Food & beverage

Learn more about the importance of air treatment for the food & beverage industry.

Air treatment for the food & beverage industry

Food and beverages are vital in the truest sense of the word. And just as our body needs them to keep going, their producers need high-quality compressed air. After all, they must ensure that the things we eat and drink are safe to consume and that they taste good. Stringent compressed air standards for food industry apply. Pneumatech offers the right air dryers and filters to ensure food quality.

The use of compressed air in the food and beverage industry

The applications for compressed air in the food and beverage sector are nearly endless. From powering machines and generating industrial gases to cleaning the food and packaging it. In other words, modern food production would not be possible without compressed air.

Generally, we distinguish between three broad categories:

Air that does not come into direct or indirect contact with the F&B products;
Air that is used for production processes but does not touch the food;
And air that comes into direct contact with it.

The importance of quality air in the food and beverage sector

Untreated compressed air contains moisture, particles and oil. This contaminated air can wreak havoc on your final products, your production equipment, and your processes. Unsurprisingly, the compressed air that comes into direct contact with food and beverages is subject to stringent quality standards. It must be treated to ensure that none of the three types of contaminants can compromise the safety and taste of the food.

Fortunately, different technologies are available to ensure that the air meets your air quality requirements:

Particles: Filters
Water/moisture: After coolers, dryers, water separator, drains, filters
Oil: Filters & carbon towers or using an oil-free, Class 0 compressor

The compressed air quality standard

ISO 8573-1:2010 is the international standard that categorizes compressed air quality.

Purity class	Solid particles			Water		Total oil
	Number of particles per m³			Pressure dewpoint		Concentration
	0.1 < d ≤ 0.5 μm**	0.5 < d ≤ 1.0 μm**	1.0 < d ≤ 5.0 μm**	°C	°F	mg/m³
0	As specified by the equipment user or supplier and more stringent than Class 1.
1	≤ 20000	≤ 400	≤ 10	≤ -70	≤ -94	≤ 0.01
2	≤ 400000	≤ 6000	≤ 100	≤ -40	≤ -40	≤ 0.1
3	-	≤ 90000	≤ 1000	≤ -20	≤ -4	≤ 1
4	-	-	≤ 10000	≤ 3	≤ 37.4	≤ 5
5	-	-	≤ 100000	≤ 7	≤ 44.6	-
6	≤ 5 mg/m³			≤ 10	≤ 50	-

Compressed air standards for food industry

Four major organizations have specifically identified the need for compressed air monitoring – ISO (International Organization for Standardization), BCAS (British Compressed Air Society), BRC (British Retail Consortium), and SQF (Safe Quality Food Institute).

The BCAS Food and Beverage Grade Compressed Air Best Practice 102 is an excellent reference for the F&B manufacturing sector and its suppliers:

Compressed air as pilot air (to control valves, cylinders, grippers,…): Class 7.4.4
Non-contact compressed air (no contact with ingredients, finished food, packaging material, storage vessels or the manufacturing machinery): Class 1.4.1
Non-contact high risk (possible unintended contact with ingredients, finished food, packaging material, storage vessels or the manufacturing machinery): Class 1.2.1
Contact compressed air (direct contact with ingredients, finished food, packaging material, storage vessels or the manufacturing machinery): Class 1.2.1

The dryer that meets compressed air standards for food industry

The PB 760-7400 HE delivers a low pressure dew point (PDP) of -40°C/-40°F as standard (and -70°C/-94°F as an option), 3 high-efficiency models (a blower purge version and two zero purge variants), and flows up to 12,600 m3/hr.

Achieving quality compressed air starts with the right dryer. The PB adsorption dryer series from Pneumatech is the ideal F&B solution:

Top quality air: Produce food-grade compressed air with a reliable pressure dew point to meet ISO 8573-1:2010 Class 1, 2 & 3 requirements.
Cost efficiency: Keep your energy costs in check thanks to the PB’s industry-leading efficiency.
Reliability: With its in-house components and durable build, PB dryers offer superior reliability and reduce production downtime.
Long maintenance intervals: PB dryers are ready for use and allow for long maintenance intervals.
Easy operation: Our advanced controller, the Purelogic^TMTouch, allows for easy control and monitoring.

A wide range of filters

Filters play a key role in the treatment of compressed air. Pneumatech has a complete range of filters to make sure your compressed air meets all F&B quality requirements. This includes oil coalescing, particulate and oil vapor filters, as well breathing air, silicone-free, sterile and process filtration.

Meet all your air treatment needs from a single source

Pneumatech offers a comprehensive range of air treatment solution. Aside from dryers and filters, our portfolio also includes drains and (oil-)water separators. That means you can get top-quality, fully compatible air solutions from one single source.

Expert advice and support

Contact us with all the details about your F&B production and your compressed air requirements. Our experts will find the solution that meets all your needs.

Compressed Air Dryers

If you've worked with an air compressor, you've likely noticed the air is saturated with moisture. This is because water, in contrast to air, is incompressible. The amount of moisture per volume unit increases when air is compressed, creating condensation. Our compressed air dryers are vital for removing this moisture, which can cause corrosion, quality issues, and microorganisms in your air system.

Adsorption Dryers

Adsorption or desiccant dryers remove moisture from air or gas streams by passing them through a porous material called a desiccant, ensuring dry and moisture-free conditions.

Membrane Dryers

Using a process called “selective permeation,” membrane dryers can help remove that moisture to ensure the required air quality standards are met.

Refrigeration Dryers

Refrigeration dryers are the most commonly used dryers for removing moisture from compressed air. They therefore play an important role in shielding compressed air systems from corrosion and protecting your equipment and end products alike.

Compressed Air Filters

Compressed air can contain a wide range of contaminants, from oil droplets to sand and dust particles. However small, these particles can cause downstream equipment malfunctions, product contamination, and other quality issues. Depending on your application, you may need compressed air filters to prevent air system quality, reliability, and efficiency problems. Pneumatech offers various types of compressed air filters to remove any type of contaminant.

VT 1-9 Carbon Towers

High efficiency filtration product designed to meet the most demanding industry applications

VT 11-15 Carbon Towers

High efficiency filtration product designed to meet the most demanding industry applications

FF Flanged Air Filters

A filtration solution for high pressure and high flow compressed air applications

PMR Mist Eliminators

With only 10% of the pressure drop of a regular coalescing filter and an expected service life 20-30 times longer than conventional filers, the PMR series is the only choice for efficient removal of mist sized particles.

HP High Pressure Air Filters

Pneumatech offers high pressure filters for any high pressure compressed air system.

Ultimate Filters

Protects downstream equipment from contaminants found in compressed air

SLF Silicone Free Filters

Protects from substances that could cause defects in spray paint applications

FP Process Filters

For pure compressed air in process industry applications

Condensate Management

Condensate is the inevitable by-product of compressing air. In the case of oil-injected air compressors, this condensate can contain both oil and water. Pneumatech condensate management solutions remove water from your air system and separate oil from water to help you dispose of it legally, safely, and environmentally friendly.

CDF Mechanical Float Drains

Pneumatech’s CDF mechanical float drain discharges the condensate automatically and without compressed air losses up to 10 bar.

CDT Timer Drains

Pneumatech’s CDT condensate drains discharge the condensate automatically, based on pre-set time intervals. The opening and closing times can be set with high flexibility, which make the drains suitable for almost all capacities.

CDE 5-350 Electronic Zero Loss Drain

The top quality drain that removes moisture from your compressed air system with maximum reliability and efficiency.

ECOBOX Oil Water Separator

The Pneumatech ECOBOX offers a compressor condensate cleaning solution with excellent performance for compressed air systems up to 60 cfm. It is designed to remove the oil traces from compressor condensate via adsorption.

OWS 25-5300 Oil Water Separators

Condensate management has always been a mandatory part of operating oil-lubricated compressors. With the OWS 25-5300 oil-water separator, Pneumatech makes it effortless and effective with innovative dual-stage filtration technology that saves costs and the environment