Freudenberg Sealing Technologies highlights food & beverage industry at CibusTec
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies will present several product highlights for safe processing at CibusTec 2023.
To help processing companies react to the constantly evolving range of foods and beverages – and the considerable regional differences along with stringent conditions – the seal manufacturer will showcase high-quality seals for a wide range of applications, a precise selection of materials for the seal, a customised design, and the ability to collaborate.
“The food and beverage industry have high requirements. It really helps when the industrial companies and seal manufacturers work together closely, share their view of the market and identify trends together,” says Rainer Kreiselmaier, technical director for the global market segment process industry at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies.
Seals used in the manufacture of dairy products must be resistant to fats, for example, which means to non-polar media, as well as to high sterilisation temperatures. They must also comply with the specifications of an aseptic, germ-free filling technique.
Beverage bottling, on the other hand, mostly involves contact with polar media that do not contain fats, as well as minimising the transfer of aromas. In many facilities, the cleaning and sterilisation are performed in a closed state to maximise the plant efficiency. However, this requires the seals to be highly resistant to the acids, alkalis and disinfection media used in this process, such as peroxides or chlorine. On top of all this, country-specific and thus very different material approvals and conformities have to be met.
For these and other challenges, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies will present various product highlights for the food & beverage industry at this year’s CibusTec trade show. It will take place in Parma, Italy, from October 24 to 27, 2023 (Hall 5, Booth 047).
One particular highlight will be addressing the high requirements for hygienic design in sealing technology for the food industry.
Thanks to special design solutions as well as premium elastomer and PTFE materials developed in-house, among others, two hygienic sealing solutions in the portfolio of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies fulfill food industry standards and are also resistant to CIP/SIP media (cleaning in place/sterilisation in place).
One of the basic requirements for hygienically designed sealing solutions is a construction without dead spaces. It prevents the collection and settling of product residues and micro-organisms in undercuts, for example. The selection of applied materials and their resistance to hot water, steam, acids, alkalis and high pressures are also relevant.
The Hygienic Pressure Seal from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies was designed specifically for high pressures, for example as a rod seal for use in valves or pumps. It functionally resembles a traditional rod seal, but due to its performance, it also meets the high standards in hygiene.
The Hygienic Forseal is based on the classic and proven forseal from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, but its design and materials were adapted to requirements in the food industry. While the classic solution comes with a standard PTFE and a metallic tension spring, this new development uses Quantum PTFE for its material and an elastomer ring for optimal contact pressure. Both elements form a flat and dead space free surface to the medium.
