Maximising cereal cooking performance
Date: 22 August 2003
Fully programmable automatic control on rotary cookers
Fully programmable automatic control, linked to SCADA plant supervisory software, is maximising the performance potential of Baker Perkins rotary cereal cooking systems. Recent orders have come from customers in continental Europe, North America and the Far East.
Major cereal producers around the world use these machines at the heart of lines producing traditional, high quality commodities such as cornflakes. They are suitable for the cooking of milled or whole grain cereals such as wheat, rice, bran, barley, oats and corn.
Automatic cooker control ensures that operation and processes can be pre-set and accurately repeated, time and time again. The consistency this achieves is enhanced by the automatic addition of weighed quantities of dry ingredients and liquor, and an automatic steam addition system to give even cooking.
This level of control minimises operator intervention, and is linked to a PLC controlled pre-heat and clean-in-place cycle.
SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems enable operators, engineers, supervisors and managers to optimise plant throughput, quality and efficiency of the whole line. Real-time information at one location can be used for immediate management, and for long-term analysis.
Baker Perkins has introduced a retrofit slide valve package for existing cereal cookers, providing mechanical discharge to replace hand-operated lids. Benefits include enhanced product quality from consistent cycling and improved working conditions. Slide valves can also be the first stage of a batch cycle automation package for installed lines, including steam valve and control panel elements.
Baker Perkins offers two methods of cereal cooking- the traditional rotary pressure cookers, and twin-screw extruders. The flexibility required, and market requirements, determine which method best suits customers' needs. Line outputs can be specified from 250 to over 3000 kg/hour.
The Baker Perkins Inovation Centre at Peterborough contains both rotary cooker and extrusion equipment, available for customers to undertake product development and process feasibility trials, and produce samples for test marketing.
