Infra-red mould heating helps chocolate keep temper 07 January 2011

Carbon infra-red heating equipment is helping an unnamed chocolatier to maintain premium product quality, while also delivering savings in space and energy costs.

That's the claim from Heraeus Noblelight, which reports that its customer has achieved better mould temperature control across three production lines, and reduced energy consumption by 60%.

Production of moulded chocolate involves depositing liquid chocolate into polycarbonate moulds. However, the moulds must be pre-heated to a specific temperature to avoid chocolate de-tempering or cracking.

Previously, heating on the three moulding lines had been provided by long wave, infra-red ceramic and metal element heaters. However, these were proving increasingly energy-inefficient and difficult to control, while the growing brittleness of the ceramics was starting to cause safety issues.

Heraeus Noblelight installed PID-controlled carbon infra-red heating systems on all three moulding machines, with a pyrometer that regulates the energy of the infra-red emitters to ensure that all mould temperatures are around 30ºC when filling takes place.

The installation has proved particularly successful, providing better temperature control of the process and achieving energy savings of around 60%.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Heraeus Noblelight Analytics Ltd

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