Conventional wastewater treatment consists of three distinct phases: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The primary treatment involves the mechanical removal of solids by sedimentation or flotation and is followed by a secondary treatment which removes organic matter through microbial decomposition.  A further final, or tertiary, treatment may also be required depending on the final destination of the wastewater – such as re-entering the mains water supply. The choice of secondary treatment depends on a number of factors including the wastewater’s chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD ..read more

In the simplest terms, a heat exchanger is like a radiator, designed to heat (or cool) one material from another. However, over the last 150 years or so, a wide variety of types and designs have emerged, meaning that finding the most suitable type of heat exchanger for your application is not always simple.   All but the most basic heat exchangers are created to a bespoke brief, designed to take into account the material/s being heated or cooled, the heating or cooling medium, the amount of product being processed, product velocity, risk of fouling and a host of other factors. However, ov ..read more

HRS is well known as a leading supplier of heat exchange, but our clients are increasingly looking for turnkey solutions for their thermal processing challenges. In response to this, HRS now has a team solely dedicated to the development of complete systems, which account for more than half our total sales by value. In terms of volume, component orders remain our core business; however, the number of full systems we are commissioned to produce is increasing every year and now accounts for the majority of turnover. Most of the demand for complete systems comes from the food and drink industry ..read more

Reducing the environmental impact of pet food production is now a key objective for many manufacturers. However, to date the environmental agenda for pet food has focused either on ingredients or packaging. This overlooks one of the easiest wins for manufacturers – reducing waste during production.   Waste pet food has significant environmental and financial costs. Not only does the raw material have a cost, but additional costs are associated with the disposal of waste products. As raw material and energy costs have undergone massive inflation over the last couple of years, the need to c ..read more

Cleaning/Clean-in-Place (CIP) systems have been around since the 1950s and in many regions and industries, they are now the standard method of maintaining hygienic and effective equipment operation. Yet we still encounter clients and manufacturers who are unfamiliar with the concept and continue to purchase or specify production equipment or systems which rely heavily on manual cleaning routines, often involving time consuming and expensive equipment breakdown. Some sources suggest that CIP systems were first implemented when dairies were forced to switch from metal pipes to Pyrex glass tubes ..read more

Orange juice remains one of the most popular soft drinks around the world, but challenging weather conditions in 2021 and 2022 in the world’s major production regions of Brazil and Florida respectively mean that the supply chain faces record raw material costs. As a result, producers will need to focus more than ever on production efficiencies in order to maximise margins.   Markets are nervous, with orange juice futures matching historical highs in New York at the end of 2022 with increases of 50% or more compared to the previous year. Orange juice producers face an equivalent increase i ..read more

The production of safe food and drink products is of paramount importance to producers and maintaining hygienic – in some cases sterile – production environments and equipment is a key requirement for modern food processing machinery. Apart from the simplest systems, most equipment today, particularly that which contains pipework, enclosed spaces and small apertures, is cleaned in situ without the need for dismantling or opening, and with minimal operator intervention – a technique which is known as Cleaning-in-Place (CIP).   Cleaning (or Clean) in Place has been around since the 1950s an ..read more

Products such as mechanically separated meat (MSM) and meat emulsions are commonly used in a wide range of products including sausages, chicken nuggets, patties and some minced meats. Around the world there are strict rules, both about the raw materials used for the production of MSM, but also how it is processed and labelled. Similar cooking, handling and cooling methods are also used for other food products, such as ground (minced) meat and soups, and these products can also benefit from the same approach to choosing cooking systems. These products are often cooked in batches, often using la ..read more

The UK has almost 730 operational anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, with a capacity of more than 2,800 MW of biogas for use as renewable heat, electricity or biomethane (green gas)¹. However, we believe that the current deployment of AD in the UK is just a fraction of the country’s total potential.     THE POTENTIAL FOR AD A report commissioned by Cadent Gas Ltd in 20172 concluded that waste feedstocks had the potential to generate between 47 and 56 TWh of renewable gas (83% BioSNG from gasification and 17% biomethane from anaerobic digestion). From this we can see that the total pote ..read more

More than 40-years’ experience, combined with great teamwork, paid off earlier this year when HRS Heat Exchangers met an extremely tight deadline to convert an existing heat exchanger for a key client. The project involved a standard BEM-type heat exchanger which needed converting to make it suitable for high pressure chemical use. The unit had to be collected from the client’s site, 1,300 km away from the HRS factory in Murcia, Spain; the necessary materials had to be procured; and once the modifications were complete, the unit had to be tested and returned to the client. And all in just five ..read more