09,22,2026 16 views
The constantly growing market demand and increasingly strict laws and regulations have made the food and beverage industry pay more and more attention to the hygiene of production processes. In order to ensure the cleanliness, safety, and repeatability of products, the food and beverage industry has strict process requirements, which can be quite complex. Among them, adding ingredients to food and beverages usually requires precise, stable, and reliable process control.
Every liquid required for the production of any food and beverage product has its physical properties and must be added at a specific speed on the production line. Therefore, precise and accurate measurement and control of liquids used in mixing or ingredient addition systems have become very challenging, especially for the typically required very low flow rates.
In this article, we introduce the metrological applications of food and beverage that heavily rely on precise dosage to ensure product quality, efficiency, and repeatability, as well as the key considerations for each application. We then discuss common flow measurement and control solutions currently available on the market.
potato chips
The modern production methods of potato chips, as well as the increasing demand for reduced oil and baked potato chips, mean that potato chips only use less oil in the production process. Therefore, dry seasonings are not easily attached to potato chips. So, in the end, it is necessary to apply a small amount of oil and vinegar on the potato chips so that the dry seasoning can stick to them.
dairy products
The regulation of process conditions is particularly important for microbial production of dairy products. In order to optimize the efficiency of bacterial fermentation, these processes require strict control of temperature, pH value, nutrient composition, and gas concentration. The growth rate of bacteria is highly sensitive to these different process conditions, so the accuracy and precision of input flow rate become very important.
beer
Breweries must accurately measure the degree of Pareto (° P), which measures the sugar content of malt extract before fermentation. Beer has different densities of wort at different stages of fermentation. The original malt extract sucrose concentration corresponds to the final specific gravity of beer and is used to calculate the final alcohol content of beer. This ensures that your light beer won't accidentally turn into a triple beer - otherwise it would be a pity!
Fruit and vegetable concentrate
The production of fruit and vegetable concentrates also requires a similar process. When using a flow device that can provide continuous feedback on product quality flow and density for comparison with the Brix sugar content, it can ensure a high-quality and waste free process.
Flow technology used to improve metering applications
In the past, the method of adjusting the dosage system of food and beverages was to use pumps. Although these can accomplish the task, they are not very accurate. A higher precision alternative is to use a flow meter to continuously measure the output flow rate and compare it with the set value. This feedback loop allows for improved control accuracy, linearity, and repeatability in large-scale production environments. Here, we discuss three common flow technologies used to regulate the various liquids required for ingredients in food and beverage processes: electromagnetic, ultrasonic, laminar, and Coriolis.
Electromagnetic FlowmeterWe can provide cost-effective solutions and are also compatible with in situ cleaning (CIP) and in situ sterilization (SIP) processes. However, these flow meters rely on the conductivity of water, and if you are flowing deionized water or liquid containing bubbles, the readings may not be reliable.
Using the Doppler effectultrasonic flowmeterParticle materials or bubbles are needed to reflect signals, which renders them ineffective in pure and smooth liquids. On the contrary, ultrasonic equipment using transmission time to measure flow can only be used for pure fluids. A combination of both can be used, but this will result in additional cost impacts and reduced accuracy under low traffic conditions. One advantage of ultrasonic flow meters is that they can measure in a non-invasive manner, but they are often sensitive to process vibrations.
Laminar mass flowmeter and controllerCan be used for rapid and accurate measurement and control of fluids with known composition.AlicatThe laminar differential pressure mass flow controller haspreciseThe proportional control valve andfastThe response time is high, and some controllers haveaccumulateFunction enables precise measurement for batch processing. Laminar mass flow meters are particularly adept at being used when the process liquid remains constant and its fluid composition is known.
Coriolis flowmeter and controllerProvided solutions for some of these limitations. Even when the fluid composition of the measured mixture changes, Coriolis technology can accurately measure and control the mass flow rate. A more compact Coriolis device is an ideal choice for low flow rates and also provides density readings. In addition, using Coriolis's ingredient solution can be compatible with CIP/SIP. Although they are typically associated with higher initial costs, Coriolis instruments are often not recalibrated annuallyLong term ownership with low costThat's it.
Currently, many food production process measurement applications have benefited fromAlicat CODA series Coriolis mass flowmeter and controllerprovidedAccurate, low flow measurement and controlThe flow range of CODA series instruments is between 0.08 g/h and 100 kg/h, and multiple models are available to meet the exact requirements of your various applicationsfixedmanufacture.
