Vacuum drying
Vacuum drying is employed when delicate materials need to be dried rapidly and without damage. It is used in food processing to avoid loss of quality or taste. It is also highly suitable for materials with large surface areas, such as the removal of water from plastic granules or drying complex machine parts after cleaning. The high tolerance of Dolphin LM/LT vacuum pumps to water and moisture make them the ideal choice for drying processes. Examples of drying processes:
- Freeze drying
- Cleaning/Drying of industrial components
- Drying of plastic granules
- Drying of ceramic materials
- Drying of building materials
- Slurry drying in waste water treatment plants
- Wood drying and impregnation
Vacuum distillation
Vacuum distillation is a distillation process carried out under reduced pressure. The lower pressure reduces the boiling point of the mixture allowing sufficiently volatile components to be extracted. As a rule, an extremely robust vacuum pump with a high tolerance to vapour is necessary to remove vapours and gases. Dolphin LM/LT vacuum pumps are ideally suited to vacuum distillation. Examples of distillation processes may be found in:
- Chemical and pharmaceutical process technology
- Laboratory technology
- Food processing technology
Vacuum evaporation
Vacuum evaporation is a similar process to vacuum distillation: Liquid is boiled by reducing its pressure, and the resulting vapour is extracted. This process allows the manufacture of both liquid and solid concentrates. The vacuum pumps used must have a high tolerance to vapour. The main applications of vacuum evaporation are found in food processing technology, in the chemical industry and in industrial waste water treatment systems:
- Concentration of liquids such as emulsion, acids and electrolytes
- Treatment of wash water
Sterilization
In sterilization, vapour is injected into a sterilization chamber, then extracted by a vacuum pump. This procedure may be repeated several times, and several different vapours may be used. Vacuum has the task of extracting the vapour completely, helping the vapour introduced in the next cycle to fill the sterilization chamber. After the sterilization process, vacuum is also used to dry the sterilized items. Sterilization processes are mainly carried out in:
- Foodstuff manufacturing
- Food packaging manufacturing
- Food packaging operations
- Preparation of surgical instruments
Degassing
Degassing of melts, for example the extrusion of plastics or pasta dough, produces gases and vapours that have a highly detrimental effect on the quality of the product. Degassing of the molten mass in the screw zone of the extruder is therefore necessary. Dolphin LM/LT liquid ring vacuum pumps are ideal for this purpose, as their robust operating principle allows the complete extraction of air, water vapour and other gas mixtures emitted by the process.
… and many more!