Low temperature and lean volume cleaning system - I and II (LOWTEV)

Description:

Sustainable water usage has become increasingly important for industries that require large quantities of water, such as food processing. During the FP7 R4SME LOWTEV project (agreement no. 222078) a new technology was developed and, during the proof of concept trials in the laboratory, has shown:

• 60% savings in cleaning water consumption;
• 30% savings in energy consumption;
• 20% increase in productivity.

In the LOWTEV II project, an EU-funded consortium of engineering experts and food industry representatives used this technology to build a prototype cleaning system that saves water. The project LOWTEV II delivered a system capable of reducing water consumption during conveyor belt cleaning within the food processing and manufacturing sector. New knowledge was applied about the coupling of ultrasound with low water pressure delivery to develop an effective cleaning system. The new system proved to be effective and did not require the use of hot water or chemical detergents, except for a small quantity of chemical used to enhance the ultrasound. The system developed under LOWTEV II is suitable for Europe's food and drink industry, 99 % of which is made up of SMEs. It can be afforded by SMEs, thereby enabling them to become more competitive in the global market and also creating job opportunities.

Project information

Lead

GUTTRIDGE LTD (UK) SPRATT Stuart

Partners

NARPAK NARENCIYE PAKETLEME VE DIS TIC AS TURKEY; SINAPTEC FRANCE; NOFIMA MAT AS NORWAY; NEOGEN EUROPE LTD UNITED KINGDOM; CHALLENGER FOODS LIMITED UNITED KINGDOM; TIERRA TECH S.L SPAIN; ETABLISSEMENT ALPEX SA FRANCE.; THE UK HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNITED KINGDOM

Source of funding

FP 7