Dry vacuum system

GEA has developed a cryogenically driven dry condensing (DC) vacuum system also known as an ice condensing system, which offers an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional ‘wet’ vacuum systems for removing the vapor as part of the oil deodorization process. GEA has developed a cryogenically driven dry condensing (DC) vacuum system also known as an ice condensing system, which offers an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional ‘wet’ vacuum systems for removing the vapor as part of the oil deodorization process. Oil deodorization is a key downstream process in edible oil manufacture, which uses large amounts of steam to strip out free fatty acids and other volatile compounds from the heated oil. Oil deodorizing is carried out under high vacuum, and traditional ‘wet’ vacuum approaches to removing the vapor use steam ejectors to increase the pressure so that the vapor can be condensed in a heat exchanger. The process is a significant cost driver in waste-stream management. In contrast, the DC technology, which is carried out at the 1–3 mbar pressure used for oil deodorization, uses up to 10-20% of the energy and just 0.1% of the water required by conventional ‘wet’ vacuum systems. Operating at a fraction of the cost of traditional steam evacuation approaches, our DC systems can typically achieve return on investment within approximately 3 years. When held at pressures below its 5.8 mbar triple point, water exists in just two phases, vapor and ice. The direct condensing technology is carried out at suitably low pressure and temperature so that the water vapor can be condensed directly into ice