Pilot plant · Parque Empresarial Austral
We process your real sample and hand you the powder together with the measured data needed to size the industrial plant. If you need to dry an extract, develop an ingredient or produce your first batches, you can do it here with the engineers who then design and build the industrial line.
Our own pilot plant at Parque Empresarial Austral, on the Universidad Austral campus in Pilar, Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
Sample size and trial time depend on the product and the process.
The pilot plant reproduces the whole process, from reaction to packing, on the same principles as the industrial equipment.
To dry an extract, turn a by-product into an ingredient or produce their first batches, companies, SMEs and start-ups find everything in one place:
Spray, convective, rotary and DIC drying, granulation, blending and bagging, with your real sample.
The plant holds an RNE food-establishment registration and we handle the RNPA product registration in Argentina, so you can sell the pilot batches.
The same engineers who run the trial design and build the industrial equipment. Nothing gets lost between two suppliers.
Microbiology and powder quality control: moisture, bulk density, particle size, solubility and colour.
Whey, peels, pomace, bagasse and resins can become proteins, pectins, fibres, extracts and gums in powder form for food, nutrition and pharma. At the pilot plant we define the process (preparation, concentration and drying) and produce the first samples to validate the product with your customers.
The pilot plant covers the whole line, from reaction to packing, not just drying. That makes it possible to reproduce the entire process rather than a single step.
Preparation, reaction and homogenisation of the product before drying, with the same variables later used in the plant.
Atomisation of liquids, suspensions and slurries to obtain powder with controlled particle size.
Hot-air drying for tray or bed products, and to compare against spray drying.
For granular solids and products that need a long residence time.
Dehydration by sudden pressure drop: it expands the product structure and changes its texture, rehydration and final appearance.
Granulators for products that require pharmaceutical-industry standards in handling and finish.
The finished product is packed as in the plant, to see how the powder behaves in the bag.
Microbiological analysis of the trial product, decisive for food and pharmaceutical products.
Moisture, bulk density, particle size, solubility and colour, measured on the powder from the trial.
What the product is, what powder you want and the plant capacity you have in mind. With that we choose the pilot equipment and how much sample is needed.
A pilot batch can be run from 5 kg, depending on the product and the process. We tell you how to prepare and ship it to the Pilar plant.
A pilot batch is run in 24 hours. Operating conditions, process behaviour and product behaviour are recorded.
A report with the conditions and process curves, a sample of the product, the relevant laboratory analyses and a video of the trial.
Industrial equipment is sized on data only the real product can give: how it reacts and blends, how much heat it tolerates, the final moisture it reaches, the texture and particle size it takes and how it behaves when packed. When those figures are assumed, the equipment gets bought twice. When they are measured, scale-up is arithmetic. After the trial you can estimate your line with the calculator.
At Parque Empresarial Austral, on the Universidad Austral campus in Pilar, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. We arrange the sample delivery with you.
Yes, in Argentina. The plant holds an RNE registration and we handle the RNPA registration of your product, so the pilot batches can be sold.
A pilot batch can be run from 5 kg. The exact amount depends on the product and the process: a dilute liquid that must be concentrated first needs more volume than a filter cake. When we define the trial we tell you the amount and how to prepare the sample for shipping.
A pilot batch is run in 24 hours, again depending on the product and the process. What usually takes longer is not the trial itself but the sample logistics and, where applicable, the laboratory analyses afterwards.
A report with the operating conditions and process curves, a sample of the product, the relevant quality-control analyses and a video record of the trial. Those data are what the industrial equipment is sized on.
To scale up on measured figures instead of estimates. The trial defines the temperature the product tolerates, the achievable final moisture, the bulk density and particle size of the powder, and whether a drying aid is needed. Those are exactly the figures that, when wrongly assumed, make industrial equipment underperform.
With the product and the result you are after we define the right trial and tell you how to ship the sample. We reply within 24 business hours.