Machine Safety: Risk Assessment, Risk Reduction

Worker safety is an issue of major concern worldwide. Evidence to this fact is noted with recent efforts to harmonize US machine safety standards with that of the European Machinery Directive. Changes to the US standards have a dramatic affect on new equipment design. Additionally, older machinery that is still in use must now be upgraded to meet these new requirements. In other words, the end user must now follow the same standards as new equipment manufacturers. Paper published with permission.

Production Quality Improvements and Energy Cost Reductions Associated With Compressed Air

Compressed air is utilized throughout various production processes in the citrus industry and can influence production quality and operating costs. Within production equipment, compressed air is expanded from a higher pressure to perform various tasks. The pressure ahead of the final discharge location can have a direct impact on the operation of the specific process. Article pressure is the term used to describe the pressure located closest to the point where air is expanded to do work. Article pressure can be influenced by many variables that exist between supply equipment (compressors) and the point of use. Understanding the relationship between the supply pressure and the article pressure will facilitate the ability to maximize the repeatability and performance of production equipment and minimize the supply power required to operate the compressed air system. This paper will discuss variables that influence the difference between the pressure supplied by the compressor station and the pressure utilized within the production equipment. Illustrations and field examples will be utilized to describe issues. Troubleshooting methods will be discussed along with a description of how to trend variables that influence production so problems can be corrected before they influence productivity. Paper published with permission.

Aseptic Ingredient Addition: Meeting the Demand for Better-Tasting Orange Juice

Since the late 1970’s, Aseptic Not-From-Concentrate Orange Juice (NFCOJ) has been successfully stored in large refrigerated aseptic storage tanks. Aseptic tanks have evolved from 280,000 gallons in volume to now in excess of 1.8 million gallons each. The total bulk storage capacity in Florida has grown to approximately 280 millions of gallons and continues to grow with new installations occurring each year at some facilities. Worldwide, the market is expanding into Brazil, Spain, and markets that are beginning to receive juice shipped in bulk on snips. The aseptic storage methods have been accepted in Brazil and Europe, and aseptic transfer of the juice is occurring via specially outfitted aseptic tanker vessels from Brazil to the US and Europe. The consumer’s demand for NFCOJ has grown steadily throughout these years, and the suppliers of consumer packaged orange juice have developed special processes and methods to maximize the quality and flavor of the juices sent to the market. Fresh juice, light pasteurization, and flavor enhanced products are just some of these methods resulting in very high quality juice availability. Also, cost and price are always under assault, and the juice suppliers are always looking for an edge. Recently, the flavor enhancement method has come under scrutiny by the FDA, and the industry is being reminded that all added flavors must be made from naturally occurring orange derivatives or must be labeled appropriately: such as “with natural (other fruit) flavors” or “with artificial flavors,” both of which may have an undesirable impact on the market perception of the juice quality. At this same time, as the bulk storage technology of NFCOJ has matured in the past 25 years, some processors who package their own juice are investing in special aseptic transfer methods from the aseptic bulk storage tanks without the need to re-pasteurize the juice prior to packaging. Their goal is to provide the highest quality juice to the consumer, and to minimize or eliminate the need to add expensive and special flavor packs to the juice. This is being done commercially in Florida and Spain. This paper explores these methods of aseptic juice transfer direct to packaging and the aseptic addition of natural or otherwise desired and labeled ingredients, and their potential impact on the quality of the juice. Paper published with permission.

Florida’s Citrus Canker Eradication Program: Cost-Benefit Analysis With an Example of an Endemic Citrus Canker Situation for Florida Processed Oranges

The rapid expansion and integration of international trade, increased tourism, and changes in methods of production in recent decades have increased the likelihood of the introduction of invasive species to U.S. agriculture. Invasive species can have adverse environmental and/or economic impacts when introduced to a region. Economic impacts include marketing, production, and trade implications. One such invasive species imposing adverse economic impacts to the Florida citrus industry is a bacterial disease known as citrus canker (Xanthomonas axanopodis pv. citri). Citrus canker causes lesions on the leaves, stems, and fruit of citrus trees. The disease adversely affects the proportion of fruit intended for the fresh market, serves to weaken citrus trees, leads to a reduction in yields, and leads to higher costs of production. Florida’s Citrus Canker Eradication Program (CCEP) was implemented in the mid-1990s in an attempt to establish the guidelines for averting the spread of the disease. Currently there is no available biological or chemical cure for citrus canker. The CCEP instituted a policy of immediate eradication of any tree infected with citrus canker. Based upon the research by Gottwald et al., 2002, the CCEP also stipulated that all trees within a radius of 1900 feet of any infected trees be eradicated. Eradication is mandatory in such situations even if the trees within this radius do not yet show signs of infection. In addition to eradication, the CCEP defined additional regulations such as the decontamination of grove workers, field equipment, and packinghouses with approved chemicals (Chung et al., 2002). In 2004, an economic/benefit-cost analysis of the CCEP was conducted using the predicted values of the benefits and the costs associated with the policy. The actual expenditures of implementation through 2004 were weighed against the projected loss of revenue and the cost savings associated with an industry with pervasive citrus canker in an attempt to assess the net benefits of the policy. In this paper, a summary of the CCEP cost benefit analysis will be discussed. Three segments of Florida’s citrus industry were analyzed separately: 1) processed oranges; 2) fresh and processed grapefruit; and 3) specialty citrus fruit. An example will also be discussed which estimates the cumulative 15-year net grower returns for processed Hamlin and Valencia oranges which compares a no citrus canker situation with four possible endemic citrus canker fruit loss situations that include the additional grower costs to manage citrus canker. Note: The summary discussion presented in this paper on the economic impact of Florida’s citrus canker eradication program (CCEP) was completed in June–July 2004 prior to hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, and in 2005 hurricane Wilma spreading citrus canker across Florida’s commercial citrus acreage. Updating economic impact of the CCEP to reflect the impact of the hurricanes is currently being planned. Paper published with permission.

Advanced System Controls and Energy Savings for Industrial Boilers

The price of natural gas exceeded $15/MM Btu in December 2005 compared to $6/MM Btu just one year ago! It was also just $2/MM Btu in the 1990’s. Crude oil prices exceeded $70/barrel in 2005 compared to $45/barrel just one year ago! To put this into perspective, a 600 HP boiler operating at a 50% average load for 12 hours per day, 365 days per year would have consumed $321,800 in natural gas one year ago but will consume $804,490 in natural per year at today’s cost! The increased cost of fuel has affected operational costs for all boilers regardless of size, age, or manufacturer. The US dependence on foreign oil and natural gas, as well as the escalating energy demands of China, India, and other countries will likely drive energy prices higher in the future. This increase in the cost of fuel has driven responsible boiler manufacturers to develop new products or modify existing ones in order to reduce energy consumption. Major developments have been made in the past few years which improve boiler efficiency, offer innovative heat recovery systems, and integrate high tech controls into boiler systems. This paper will address the developments in boiler design, control systems, and heat recovery systems which all contribute to energy savings. Paper published with permission.

Citrus Oil Recovery: Using Modern “State-of-the-Art” Centrifuge Technology as Part of Economical Citrus Processing

The present citrus oil business is dominated by two trends: The price for orange oil as a bulk product is under serious market pressure. This has been ongoing for a number of years. In many regions of the world, for example, Southern Italy, this has led to a situation where oil is no longer recovered. However, due to insufficient deoiling, this results in giving away a valuable product (even at a low price) and increased waste water treatment costs or losses in revenue when selling the peels for animal feed. Based on 30,000 l/h emulsion of orange oil coming from the extractors, a return on investment between one and two years can be achieved at present prices as shown in Table 1. Therefore, large processors must focus on increasing production efficiency. In contrast to the economical situation for orange oil, we see a very strong dynamism in the market for other citrus oils. The price for more rare oils like grapefruit, pink grapefruit, lemon, and mandarin is increasing, partly influenced by climatic factors like hurricanes. This makes the recovered oil very valuable and brings an even stronger focus onto production efficiency. In addition, the tendency towards constructing bigger production lines is still very dominant in the market, especially in Brazil and the US. This increases the pressure for the equipment suppliers to provide the industry with units having higher capacity and efficiency. Westfalia Separator has reacted to this trend by introducing new models, such as the new ESE 500 for first stage oil emulsions and the new OSD 60 for second stage emulsions. These machines are tailor-made for these applications. In intense test work, these machines have been optimized for Brazilian as well as American processing conditions on various fruits. Mainly, the capacities have been brought up to a maximum level of 130 GPM depending on fruits and conditions. Furthermore, recovery rates could be optimized by approx. 10% from 3 lbs/ton to a level of 3.3 lbs/ton. Paper published with permission.