A Simple But Effective Method Of Removing Metal Contaminants From Liquid And Paste Food Products

In the food industry, the main contamination risk comes from wear and tear on processing machinery introducing metal particles, often very small, into the product during the production process. 

The simplest method of removing metal that can be magnetised is to use an array of strong permanent magnets.  However, as most food processing equipment is made of stainless steel, which is only slightly magnetic, an extremely strong magnetic field is needed to remove all metallic contamination.

LIQUIMAG from S+S Inspection, part of the world leading S+S Group, uses an array of rare earth neodymium magnets producing a very high magnetic flux density of 13,700 gauss to attract and hold the smallest magnetic particles, even some stainless steel grades.  The use of powerful, permanent magnets eliminates the need for any form of power supply allowing the LIQUIMAG to be installed in the most convenient and effective position on a pipeline.  The units are certified for ATEX Zone 0 operation whilst the solid stainless steel construction is fully compliant with all IFS, HACCP and BRC requirements.

Maintenance is limited to periodic removal of the collected contaminants from the magnetic rods, a task made very quick and simple by the EASY CLEAN design.  As the neodymium rod magnets are contained in stainless steel tubes on which contaminants are collected, when cleaning is needed, the complete magnet assembly is simply removed from the body of the unit and the magnets withdrawn allowing all the collected contamination to be easily removed.

Originally designed for use with liquids, the S+S LIQUIMAG has proved equally effective with viscous products and pastes, such as jam, chocolate spread, soups, sausage meat, pâtés, mustard and ketchup, as well as many non-food products.  The standard unit is suitable for use on pipelines at up to 6 bar as standard, with greater than 20 bar available to special order, with no pressure drop across the unit.  A range of standard pipe diameters and types are available up to 120 mm with other sizes available to special order.  A double walled version is available for use with heated products and the standard neodymium magnets are suitable for use up to 100oC.  For higher temperatures, a special samarium-cobalt material may be specified.