A groundbreaking method for condensing and treating the steam evaporated from PepsiCo’s fryers to recover more than 50% of the water used in potato chip manufacturing lines has been successfully proven by a team from the company’s Global Research & Development.
Moreover, the energy recovered from the condensation can be used for other manufacturing purposes, such as cooling part of the plant or converting it to electricity, reducing the plant’s energy needs.
According to a recent press release, PepsiCo has fully implemented this technology at its facility in Kolkata, India, where the proof-of-concept showed the approach could save approximately 60m liters of water a year. Over the next seven years, the technology is expected to be adopted at nearly 30 potato chip manufacturing plants in high-water-risk areas.
“Driven by winning with pep+ philosophy, we have committed ourselves to be a sustainable company and we want to be at the forefront of that journey. Over the years, we have been continuously exploring new technologies to reduce water use and to identify opportunities to use recycled water instead of freshwater. The positive results of the innovative water treatment system technology mark a significant achievement for us to take sustainability mainstream as it will further accelerate the process of achieving the long-term goal of improving water security in the region,” Rinkesh Satija, Sr. Director, Supply Chain, PepsiCo India said, cited by Krishi Jargan.
During the potato chip manufacturing process, potatoes are washed, peeled, sliced, and sent to the fryer. About 80% of water inherent to the potatoes during this process is released as steam through the stack of the fryer.
The ground-breaking water treatment technology not only captures and condenses the steam but is also utilized to remove fats, oils, and grease. The residual water generated through this process can be further used for other potato chip processing operations.
As part of its pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) transformation, PepsiCo, Inc. announced several innovations, investments, and partnerships to progress against its ambition to be Net Water Positive by 2030, aiming to replenish more water than the company uses. This includes developing a new technology to recover more than 50% of the water used in its potato chip manufacturing, investing nearly USD2m for the Colorado River Basin, extending safe water access to 8m more people in 2021, and signing a new partnership to scale a groundbreaking drip irrigation technology across 10,000 hectares by 2025.
