heated to a minimum of 133C for 20 minutes at 3 bar pressure.
Use of this system also has potential to save farms or abattoirs large amounts of money in third party disposal costs and, by using anaerobic digestion, will provide a valuable source of renewable energy and fertiliser.
Dr James continues: "We're developing a low power, low cost system that is targeted at small-scale animal waste operations, including individual farms and abattoirs".
As well as developing heating systems for pre-treating animal waste, C-Tech Innovation is also currently designing Ohmic heating systems for the treatment of compost leachate (or tea), a natural, water-based residue generated from composting, which can be highly polluting.
Many compost treatment systems now have to deal with 'mixed' food and green waste and so leachate must be pasteurised to destroy pathogens.
As Dr James explains: "Compost leachate is usually a dark brown solution and sterilisation systems such as UV cannot be used because they cannot penetrate the liquid.
The leachate needs to be heated uniformly up to 70C and so Ohmic heating is the better, more efficient method of achieving this.
One company we are working with expects payback in less than one year from using our system".
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