A lot of water is used in the processing of potatoes into end products such as chips, potato flakes and chips. The processes are continuously adapted to reuse more washing and process water. Process water is used for rinsing, cooking and blanching, among other things. Ground residues are removed from rinse water and starch residues from cutting are removed from the other process water.
Process water that is not used is treated in wastewater treatment plants. Phosphate is removed from waste water and used for a sustainable fertilizer form (struvite). This can be used as a replacement for chemical fertilizers. Wastewater with a high concentration of sugar can also reduce costs. When you supply sugar-rich water to a water treatment company, you save money on the waste stream. Sugars are a good source of nutrition for bacteria and algae that keep natural water purification going in a waste processing station. These sugars are also a food source for bacteria that secrete fatty acids.
In order to earn money from wastewater, the composition of the wastewater must of course be carefully controlled. If you want to measure the concentration of sugars for a second, BRIX will suffice. But what if you also want to measure phosphate? Wastewater also contains other components that contribute to the BRIX. Phosphate can give a BRIX, but when other components do the same, testing with NIR can provide a solution about the correctness of the measurement. In addition, the choice for NIR is sometimes made faster when one also wishes to measure other parameters in the potato processing process, such as, for example, the amount of dextrose in a solution for the production of chips.
Image: Inline BRIX measurement of Atago.
To be able to advise you properly on the best way to measure your wastewater and process water, please contact our product managers. They will be happy to work with you to determine which instrument produces the best measurement results by means of tests.
Contact our product managers for more information on a analysis for process water and wastewater.Use of BRIX or NIR when measuring waste and process water? Inventech will help you find the best solution for your process.
