Sine pumps used for hazelnut spread transfer
A Kessko factory in Bonn, Germany i
s using four MasoSine SPS series pumps supplied by Watson-Marlow Pumps Group to help deliver high-quality ‘sweet’ products to customers in the bakery, confectionery, ice cream, biscuit and soft drink trades. At the heart of this effort are SPS pumps that offer reliable service and include the transfer of up to 2 tonnes of hazelnut spread (containing soft solids) every hour.
Simple to operate, the user enters the exact weight of 12.5kg of hazelnut spread per container into the filling system. By then actuating the foot pedal, the sweet chocolate and hazelnut mixture flows quickly into the containers courtesy of a MasoSine SPS pump.
“We fill 160 containers in this process every hour,” said technical manager Reiner Liffmann, “which is the equivalent of 2 tonnes of hazelnut spread.”
With their powerful suction, the MasoSine SPS pumps are ideal for viscous substances such as the chocolate spread being handled at Kessko. They provide a particularly gentle, virtually pulsation-free pumping operation, which is what distinguishes MasoSine pumps from other positive displacement models such as gear pumps, for example.
The sinusoidal design of the rotor creates four chambers with each turn, through which the medium – in this case the sweet spread – is pumped from the inlet port to the higher-pressure discharge port. The rotor, unlike on rotary lobe pumps with multiple shafts, is powered by a motor via just one shaft. The scraper gate prevents any liquid from flowing back from the discharge side to the lower-pressure suction side of the pump. Since the chamber volume does not change, the system is perfect for pumping liquids containing soft solids or viscous media.
A heated jacket for the housing is used especially for this type of application, while other pumped liquids require a cooling jacket in order to keep the temperature of the product constant. This is also available for MasoSine SPS pumps.
The cleaning of the SPS pumps is reportedly a straightforward process: the pump is stripped down in 10 minutes and once the pumphead front cover has been removed, all the internal parts that come into contact with the product can be removed (without tools) and cleaned. The SPS pumps are also suitable for CIP and SIP cleaning processes.
