Maintaining cleanliness and hygiene is vital across all industries, ensuring consumer safety and smooth daily operations. In processes that require following precise sanitation requirements, utilizing steam to heat water via hose stations is effective and cost-efficient. While traditional approaches have limitations, Hydro-Thermal Direct Steam Injection (DSI) presents precision and operator safety advantages.
Understanding Hose Stations and Their Role
A hose station -combines steam and water in controlled proportions to produce a high-temperature, steam-heated water solution. This solution is used in various areas, including equipment cleaning, surface sanitization, and sterilization.
For example, hose stations are commonly used to clean and sanitize equipment, surfaces, and utensils in washdown applications. The high temperature of the heated water effectively eliminates pathogens and other microorganisms that can threaten the cleanliness and safety of the production environment.
Disadvantages of Mixing Valves
Hose stations can use a steam control valve on the supply line to adjust steam pressure at the injection point, affecting steam density and velocity through the nozzle for heating control. These systems also typically include globe valves to control steam and water flow manually.
They typically include globe valves to control steam and water flow manually. The mixing valve combines water and steam to produce a water solution for equipment cleaning, surface sanitization, and sterilization. These systems are often favored for their cost-effectiveness, simplicity, and ease of use, as they have a straightforward design and only a few components to maintain.
However, these mixing valves have drawbacks. They do not respond well to flow changes, requiring frequent adjustments to the liquid and steam inlet valves to achieve desired temperatures. Fluctuations in steam pressure can also disrupt the process, producing unstable operating conditions, hammering, and vibration when high or low steam flow rates are required. This can lead to wasted time when adding or removing hoses, as the mixing valve needs readjustment.
Additionally, mixing valves have faced criticism due to safety concerns related to steam burns. The manual opening and closing of globe valves during operation pose a risk of accidental contact with high-temperature steam for staff, leading to severe burns. These accidents can result in injuries, downtime, and increased business costs. Therefore, organizations have sought alternatives to mixing valves that prioritize operator safety and minimize the risk of steam burns.
Advantages of Hydro-Thermal Heated Hose Stations
Hydro-Thermal DSI technology uses steam generated in a separate boiler. Unlike systems that use globe valves, it injects heat directly into the fluid, rapidly condenses, and transfers heat energy to raise the temperature. This facilitates improved and rapid water mixing and instantaneous steam condensation into the process fluid. Steam is generated downstream and piped directly into the hose station, eliminating operator exposure to hot temperatures and preventing potential scalding or burn injuries. This makes DSI more attractive than traditional hose stations.
By integrating Hydro-Thermal DSI heaters in hose stations, facilities can enhance their sanitization practices, optimize efficiency, comply with regulations, and prioritize operator safety. Our heaters provide precise temperature control, effectively handling higher swings in flow rate and offering higher flow turndown, ensuring optimal sanitization without overheating. Giving facilities tighter control over their water temperature enables them to meet regulatory requirements and more easily minimize contamination risk.
