Kronen engineers have developed a new GEWA washing machine in collaboration with sterilAir (CH-Weinfelden).
With this Kronen GEWA washing line, salads and herbs, vegetables and fresh-cut products are washed in a continuous flow process (without mechanical immersion) with UVC treated water, Kronen said. According to the company, the machine is equipped with a number of modules and features, including:
- A UVC reactor integrated into the pipe system, while the GEWA washing performance remains constant
- CIP-cleaning allowing for the re-use of cleaning water
- Fresh water showers mounted above the discharge section
- Heat exchangers integrated in the filter tank
Technical aspects include:
- Capacity, e.g. baby leaf or corn salad: up to 400 kg / h
- Voltage: 400 V, 50 Hz, 3 Ph
- Total power: 9,6 kW
- Total water volume: 814 l
- Capacity of UVC reactor: 60 m³/h circulation at approx. 814 l
= 70 UVC treatments / h (The total water volume of the washing machine will be pumped 70-times per hour through the reactor.) - UVC reactor = 6 UVC-tubes (from sterilAir) designed for 50.000 ignitions and more than 12000 operation hours
Other washing machine features include an insect drum (drum: square hole diameter 10 mm, standard version is supplied with round hole diameter 5 mm) with various perforations and an integrated gas pressure spring.
The washed salad products are carried by an outfeed belt system 17° (equipped with a suction fan and air blower system) for further drying and processing.
Selected GEWA machines can also be retrofitted with an UVC reactor. Upon request, the UVC reactor can be provided for test purposes.