CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Danish starch industry invests in cutting chain costs QUICK AND CLEAN PROCESSING To ensure that the factory is provided quickly and constantly with cleaner raw material, among other things, AKV has invested in new washing equipment. Technology is the basis of innovation at AKV. Processing raw materials quickly at a low cost, that’s what counts, particularly after 2013. To ensure that the factory gets those clean raw materials quickly, AKV has invested, among other things, in a new potato cleaning unit from the Dutch company Tummers Methodic in Hoogerheide. The two washing units in the line each have a capacity of 150 tons of potatoes an hour. They were installed in September. According to sales manager Hein Kortebos and the AKV people involved, the units have been running without any problems ever since they were installed. In addition to the optimal cleaning procedure, the low water usage of the machine is also a big advantage. Usage has even gone down by 20 percent since September. The energy usage in the factory has also been addressed, not to mention the enormous reduction in tuber damage. The result is that the processing efficiency at the plant has increased. Tummers Methodic boasts a wide range of standard machinery, from dry soil removers to roll dryers, Kortebos tells us. The AKV washers are a unique combination of de-stoning, washing and separation of floating elements in one machine. The latest development is that active separation of floating elements is used. ‘The separation point for floating elements can be set by adjustable, upward flows. This washing technology is available in capacities from 10 to 150 tons per hour’, the sales manager explains. The main features compared to traditional techniques are simple operation, excellent performance – even at high tonnages, minimal impact on products, low energy and water consumption and a highly-compact design and low maintenance costs, Kortebos lists enthusiastically. Closed water system In addition to new washing equipment, AKV has also invested in a water treatment system from Twister Milieu in ‘s-Heerenberg, which does not need any water discharge, because Twister works with a closed system. This system separates sand and soil from the product flow. If it appears that the soil contains a lot of organic matter, AKV removes this separately to ensure that the cleaning process works even more smoothly. This organic matter can then serve as fuel for a future biogas plant. Pagina 19
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