Water Filter Defies Acid Rain

When processing up to 500 jars a minute of jams, preserves and other products, the last thing maintenance needs to worry about is the process water of the spray pasteurizer.

But, that is the only thing a dedicated maintenance worker was assigned to do: Monitor the filtration system. In-line carbon steel filters, designed to filter particles on a pasteurizer-cooler line, were pitting and creating a maintenance and operation nightmare at the Knott's Berry Farm Foods plant in Placentia, Calif. The plant produces everything from its famous jams, jellies and preserves to salad dressings, syrups, bakery fillings and yogurt bases. "All our products come out of this one 250,000-sq.-ft. facility," says Tom McMahon, maintenance supervisor. "We run production 171/2 hours a clay. The last thing we could afford is to shut down the pasteurizer because the filter would lose integrity and allow particles such as fruit seeds to pass through and clog some of the 200 nozzles spraying 210°F water on the jars."

As with any filling and capping system, a container periodically gets overfilled or a lid is misapplied. When this container enters the tunnel pasteurizer and heats up to 180°F or more, the lid may pop off and spill product (usually acidic preserves or jams) into the pump system," explains McMahon. Not only did this cause product to enter the filter but the products' acidic nature was pitting the carbon steel filter, requiring constant maintenance.