A complete solution for food grade compressed air

Whether cleaning equipment, sealing packages, agitating dairy products, processing meat, dehydrating food, carbonation, bottling, fermenting, or sterilizing water, it's important that the same clean air is used throughout. The best way to do this is with a versatile "oil-free" setup. One viable solution is an SF and SF+ oil-free scroll air compressor.

In this article, we'll cover the benefits of a scroll compressor for delivering food-grade compressed air. Depending on your needs, it's possible to meet the applications above with a compact all-in-one setup.

As pointed out above, compressed air is found at nearly every step of food and beverage production. It's used to blow off debris from conveyors and equipment, as well as to clean and dry containers or produce. In addition, it's essential for ensuring freshness during packaging.

Of course, when all this is finished, proper packaging needs to be done. Air compressors power the machinery responsible for bottling and canning. They ensure precise filling levels and proper sealing. As this impacts what your customers will consume, its vital maximum quality control is performed here.

Mentioned in the introduction, a scroll compressor is capable of producing food grade compressed air. This is because oil isn't needed as a lubricant. The reason for this is how the machine works. There's no friction between the two scrolls used for compressing air. One remains stationary, while the other rotates around and pushes air into a small space. It’s also worth mentioning that using an oil-free compressor is the only way to meet ISO 8573-1:2010 Class 0 standards.

With all this in mind, the Atlas Copco SF+ series offers a range of scroll compressors suitable for food and beverage production. Its compact design includes either a refrigerant or desiccant dryer to reach desired air quality levels. It's also quiet and efficient due to its IE3 motor which produces noise levels as low as 52 dB(A). This improves working conditions. There are also various sizes available, depending on your needs.

Regarding efficiency, the SF+ series comes with an Elektronikon® Touch controller, and Variable Flow Technology for the larger sizes. The latter automatically starts and stops the scroll elements to meet demand. This means minimal energy waste when operating the machine. As far as reliability goes, they come with the SMARTLINK app for remote monitoring to help everything run as smoothly as possible.

Of course, what machine you decide to use is up to your setup and requirements. That said, our SF+ range is capable of meeting all the applications listed above. In addition, its compact design fits most facilities.

We hope this article helps you better understand the benefits of using a scroll compressor for food and beverage production. If you have any questions about the topics covered feel free to reach out. Our team is happy to point you in the right direction and provide additional information. Contact us today to learn more.