Compared to conventional rotary drum continuous-process cooking, recapturing heat and water from cooker overflow and quench systems can result in considerable savings.

When recapturing heat and water from cooker overflow, British thermal units (BTUs) can be reduced by 60 percent, kilowatt hours (kWh) can be reduced by 72 percent and water usage can be reduced by 25 percent.

With the quench system in place, for a continuous-process rotary tank cooker, BTUs and kilowatt hours can be reduced by 35 percent compared to an identical rotary tank cooker without the quench system.

For the chiller under the same conditions, with the quench system in place, BTUs, tons of cooling required per hour, and kilowatt hours can be reduced by 41 percent.

 These recent technological advances in continuous-process cooking and cooling have allowed food processors to significantly reduce their energy and water consumption, while achieving improved equipment and process return on investment. 

Related: Reducing Energy and Water Usage During Food Processing