Modification to the process in order to have a prewashing stage before the boxes are emptied to the sterilization station saved significantly on water, energy and reduced the pollution load.

Following a water mapping at this fruit processing company, it was possible to identify water saving measures that rely on water reuse. All washing stages at this company were utilizing fresh water, that is drained after use.

The company was not connected to the medium voltage grid as the connection cost at the time of its establishment was high. Consequently, it relied on in-house diesel generators, that operated al low load factor most of the time.
Connecting to the medium voltage grid from the utility supplier, would save on energy costs, and more important reduce the pollution load associated to energy use.

A company producing a range of date products recently introduced the production of date syrup, however benchmarking the yield versus the common practices revealed that more syrup can be produced from the same input quantities. This was achieved through improvement of grinding and extraction steps.

This practice from a potato frying company, highlights how energy and mass balance lead to the identification of saving opportuninties. It was possible to reuse the waste vapor released from the fryer for heating the blancher water thus reducing the steam needed in the blancher.

Benchmarking the water consumption at this natural potato chips production facility indicated a potential for improvement. Detailed water mapping served in identification of main water consumers, and development of water reuse practice which reduced the water demand by 20%.

In this practice, the design of the cooling water system of the vacuum pumps and extruders was reviewed. The modifications needed to convert the system from open to closed loop, including the installation of cooling towers and backup chillers, are illustrated. Through this intervention, savings in both water and energy reach over 90% of the baseline.

Water removed from the juice through this evaporator was originally disposed off to the drain. Collecting that water, and reusing it as a pre-rinse water for the incoming fruit saves the water needed for this process. Water balance prepared for this company was the key to define the opportunity.

This practice represents the case where the boiler was of old low efficiency model, and sized to match the full load of the production line, which rarely occurs. Reviewing the load pattern of the production line, the boiler can be replaced with smaller models, increasing the load factor, and thus the boiler efficiecny. Having the new boilers connected in parallel also provides operational flexibility. another benefit from this upgrade is the fuel switching from the heavy fuel oil existing boiler to diesel fired boiler, which is more economic and have less environmental impact.

In this snacks production facility, frying oil had reduced lifetime. This was mainly due to the impurities from the fried products. Removal of those impurities from the oil between production batches, together with controlling the frying oil temperature shall save around 10% of the total oil used in frying.