The two organisations have successfully trialled a pilot scheme using
microwave sensors designed by the university. These sensors are located in the
company’s UHT production plant, which manufactures a broad range of ambient
stable food products such as sweet and savoury sauces, glazes, dairy cream
alternatives and desserts.
Pipes are flushed with water for cleaning between products and, to retain
sterility of the plant, the current process relies on timers to judge when
product has fully displaced water and can start to be packed off. This creates
a significant amount of waste, which leaves scope to improve efficiency.
The research project – facilitated by Censis, the Scottish Innovation
Centre for Sensor and Imaging Systems – developed a new, patented microwave sensor that can detect, to within a second, the presence of a pure product in
the process, displacing all water.
The patented system will now be deployed full-scale in the Macphie
production process line, which Ashley Baker, head of research and development
at Macphie of Glenbervie, said would deliver three major benefits:
- more efficient new product
development
- improved efficiency of production
- reduced environmental impact.
- “Our success in a market dominated by a number of very large players is because of our ability to offer new, more convenient and high quality products,” said Baker. “That requires innovation through R&D, which is at the heart of everything we do.
“This project is a significant step for us and allows us to be more
flexible and responsive to the changing demands of the market and our
customers. It will help us produce more efficiently, lessen our impact on the environment through reduced waste, and increase
our production yields. It will also make it easier for us to switch production
from product to product and make developing new products a much more efficient
process.”
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