Armfield

The FT29 is a batch process unit suitable for teaching and research. Capable of a variety of solid/liquid extractions, it is particularly suitable for leaching edible oils from seeds and desolventising extracted solids and miscella. The Armfield Batch Solvent Extraction and Desolventising Unit is a floor-standing, batch-process unit capable of carrying out a variety of solid/liquid extractions. It is particularly suitable for ‘leaching’ edible oils from oil-bearing seeds and desolventising both the extracted solids and the miscella.

A vital stage in the preparation of a food product is the accurate addition and correct mixing of the various ingredients that make up the recipe. It is usual that heat will be required, subsequent cooling and chilling are often needed for preservation. The Armfield Multi-purpose Processing Vessel is able to carry out these actions with very small quantities of ingredients. The facilities to mix, emulsify, heat, pasteurise, incubate, cool, chill and cure are all built into this purpose-designed unit. As well as preparation of food products for further processing, the facilities allow production of finished products in batch sizes from five to 20 litres.

The Armfield FT51 deaerator unit has been designed to enable small quantities of food and other liquid products to be processed conveniently in the laboratory. It can be used as a standalone batch deaerator or inline with one of the Armfield continuous processing systems, such as the FT74XTS or the FT174X. The unit is designed to mirror the industrial processes of vacuum deaeration.

The Armfield FT52 has been designed to provide additional cleaning performance for Armfield FT units and other equipment. It consists of a high flow rate stainless steel centrifugal pump mounted on a mobile frame.

The Armfield FT66 Neutraliser/Washer/Bleacher is a floor-standing batch processing vessel capable of performing the pre-refining stages on small quantities of crude edible oils and facilitates practical research and development.

The FT67 is a floor-standing batch processing vessel, used to adjust the degree of saturation of 25-litre batches of edible oils. An integral part of the edible oil processing line, for use in teaching/training and research and development.

The Armfield FT68 Deodorising Unit is a floor-standing batch processing vessel, suitable for steam stripping of fatty acids from edible oils. For use in teaching/training and research and development.

The FT74XA is compact, mobile and easy to install. It has an integral pressurized hot water generator and requires only electricity and cooling water to operate making it ideal for confined spaces with limited services such as laboratories. Operation with either plate or tubular heat exchangers means a wide range of product viscosities can be handled. A progressive cavity feed pump ensures that flow rates are independent of viscosity / backpressure changes and allow a maximum operating pressure of 10 bar. Typical processing flow rates are 10-20 L/h with holding temperatures up to 150°C. At pasteurization temperatures flow rates of up to 60 L/h are achievable. Cleaning is in place (CIP) using the feed pump in high flow rate mode and there is a centrifugal pump CIP option (FT74-52) which generates very high cleaning velocities to deal with products that are particularly difficult to clean. Sterilization (SIP) of the system is controlled from the touchscreen. System sterilization time and temperature are defined and key temperature sensors are monitored to ensure the entire system satisfactorily completes the SIP cycle. Automatic pre-heat control (FT74-46) offers an independent hot water circuit and the product pre-heat temperature is set via the touchscreen. The system is well instrumented for both process and services with all sensors displayed on the touchscreen and recorded values can be seen graphically and saved to USB datastick for further analysis.

The Armfield FT-80 Tall Form Spray Dryer and FT81 Tall Form Spray Chiller have been purposed-designedly to enable laboratory quantities of products to be processed.

Despite the size of the equipment, the powders produced will be comparable to large-scale production dryer capability.

Both systems offer unparalleled flexibility with separate, individually controlled inlet and outlet fans, together with variable nozle positions and selection of co- or counter- unsurpassed range of options. This flexibility is enhanced by an unsurpassed range of options, purpose-designed for laboratory research use.

With appropriate accessories it is possible to change from spray-drying to spray-chilling configurations in a matter of minutes, thus adding further unique experimental capability.

The FT80 Tall Form Spray Dryer is supplied as standard with two nozzles and nozzle hoses, one for co-current and one for counter-current. In counter-current configuration the nozzle is positioned at the bottom of the chamber and sprayed upward into the flow of hot air.

For spray chilling the flow of air from the inlet fan to the spray chamber is chilled instead of heated. The air is cooled using chilled water and a stainless steel heat exchanger. The FT81 Tall Form Spray Chiller is supplied complete with its own refrigeration unit. Counter-current configuration is normally used for spray chilling.

The Armfield FT83 is the most cost-effective solution for R&D departments to produce sterile packaged samples with an excellent shelf life. As well as a working chamber with a controlled, clean environment, the unit includes the facilities to allow all the product paths to be sterilised and for the filling to be controlled in a simple manner.

The Armfield Microwave UHT /HTST unit has been developed for the rapid heating of various types of viscous, non-viscous and even non-homogeneous products. Product temperatures up to 160°C can be reached. The Armfield FT84-12 can be used with an Armfield FT174X, FT74X, FT74XTS or FT94X to provide a rapid microwave final heating stage.

The FT90 and FT91 are complete inline homogenisation subsystems for use with Armfield miniature-scale food-processing equipment. The FT90 is based on an APV 1000 homogeniser and the FT91 is based on a Niro Twin Panda. Both homogenisers have been specifically optimised for this application. The units include controls, comprehensive instrumentation, valves, pipework, pulsation dampers, data logging and all facilities required for operation and process integration with other Armfield equipment.

Due to the increased demands from marketing departments, food and beverage manufacturers’ R&D teams are required to prepare increasingly larger volumes of sample product. As a result, Armfield have developed the new FT94LT Mini Pilot System complete with Tubular Heat Exchanger. The new FT94LT is a cost-effective HTST/UHT processing system, based on a tubular heat exchanger only, with a range of options including data logging, to tailor the product to your requirements. The FT94LT comprises a three-stage heat exchanger complete with the services, controls and instrumentation required to operate the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is mounted on top of a stainless steel table with the feed pump, heating and cooling services and the electrical cabinet mounted below it.

The Armfield FT94X HTST/UHT Mini Pilot system extends the range of continuous operation scaled-down units offered by Armfield to 200 l/hr (30-100 l/hr standard format). The unit combines full flexibility – plate and tubular heat exchanger options – with comprehensive instrumentation demanded of research and development equipment. The FT94X is designed for operation as both a standalone unit and also for seamless integration into a full processing system with the capability of aseptic packaging of processed product.

The NA4 Ships Vibrations Test Model is designed to enable students to investigate a simple model hull form for resonance phenomena. It may be used in conjunction with the optional Armfield Flotation Tank or any suitable customer supplied tank. Many of the principal phenomena associated with ship resonant vibration are clearly demonstrated. At a more advanced level the distribution of mass and second moment of area may be calculated and using a Young’s Modulus value for the material of the ship shaped beam, the natural frequencies may be estimated by a simple tabular method or other means and compared with the measured value.

The NA8 Ships Stability System is designed for the study of ship hydrostatics and stability. A comprehensive manual provides hydrostatic stability and other data for ship models and includes a number of experiments which are useful to students. Exercises are conducted on a 1/70 scale model of a general cargo vessel of 28,000-tonne ship mass. Rolling, righting and the effects of flooding various compartments may be studied. Optional alternative ships models are also available for study.

Industrial Process Controllers. Each practical work study system consists of a bench top process demonstration unit and a control console, that contains the power supplies and interfacing for all measurement and actuation signals. Specific industrial controllers are available as accessories to further develop the practical instruction courses possible.

The Essentials of Process Control (EPC) range of products takes students through the fundamentals of principles of process control, and progresses to give them a thorough grounding in the control of physical processes. Four independent process units demonstrate level, flow, temperature and pressure as the controlled variable. The concepts of closed loop control, including on/off control, proportional control, proportional/integral and proportional/integral/derivative (PID) control can be explored and demonstrated. Some units also cover both time proportioning and analogue control of the same parameter. To demonstrate industrial control systems, two further controlling devices are available, a full function industrial PID controller with autotune, and a programmable logic controller (PLC).

This provides a cost-effective way of teaching a wide range of process control techniques, including temperature measurement and flow control. More sophisticated aspects of process control can be addressed by adding optional extras to the basic system. The PCT40 is computer controlled with optional manual control available using the PCT43 Electronic Control Console.

The TH range is designed to introduce students to the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. Exploring basic concepts such as temperature and pressure measurement, plus an introduction to the relationships between these fundamentals; first and second low, the principles of reversibility, entropy, enthalpy etc. The equipment enables the student to gain a true understanding of these difficult concepts, which are so important in all aspects of engineering.

Armfield through their CE and UOP range of products offer the most comprehensive, diverse and technically current group of products of any manufacturer, bringing both basic principles and complete unit operations to the modern educational laboratory.