Vacuum Cooling Concepts

A modular structure also means a bakery can easily expand the production capacity of a production line in the future. The CapMatic can be floor-mounted or wall-mounted. Another innovative cooling method comes from Swiss company Aston Foods. Late last year it introduced its vacuum cooling concept.

Vacuum cooling uses ‘evaporation enthalpy’, or the heat of evaporation.

The water starts to evaporate with increased negative pressure. Evaporation causes the products cool in a natural and physical way.  Aston Foods plants are set up in such a way that the flavorings and moisture content of the baked goods are not impaired as far as possible. In the cost-saving stakes, the baking time can be reduced by an average of 30 per cent thanks to the vacuum method’s physical processes, no matter whether the baked goods are partly or fully baked.

Production output is increased by an average of 30 per cent immediately and without any investment in ovens.  Aston Foods‘ plants can be fitted with energy recovery as an option. This makes it possible to recover some of the energy invested in the baking process during the vacuum process.

Specifically, it is possible to supply up to 45C of hot water in the waste heat recovery, giving back 82C of hot water. This equates to approximately 12-14 KW/h for an average plant. Another plus with the Aston system is that the baked goods no longer have to stand for hours to cool. They can be packed, cut, eaten or processed further immediately after the vacuum process (in other words, three minutes after baking). They are stable for cutting. Therefore no more cooling times, cooling lines or cooling spirals.