Thermal flow meter used in food and beverage industry

The use cases for thermal dispersion flow meters are multifarious. One of the places where these devices are extensively used is in the food and beverage industry for applications like measuring tank blanketing, calculating drier airflow rates, detecting carbonation, measuring compressed air and detecting any leaks.
In this industry, the processing facilities often use moving masses of air and gases for its functioning. Additionally, natural gas is used in several places like in boilers, furnaces, and ovens as well as in food packaging.
Below are some of the uses of the thermal gas mass flowmeters in this regard.

Hydrogen and Nitrogen Flow Measurement

Tank blanketing is a common way in which the food and beverage manufacturers store fats, purified water, cooking oils, and other food materials in an effective way to increase their shelf-life and reduce their oxidation rates. These materials are thus prepared for the packaging process. By tank blanketing, the oxygen is removed from the tanks and an inert atmosphere is created which stalls oxidation of the stored product.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strict guidelines for these blanketing systems and all manufacturers are required to follow these product-contact rules, especially for filter specifications, purity maintenance, and toxicity prevention. Additionally, rigorous care must be taken to ensure that workers are not exposed to any lethal doses of non-breathable gases like nitrogen, which is often used for tank blanketing. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has laid down heavy regulations for the usage of commercial tank blanketing in order to protect the workers' healths.
The Silver thermal mass flow meter, with its wide range of flow measurements, sensitivity for low flows and explosion-proof design is an ideal device for these applications.

Dryer Air Flow Measurement and Control

Like other industries, food and beverage manufacturers also use dryers for several purposes. Some of the various types of dryers used are tray dryers, roller or drum dryers, tunnel dryers, fluidized bed dryers, pneumatic dryers, spray dryers, trough dryers, rotary dryers, belt dryers, bin dryers, freeze dryers, and vacuum dryers.
These dryers need accurate and reliable repeatable measurements and controlled flow of the air to function efficiently and assure quality control. Gas flowmeters are useful in ensuring such measurements.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) Flow rate Measurement

In breweries, it is a standard procedure to measure the levels of CO2 in connection to the carbonation process. A flowmeter with options for multiple calibrations is ideal in this case because the flow rates can vary greatly, thus resulting in high turndown ratios. With its four individual ranges and capability of calibration, the thermal mass flowmeter is a prudent choice for this requirement.

Air Injections Flow Rate Measurement

Ice cream makers commonly use continuous freezers and to prevent the product from becoming dense, they inject compressed air into the ice cream to make it light and fluffy. Sometimes a mixture of non-toxic and inert gases is also used for injection. Thermal mass flowmeters are essential in such cases to monitor the flow rates of the air and gas injections used in ice cream.