You are on page 1of 2

techapplication

Ozone Applications in Apple Processing

The Challenge: To Reduce use and to extend the use of the water, the not exceed the OSHA limit of 0.08 to
Flume Water Usage and company installed an ozone treatment sys- 0.1 ppm, an ozone detection unit is con-
tem in the flume water. tinuously monitoring the amount of ozone
Keep Tastee Apples Tasty
in the environment adjacent to the flume.
Apple processors face increasing needs to Water is circulated through the flume at
Excessive amounts of ozone in the air are
reduce the risk of spoilage from bacteria, about 600 gpm (2,300 lpm). To ozonate
also readily detectable by the typical sharp
molds, and fungi. At the same time they the water, a side stream of about 60 gpm
smell of ozone.
need to conserve water and reduce waste- (230 lpm) is first filtered though an 80µ
water disposal costs, particularly the costs filter with intermittent backwash capabil- The Results
associated with high biological oxygen de- ity. After filtration, gaseous ozone is in-
jected into this side stream. The ozone is No longer is flume water replaced daily.
mand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS). Now the company can reuse the same wa-
Using ozone to treat the water that con- generated in a 5 lbs/day (2.3 kg/day) co-
rona discharge unit, which is fed with ter for a whole week, saving more than
veys and washes the apples can meet the 12,000 gal/week (45,000 l/week). Since
challenge. dried air. After about 10 minutes of expo-
sure to the ozonated water, the apples are the ozonation system is running 24 hours
conveyed to a size grader, an inspection a day, it is able to reduce the BOD load in
The Old Way
belt, and to the equipment that inserts the the flume water—particularly during the
Tastee Apple is a privately owned night when apples are not being washed—
processor of fresh apples, located in stick and coats the apples. Three apples are
placed together into a display package. to less than 50 mg/l.
Newcomerstown, Ohio. The plant is one
of the major packers in the US of caramel The ozone treatment reduced the yeast
apples. These are fresh apples on a stick, and mold count in the water, resulting in
which are coated with sweet brown or red cleaner apples and a longer shelf life for
caramel and dipped in either chunks of the caramel apples. As a result, fewer com-
peanuts or coconut. The plant also pro- plaints of moldy apples have been re-
duces apple juice and apple chips. ceived. As one more benefit, workers
sorting the apples noticed that their rub-
Typically, Jonathan or Empire apples ber gloves remained clean throughout the
arrive from the field or storage rooms day and did not build up a sticky coating
in bins, which hold about 950 pounds as had happened prior to ozonation. How-
(430 kg) of apples each. To avoid bruising ever, the seals in the bearings of the origi-
apples during handling, the plant uses a nal conveyor and automatic valve in the
water flume to float the apples out of the filter were not made from ozone resistant
bins, to transport the apples towards a material and had to be replaced after a few
conveyor for further processing, and— weeks of operation.
at the same time—to wash them. The
2,000-gallon (7,600-l) flume at Tastee Tastee Apple’s
Apple can handle about 40,000 apples customers demand
per hour. freshness and flavor.

The recirculating flume water was chlori-


nated to control microorganisms. It had to The ozone concentra-
be dumped daily, primarily because it ac- tion in the flume water
cumulated high levels of soil and organics is maintained at about
that had been washed off of the apples. 0.05 to 0.15 ppm. To
control the loss of
The New Way ozone to the environ-
In the summer 1998, the plant decided to ment, the ozone gen-
improve the quality of the apples shipped erator generally is
to customers and at the same time reduce adjusted to about 85%
the use of water and the amount of BOD capacity. To ensure that
discharged to the publicly owned treat- the maximum amount Ozonated flume water transports the apples and cleans them
ment works. To get away from chlorine of ozone in the air does without chlorine.
with super-saturated ozonated water with
1-3 ppm of ozone would further reduce Company Profile
the yeast count. Tastee Apple Inc.
Newcomerstown, Ohio
What Did It Cost? One of the country’s major producers of
candy apples, apple juice, and other apple
A five-pound per day ozone generator, products.
pre-filtration system, ozone injector, ozone
“Our pledge is to bring you freshness,
monitor, and ozone destruct unit costs
good nutrition and honest value with
approximately $50,000, not including products as tasty as real homemade.”
installation, piping, wiring, and labor. The Hackenbracht Family

The Role of the Electric


Utility
American Electric Power (AEP) provides Because of the benefits of using ozonated
electric service to Tastee Apple. To help water for sanitation, the company installed
further the use of ozone technology, AEP a separate ozone system in their apple juice
and EPRI shared the cost of the equip- line to spray the apples with super-satu-
ment with the company and helped evalu- rated ozonated water before pressing. They
Ozone treatment reduces the yeast and
ate the effectiveness of the equipment. also installed a third ozone system for
mold count on the apples so that shelf life is Clean-in-Place (CIP) sanitation of their
extended.
Other Applications of Ozone 6,000-gallon (23,000-l) juice storage
In the 1998 season, apples at Tastee Apple tanks.
Challenge Test were sprayed with ozonated flume water, Other apple processors are already run-
having an ozone concentration of approxi- ning their flume operation with ozonated
To obtain a general idea on the perfor-
mately 0.1 ppm. While this concentration water or are in the process of installing a
mance of the equipment, challenge tests
kept the yeast and mold count in the new treatment system, eliminating the use
were performed with apples that had been
flume water under control, a further re- of chlorine. Equipment sanitation and the
dipped into a yeast suspension of S.
duction of the yeast and mold count on use of gaseous ozone in apple storage are
cerevisiae and then washed with ozonated
the apples would be achievable through additional emerging applications for
water. Each apple was rinsed in 100 ml of
final spraying of the apples with super- ozone. A low concentration of ozone in
sterile water and then a yeast count was
saturated ozonated water while they are the air during storage will reduce yeast and
taken on this water. The results are pre-
tumbling underneath a spray bar. To do molds on the surface of the apples and on
sented in the table below.
this, the plant plans to install an addi- building structures. It also allows better
The data show about a two- to three-log tional 2 1/2 lb/day (1.1 kg/day) generator control of the ripening process, probably
count reduction. Subsequent spraying plus an ozone contactor tank. by oxidizing ethylene generated by the
apples that hastens ripening.
Challenge Test Results
Other food processors are installing or
Yeast Count per Gram considering ozone applications. For ex-
in 100 ml Rinse Water ample strawberry and cherry processors
have had good success in sanitizing fresh
Jonathan Empire fruit and extending their shelf life by
Dipped into yeast suspension, no washing 70,000 1,000,000 spraying their fruit with super-saturated
Washed in ozonated flume water (~0.1 ppm) 1,200 21,000 ozonated water in the order of 1 to 4 ppm
Washed and sprayed with ozonated water (~0.1 ppm) 730 1,500 ozone concentration.

Gary Hackenbracht, Tastee Apple Inc. and Carl Photos by Jurgen Strasser, PhD, Process and © 1998 Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Inc.
Byrd of American Electric Power made valuable Equipment Technology, and Ronald G. Tonjes, All rights reserved. Electric Power Research Institute and
contributions to this issue. ProWrite Inc. EPRI are registered service marks of the Electric Power
Research Institute, Inc. EPRI. POWERING PROGRESS is a
This TechApplication was written by Jurgen Strasser, Applicable SIC Codes: 20—all
service mark of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
PhD, Process and Equipment Technology, and
Dorothy G. Tonjes, ProWrite Inc. Printed on recycled paper in the United States of America.

TA-112064

EPRI Food Technology Alliance • 43158 Parkers Ridge Drive • Leesburg, VA 20176
713-737-0401 • csopher@epri.com

EPRI Corporate address • 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 • PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, CA 94303 USA
800.313.3774 • 650.855.2121 • askepri@epri.com • www.epri.com

You might also like