Cooling polyfructose concentrate: an efficient solution with SIGMA plate heat exchangers

In the food industry, many processes require careful temperature control, especially when it comes to cooling viscous liquids.

One such challenge arose in the case of polyfructose concentrate, which needs to be cooled from 35°C to below 8°C. Polyfructose has a high viscosity, which makes it difficult to process under standard conditions. Therefore, choosing the right cooling equipment is very important.

The client was faced with the problem of cooling polyfructose concentrate, which had a viscosity of about 30,000cP at 8°C. Initially, an expensive set of heat exchangers with scrapers costing more than 300 thousand euros was used for this purpose. However, due to mechanical heating and the formation of a glassy layer, this method proved to be ineffective.

API Heat Transfer conducted pilot tests in its laboratory in Germany to find an alternative solution. It was found that the SIGMA M66 plate heat exchanger effectively cooled the polyfructose concentrate to the required temperatures. Although the viscosity of the product exceeded the normal operating ranges for standard heat exchangers, adjusting the temperature of the cooling mixture (glycol and water) and controlling the flow rate made it possible to achieve success.

Thanks to pilot tests and the right equipment selection, the decision to use a SIGMA M66 plate heat exchanger was successfully implemented. The unit has been in operation since 2006, providing stable and efficient cooling of highly viscous liquids. This example demonstrates that API Heat Transfer’s plate heat exchangers can be adapted even for non-standard operating conditions.

Viravix is the official representative of API Schmidt in Ukraine. Our team of specialists will help you find individual solutions for cooling highly viscous liquids and other complex processes in your production.