Improving the unit for melting cheese masses

This paper reports the improved model of the unit for melting cheese masses. The device differs in the technique of heat supply to working tanks through the replacement of a steam jacket with heating by a flexible film resistive electric heater of radiative type (FFREhRT). The heat exchange surface of the working container was increased through heating the mixing device by FFREhRT. In addition, the unit is distinguished by utilizing secondary thermal energy of melting cheese masses (35...95 °C) by converting it with Peltier elements into a low-voltage power supply to autonomous fans (3.5...12 W) in order to cool the control unit. Such a solution would improve the efficiency of the proposed structure, which is explained by reducing the dimensional and weight parameters of the cheese melting unit by replacing the steam heating technique with an electric one. A decrease in the time to enter a stationary mode (85 °C) when melting cheese masses was experimentally confirmed: for the bowl of the examined unit ‒ 575 s, compared to the analog ‒ 725 s. That confirms the reduction in the time to enter a stationary mode by 21 % compared to the base unit B6-OPE-400. The estimation has established a 1.2-time decrease in the main indicator of resource efficiency of the specific energy consumption for heating the volume of a unit of product in the improved plant for melting cheese masses – 3,037.2 kJ/kg, compared to the base B6-OPE-400 – 3,672.5 kJ/kg. The results confirm an increase in resource efficiency that is achieved by the elimination of steam heat networks; the increased heat exchange surface of working bowls by heating the stirrer with the help of FFREhRT. The heat transfer that employs FFREhRT simplifies the operational indicators of the temperature stabilization system in the bowl of the cheese mass melting unit. The results reported here may prove useful when designing thermal equipment with electric heating while using secondary thermal energy