APPLICATION
Preserving fruits with a wax coating
Fruits engaged on a long journey are best protected with a thin organic film
BASE
Core products
Fruits with smooth surfae prone to mould growth : apple, citrus, mangoe
RECIPE
Ingredients
The coating ingredient is generally an emulsion :
- Water
- Wax
- Surfactant to lower the surface tension
- Additional substance with an antioxydant property.
PROCESS
How does it work?
Upstream
The fruits are cleaned of dust wich may hinder the coating process and washed
Process
The whole fruit surface must be in contact with the emulsion. Partial tipping and tumbling enhance the the dispersion.
Downstream
The fruits are drained from the excess of the emulsion, partially dried by air blowing
1.
Fruit positionning
on a single layer
2.
Emulsion spraying
3.
Blowing with air knife
(emulsion removal)
PROCESS
Coating system
The coating system consist in dipping in a batch, overhead curtaining, spraying.
PROCESS
Coating system
Typically, the fruits are continuously run in a conveyor.
PRODUCT EVALUATION
How do you measure your success?
Key quality features
The fruit should obviously display its freshness
Homogeneity
Even coating of the fruit, the coating holds on the surface
Integrity
No damaged surface, no dent
Key quality parameters
The process is rather straigthforward and consists mostly in flow management : fruit and emulsion
Composition
The rheology of the emulsion adapts to the surface type
Productivity
Given the large volume of the fruits themselves and of the quantity to process, the design of the handling system is important
Recycling
As a large volume of emulsion is recovered, it needs filtering to be reused
