Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/520302
Sam Weaver, c.e.o. Cool Energy 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 Engi- neering - the company behind the world- recognised GEA Niro instant coffee plants. We have fine-tuned the process to ensure excellence at every stage – from the green beans to drying and packing – so you have the flexibility to supply specific markets with specific products. Instant choice 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 payback times of four years and if you're in some place like Arkansas you're going to see payback times of 8 or 9 years." The early prototypes of Cool Energy's engine had about a 5% conversion ef- ficiency. After Weaver and his partners tried marketing their design to a home consumer market, they realized that they might meet with more success if aiming for a more industrial market. The team contin- ued to refine and test units, first increasing size and power capacity from the 50-watt table-top demo model to the 3-kilowatt version on display in the Diedrich booth at the SCAA Expo. According to Weaver, Cool Energy is ready to move ahead with pilot testing 20-kilowatt units in a coffee roasting setting. He said, "[We] are looking for partners who are in [coffee roasting] operations that run 24/7 or something like 24/7, who are in footprints with high electricity costs." He went on to add, "the nice thing about the 20-kilowatt unit, it's seven times the power but only two and a half times the cost of the 3-kilowatt unit. So it's got a much better customer value proposition." Information on the company's website suggests an initial market price of $55,000 - $60,000 for the 20-kilowatt ThermoHeart. RTO (regenerative thermal oxidation) in large-scale plants located in these coun- tries. Heisterüber suggested even plants operating 24-hours a day, five days a week would benefit from this technology. Heisterüber said, "Generally, it should be remembered that the investment costs per cubic meter of purified exhaust gas become lower as the plant gets bigger." This means the more expensive solu- tions such as an RTO and a biowasher have a reasonable return-on-investment for larger rather than smaller plants. For retail-roaster businesses, Neuhaus offers turnkey post-treatment systems for exhaust gas. These allow coffee business- es to operate in densely populated areas where especially strict requirements are imposed. These systems typically consist of one electric heater battery with an oxi- dation catalyst installed downstream. "Naturally, the question remains what solution to apply, and this will always de- pend on the respective conditions and pu- rity requirements in the destination and the customer's wishes."