Cooling Tunnels & Conveyors

Originally designed for the specialist high temperature and rapid cooling requirements of extruded liquorice confections, BCH has launched a modular range of conveyors and tunnels for the efficient transport, cooling and conditioning of food products.

A BCH cooling tunnel or process conveyor can be incorporated into a full process line using a fast and simple installation. The conveyor widths are available from 300-2000mm in modular stainless-steel sections and apply a hygienic design for easy access and cleaning. The cooling tunnels use a high velocity air cooling with water cooled tables or parallel air flow cooling above and below the belt.

Features:

  • Modular construction
  • Hygienic design
  • Ease of installation
  • Specialist conveyor design
  • Process cooling design
  • The standard air conditioning unit can accommodate up to 70kW of cooling capacity
  • Brine or direction expansion (DX) refrigeration systems (optional)
  • Air circulation volumes 2.7M³/sec can be handled in the standard configuration
  • Optional de-humidification by air re-heating or dehumidifiers
  • High performance cooling via carefully pitched air knives
  • Gentle cooling velocities achieved by flow and counter flow air directions
  • Under belt cooling available by means of pressurised water-cooling coils in copper

Optional customised features are available.

Multi-Tier Cooling and/or Drying Tunnel

The cooling/drying tunnel has been designed with efficiency and hygiene in mind. It is fabricated throughout in stainless steel with an open grid plastic modular belt. The tunnel is fitted with stainless steel, (optionally insulated), easily removed covers giving access to product areas and ductwork.

The 3-tier construction has a structure of stainless-steel pipework, which not only acts as the frame for the tunnel, but also the ductwork delivering air through laser cut slots at 20m/sec onto the product. The slots extend the full width of the belt and are positioned every 400mm down the conveyor length on each of the one or more tiers.

The pipework is made in dairy pipe with tri-clover fittings for easy disassembly for cleaning if required. Each tier is fitted with an open structure plastic modular belt running on plastic chevron strips. Each tier is individually speed controlled for process control.  Any product dust/debris is allowed to fall through the open structure and collect on the open, flat stainless-steel floor where it can be easily removed. Hot and moist air rises and the tunnel is designed to use natural convection currents to achieve maximum cooling and drying efficiency. The cooled and/or dried air enters at the base of the tunnel, and is blown up through the product and removed for re-conditioning from the top of the tunnel.

Benefits:
  • Reduced footprint
  • Easy access to product and to clean
  • Achieves maximum cooling and drying efficiency