Chocolate & Confectionery
Chocolate and similar creamy products set quickly as they cool. That places real demands on transfer equipment: heating, safe start-up and stable flow all have to be solved together.
The process
After conching and tempering, the chocolate mass moves from intermediate tanks to the moulding and filling lines. Its temperature has to hold over every metre of that path, or it begins to set inside the line.
At the end of a shift, and at every stoppage, the pump stands full of product. Restarting is the hardest moment in this duty: a cooled mass demands far more torque from the drive than normal running.
Fluid characteristics
- Viscosity is highly temperature sensitive. A drop of a few degrees can stop the flow.
- The crystal structure of cocoa butter is damaged by excess shear and by temperature swings.
- The product is judged on texture and aroma, so mechanical damage is a direct loss of quality.
- The line is subject to food hygiene requirements.
Where it gets difficult
- In an unheated body the product sets and the line blocks.
- High-shear transfer damages both the texture and the flavour profile of the chocolate.
- Cold-start torque will damage a drive that was not sized for it.
The Liquilob approach
In the jacketed configuration a heating jacket integrated on the outside of the body transfers heat under control without touching the product. Steam or hot water is chosen as the medium to suit the site, and continuous circulation gives an even temperature distribution.
The low-shear lobe geometry moves the chocolate without harming its natural texture or aroma. The flow is balanced and free of vibration.
The drive is sized against cold-start torque rather than running torque. That is the detail most often skipped on this duty, and the most expensive one to get wrong.
Materials and hygiene
Let us determine the right pump for your application together.
Share your fluid characteristics and operating conditions, and our engineering team will help you arrive at the right Liquilob configuration.