STiR coffee and tea magazine

Volume 4, Number 2

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Maintaining the highest quality from crop to cup requires a blend of technology and know-how that only years of experience and innovation can provide. And no one knows this better than GEA Process Engineering - the company behind the world-recognised GEA Niro instant coffee plants. We have fine-tuned the process to ensure excellence and cost-efficiency at every stage – from the green beans to drying and packing – so you can supply customers with the finest coffee using a single production resource. Instant experience GEA Process Engineering A/S Gladsaxevej 305, DK-2860 Soeborg, Denmark Phone: +45 39 54 54 54, Fax: +45 39 54 58 00, gea-niro.food@gea.com, www.gea.com engineering for a better world Before investing in the SmartRoast, Collective Coffee used a 12 kg roaster with an electrostatic filter and eventually added "ceramic stones" to reduce emissions during the roast process. "If someone complains then the environmental department will come out and check the air for how many particles we're let- ting out (I think). But it hasn't happened for us," Thomsen said. Jos Cozijnsen, a consulting attorney on emissions trading, ex- plains that industry deregulation can be problematic for micro- roasters in Europe. With no clear classifications for smaller scale equipment, local authorities have more leeway to determine air quality standards. One of Cozijnsen's recent projects involved at- tempting to prove the odors emitted by a Loring SmartRoast ma- chine, designed in California to meet the strict air quality require- ments there, would not be a pollution problem. However, the test used in the region to which the roaster will be sent was designed for a facility that continuously releases exhaust. European and American agencies indeed monitor air quality using different methods. According to Kevin Summ, director of marketing for Anguil Environmental Systems, compliance is measured using milligrams per cubic meter in the exhaust at the source in Europe. In the U.S., regulatory agencies instead check to verify that 95-99% of volatile organic compounds and haz- ardous air pollutants are destroyed. Those differences might not seem significant; but for coffee roasters it means different emis- sion equipment designs depending on location. "The test is not [a] fit yet," said Cozijnsen. "We believe we can show that exceptions [should be] allowed. Bottom line: The Loring is too clean for the existing rules and test methods [there]." Manufacturers in America have adapted to U.S. pollution abatement rules by trying to roast with a cleaner exhaust. Idaho-based Diedrich Manufacturing is known for its infra- red burners. Compared to equipment that uses an open flame, Diedrich roasters have a cleaner exhaust due to incorporation of heat exchangers in the machines' designs. Infrared burners only produce 3-4% of the NOX gases, 40- 60% the CO and CO 2 exhaust, and average aldehyde emissions of 30% when compared to open flame roasters, according to the company. The various types of SOx and zene gasses average only 45% of that produced by gas burners. Diedrich "has worked diligently, both internally and with other companies, seeking solutions while at the same time main- taining the very positive contribution we have demonstrated historically on the coffee we roast," said c.e.o. Michael Paquin. He said that at this year's Specialty Coffee Association of America gathering his company "working in collaboration with another firm" will unveil "a ground breaking and exciting dem- onstration of the direction we are headed in." Burn Out While many approaches may be used to reduce or eliminate pollutants from food processing exhaust, the most common

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