The system has the advantage of having reduced dimensions and reaction speed, all at a low temperature which guarantees the maximum protection of the organoleptic substances, giving a high quality product.
The tomato then passes into the pulper / refiner unit in order to separate the skins and seeds from the juice.
In this case, the shredded mass is forced to pass through the centrifugal action caused by a rotating system of metal bars suitably modified to be able to take advantage of the cavitation effect in this case as well and keep the product sterile.
Through cylindrical or truncated conical perforated sheets, with sieves with progressively smaller and smaller holes (from 1.2 to 0.5 mm). In the first sieve (sieve) the 1.2 mm holes allow the removal of the seeds, the petioles, the consistent green parts and most of the skins. The bars are mounted in such a way as to give the shredded product a continuous advance, always keeping the surface of the sieve clean. In the refiner, the sieves, with passage gaps of 0.8-0.6 mm, allow the elimination of fragments of seeds and skins and other particles that escaped the previous transit in the press.
The juice is then collected in a stainless steel tank, which serves as a “lung” to continuously feed the next phase. To avoid alteration phenomena of the juice due to excess parking at ideal temperatures for microbial growth, which can cause an increase in acidity in the finished product, the tank will be sized according to the quantities absorbed by subsequent processing.
The juice, which initially contains about 95% of water, in traditional processes was generally concentrated in large containers, called “concentrators” or “evaporators”, until the desired concentration was reached; these systems (which can be double or multiple effect) work at reduced pressures (vacuum), to damage the organoleptic characteristics of the product as little as possible.
Live vapor, which undergoes a condensation process in the heating section of the evaporator, transfers the remaining heat to the next stage, adding it to the heat generated by the solution. The steam produced is used again by sending a second evaporator to the heating section, which, with an even lower working pressure, operates at lower temperatures. The system can be pushed up to four successive effects, with temperatures ranging from 40 ° to 90 ° C.
Our process based on cavitation involves a concentration at room temperature using our own design membranes that allow the elimination of water, keeping the organoleptic characteristics of the product unaltered and ensuring high product quality.
