A New Concept of Evaporation Plants: Thermal Vapor Recompression for Reducing Costs and Improving Product Quality

GEA Wiegand has introduced a new evaporating concept tor concentrating orange juices by applying thermal vapor recompression (TVR). This technology is not new and has been used very successfully tor many decades in other industries but was never applied so far for citrus juice concentration. In this article a conventional 7-effect directly heated evaporating plant is set against a new 5-effect plant with thermal vapor recompression for comparison and to prove the many advantages of this concept with regard to low running and capital costs as well as product quality of the concentrate. Paper published with permission.

The Role of Biotechnology in the Development of Improved Citrus Scion and Rootstock Cultivars

The development of improved citrus and scion rootstock cultivars has been limited by several factors, including complex reproductive biology, extended juvenility, and a lack of support and continuity of long-termed conventional breeding programs (Gmitter et al., 1991). Most commercially important scion and rootstock cultivars have arisen from the selection of bud-sport mutations within existing clones or by chance seedling selections. However, there are a few important scion and rootstock cultivars that were developed by conventional breeding. Such scion cultivars are mandarin hybrids developed by USDA breeders, primarily tangelos (mandarin x grapefruit hybrids) and tangors (mandarin x sweet orange hybrids) including ‘Minneola’, ‘Orlando’, ‘Nova’, ‘Page’, ‘Robinson’, ‘Fairchild’, ‘Sunburst’ (Saunt, 1990), and more recently ‘Fall Glo’ and ‘Ambersweet’ (C.J. Hearn, personal communication). Important rootstock cultivars developed by conventional breeding include Swingle citrumelo (grapefruit x trifoliate orange hybrid) and Carrizo and Troyer citranges (sweet orange x trifoliate orange hybrid). Because of renewed interest and the development of improved breeding parents, sexual hybridization will play an increasingly important role in citrus cultivar improvement. The integration of emerging biotechnologies with conventional breeding methods will facilitate and expedite citrus cultivar improvement. Paper published with permission.

Corrosion

On behalf of ENERFAB, I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to participate in your technical session. As fabricators we use many types of material to produce our products. The material of choice in the Citrus Industry is stainless steel. Paper published with permission.

Product and Ingredient Security

Product and Ingredient Security is an evolving process to prevent accidental or malicious contamination of food ingredients at the supplier level, manufacturing locations, product carriers, and through the distribution system to the retail shelf. Although greater than 90% of product tampering occurs at retail, the manufacturing community must have systems in place to assure food safety. These systems include; a Security Policy, Crisis Management Team, secure manufacturing plants, approved suppliers with Security Policies, Product Traceability, and bulk and retail packaging that utilizes the best tamper-evident features. Consumer safety and “peace of mind” are critical to maintaining the public’s confidence in the security of our manufacturing facilities and ultimately our brands and trademarks. Paper published with permission.

Bar Code Production Inventory Systems: An Integral Solution

The barrel room is one of the most labor intensive areas ot any Citrus Plant. Often operating three shifts in the peak of season, the barrel room may require as many as twelve people for barrel production. In addition to the labor requirements, the essential data for each drum produced is extensive. As Citrus product, single strength and concentrate, is purchased, received, processed, barreled, stored and shipped, the product data is required at each point of transaction. Paper published with permission.

Radar Liquid Level Measurement

Microwave radar level technology has been available to industry since World War II, but only recently has it found its way into the wider commercial mainstream. Through extensive use of radar technology by government and large industrial users, and advance in modern electronic components, microwave instruments are now affordable for use in smaller, more general applications. There are a number of distinct advantages this technology has over conventional, mechanical level devices including longer mean time between failure (MTBF), fewer effects from changing process or ullage (the are above the process liquid) conditions, less instrument maintenance, isolation of the instrumentation from the process liquid, and instantaneous monitoring of conditions inside a process or storage vessel. Factors that affect accurate level measurement using radar are the dielectric of the process material, location and alignment of the radar sensor, obstructions in the vessel, surface conditions of the process liquid, and calibration of the system’s electronics. Microwave radar level technology also offers the potential for the ability to anticipate and diagnose problem areas remotely. Paper published with permission.