Conceptual Design
Product range and operational profile are often responsible for large losses. Modelling allows evaluation of the interaction between production and design and its resultant effect on wastage. By addressing the issue during conceptual design, the impact on losses can be greatly reduced.
Consideration must also be given to the product's suitability for re-use and the market for any by-product materials. During this phase, product recovery and waste treatment technologies can be integrated fully with manufacturing systems thereby ensuring efficient re-use of aterial.
Waste Modelling
Much of the wastage from food and beverage plants is directly attributable to hygienic processing. Process equipment must be cleaned regularly and intermittent shut-downs are therefore necessary. Since food processing equipment is often purged with water on shut-down, stoppages frequently result in large losses. Further wastage is generated by the cleans themselves.Marketing pressures have encouraged producers to widen product ranges and respond more sensitively to fluctuations in demand. In existing plants this has resulted in an increased number of start-ups, shut-downs and product change-overs which accordingly, have led to greater losses. The design of new plants must allow greater production flexibility to ensure that unnecessary stoppages, and hence wastage, are eliminated.
APV Waste Modelling provides an effective means for linking product losses to process utilisation. During the conceptual design phase, Waste Modelling is used to develop plant configurations which facilitate low waste operation.
Implementing Waste Modelling
Waste Modelling is implemented using APV Batch Manager software package. Developed to assist process management in the food and beverage industries, Batch-Manager facilitates modelling of the critical manufacturing operations in a given plant.By simulating the production process, Batch-Manager generates a feasible manufacturing plan which details batch sizes and equipment utilisation throughout the period under examination. Batch-Manager may be used to test different production scenarios thus allowing identification of the optimum schedule.
Waste Modelling utilises Batch-Manager to simulate waste generation during individual process operations, i.e. start-ups, shut-downs and cleans. Since Batch-Manager provides the process utilisation which governs when these operations occur, a clear link between waste and production can be established. This relationship helps ensure that loss predictions accurately reflect variations in process operation.
Waste Data
Although Waste Modelling provides a robust mechanism for prediction, raw data detailing losses from individual operations must be sourced from elsewhere. Information sources include :-- Historical Data
APV, through its extensive experience of different processes, has access to a comprehensive archive of detailed waste data.
- Mathematical Modelling
APVis involved in the development of detailed mathematical models which describe waste formation during operations such as purging. This theory-based approach offers a suitable framework for extrapolating existing data and generating information for new process systems.
