Polymeric Components satisfy needs and cope with challenges in the Food and Beverage industry.

Equipment used in the Food and Beverage industry must have extreme tolerance for harsh environment such as chemical attacks, high temperatures and hard water.

When developing a new product, one of the biggest decisions to make is selection of materials.

Since our founding 39 years ago, Stainless Steel has been considered the most robust material, best suited for the harsh working environment in the food and beverage industry.

For this reason, all equipment for the Food and Beverage industry have been made primarily from stainless steel components.

Downtime is not an option

We can hear from our chemical distributors that the challenges the food and beverage producers cope with daily are:

• hard water – causing scaling of injectors and chemical non return valves
• chemicals – causing corrosion of stainless steel
• high-water temperatures – causing corrosion of stainless steel

Every service visit to descale or to change a component is time, resource, and money consuming, both for the food and beverage producer and for the distributor.

When cleaning equipment does not work, the food and beverage producers cannot clean to secure food safety and hygiene. Consequently, the production line cannot be used causing money loss.

In the times when Food and Beverage producers want to optimize output and minimize waste, production downtime is not an option.

Leading the industry

To cope with the above-mentioned challenges and to satisfy the needs of the F&B producers, after several years of lab tests and field tests, we are introducing new engineering materials on our new Hybrid 7 block technology.  

The new materials are introduced on several components primarily being in contact with water, detergent, and moisture – as injectors, chemical non-return valves, air-valve, and positioning plate.

Engineering Materials

The new material used to make these parts is known as Thermoplastic polymer.

The two specific types of polymers are PPS (Polyphenylene sulfide) and PEEK (PolyetheretherKetone). 

There are several advantages of using thermoplastic polymers instead of stainless steel on the new block.

Our engineers have carefully evaluated these materials based on several areas such as:

• functionality,
• strength,
• corrosion properties
• and recyclability.

It has been tested in our lab for two years, went through chemical compatibility tests and was tested in the field. The results were outstanding.

Let’s look at each of these materials to get a better understanding why we chose these materials:

PPS

PPS is known for being an ideal material of choice to produce complex parts. It exhibits an excellent combination of thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties such as,

• Chemical resistance
• Resistance to hot and wet conditions
• High Strength & creep resistance
• High rigidity

Chemical resistance

The material has exceptional chemical resistance properties which makes it ideal to use in an environment where harsh chemicals are used. PPS is resistance to a wide range of chemicals.

Strong bases, such as concentrated sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide solutions do not have any degrading impact on PPS. Most water-based solutions of acids do not affect PPS except strong oxidizing acids.

Resistance to hot and wet conditions

PPS is characterized by a small quantity of water pick up.

The frequency of deliming injectors and chemical non return valves was reduced from once per month to once per six months or even once per year in some cases.

High Strength & creep resistance

PPS can withstand applied pressure and stress under different circumstances. Its strength makes it capable of resisting distortion and breakage. It can also resist exposure of high-level stress over a long period of time. 

High rigidity

Not only is PPS a strong material, but it also has high rigidity. It is extremely resistant to bending and does not deform easily under load. Its great rigidity makes it possible to produce the components to much higher level of precision, which increase its machining accuracy. 

PEEK

Is the other material used on our new Hybrid 7 Block technology.

It is a high-performance thermoplastic polymer with exceptional resistance to harsh chemicals and excellent dimensional stability. It is often referred to as the “powerhouse of polymer” due to its combination of unique properties.

Some of the advantages of using PEEK are:

• Long-term chemical resistance
• Outstanding corrosion resistance
• High creep and fatigue resistance
• Tensile strength and durability
• Fully recyclable

Long-term chemical resistance

When it comes to chemical attacks the material is robust and can resist many aggressive chemicals.

Outstanding corrosion resistance

PEEK has excellent resistance to solvents, chemicals, hydrolysis, and other atmospheric substances that cause corrosion. This makes it the best corrosion resistant material to use for cleaning equipment.

High creep and fatigue resistance

The material is durable even when used in harsh environments. It is resistant to wear and heavy loads.

Tensile strength and durability

Even when maximum load or stress is applied, the material can withstand it which makes it extremely durable.

Fully recyclable

There are so many environmental benefits of using PEEK.

Its extreme light weight means less fuel consumption, it also does not contain chemicals known to be toxic and it is easy to recycle.

Polymeric components save production time and energy, compared to stainless steel. This directly correspond to the UN sustainable development goal of ensuring sustainable consumption and production pattern.

What’s in it for you?

Longer run time of the cleaning equipment before servicing it.