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Food Manufacturing Pollution Prevention Techniques

This page has innovative and practical technical suggestions that can help a food manufacturing facility reduce water, chemical and energy use, and operate more efficiently and save money. EPA provides these ideas as technical and procedural suggestions that can possibly be implemented in manufacturing plants and further developed by food industry professionals. EPA will periodically update the table with additional techniques, resources and case studies.

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Food Manufacturing Pollution Prevention Techniques
Technique	Benefit	Resources and Case Studies
Optimize Clean-In-Place (CIP) process	Reduce toxics. Save money.	Optimizing CIP to Save Money and Reduce Waste. Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Series - Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison. March 2016. A green procedure using ozone for Cleaning-in-Place in the beverage industry. Chemosphere 105. 2014.
Optimize cleaning and sanitizing	Reduce toxics. Save money.	Phosphorus: Reducing Releases from Industrial Cleaning & Sanitizing Operations (PDF). Minnesota Technical Assistance Program - University of Minnesota. December 2009.
Extend the useful life of heat transfer fluids	Reduce maintenance costs. Reduce disposal costs.	What to Consider when Making the Buying Decision about a Heat Transfer Fluid for your System – A Report of the Webinar Hosted by Process Heating (PDF) (3 pp, 373 K, About PDF). Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering. 2016.
Extend the useful life of lubricants	Reduce maintenance costs. Reduce disposal costs.	Lubrication Checkup: Extending Lubricant Life. Maintenance Technology. December 2012.
Review refrigeration options and prevent the release of ammonia	Reduce toxics. Reduce spill events.	Ammonia, Hydrochloric Acid, Hydrogen Sulfide, N-hexane, Nitric Compounds, and Sulfuric Acid in the Food Processing Industry. Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable. February 2015. P2 Options: Ammonia Refrigeration. Zero Waste Network.
Use CO2 cleaning	Reduce toxic chemicals.	Precision Cleaning With Supercritical Carbon Dioxide for the Elimination of Organic Solvents and Reduction of Hazardous Waste. Office of Scientific and Technical Information - Department of Energy (DOE). October 1994. Dry Ice Blast Cleaning. Food Quality and Safety. December 2008.
Use dry steam cleaning	Reduce toxic chemicals. Reduce water use.	Cleaning Without Chemicals. Food Processing. 2006.
Reduce compressed air usage	Energy savings.	Compressed Air Systems - Waste Reduction: Food Technology Fact Sheet (PDF) (4 pp, 481.7 K, About PDF). Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center. Oklahoma State University. Improving Compressed Air System Efficiency- Know What You Really Need. Energy Systems Laboratory - Texas A&M University. 1998. Cooking Oil Factory Combines Compressed Air Systems to Save 36%. Compressed Air Best Practices. Meat Processing Plant Drops Compressed Air Costs 60%. Compressed Air Best Practices.
Optimize washdown and sanitation	Reduce costs and water usage.	6 Ways to Optimize Your Facility's Energy Consumption. Manufacturing.net. January 2017. Food Plant Sanitation: How to Integrate Regular Cleaning into Your Facility’s Processing. Food for Thought Blog. November 2016.
Use excess heat for other processes	Energy savings.	Heat Recovery from Milk Cooling Systems. Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, Ontario. February 1988. Advanced Energy and Water Recovery Technology from Low Grade Waste Heat. Gas Technology Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technology Program. October 2011. Dehydrator Exhaust Recirculation for Energy Savings (PDF)(4 pp, 393 K, About PDF). Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center. Oklahoma State University. Guidebook to Energy-Related Resources for the Food Industry. Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) - Iowa State University. 2005. Waste Energy Analysis Recovery for a Typical Food Processing Plant. Energy Systems Laboratory - Texas A&M University. 1980.
Use economizers on oven exhausts	Energy savings. Heat plant water. Heat building spaces.	Thermal Energy Equipment: Waste Heat Recovery Energy Efficiency Guide for Industry in Waste Heat Recovery. Energy Efficiency Guide for Industry in Asia. 2006. Industrial Waste Heat Recovery: Potential Applications, Available Technologies and Crosscutting R&D Opportunities. Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 2014.
Insulate chilled water systems	Energy savings.	Guide to Insulating Chilled Water Piping Systems with Mineral Fiber Pipe Insulation (PDF) (36 pp, 1.72 M, About PDF). North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA).
Plant wide energy savings initiatives	Energy savings.	Energy Efficiency Opportunities in California Food Processing Facilities. Energy Systems Laboratory - Texas A&M University. 2008. Energy and the Foods Processing Industry. Energy Systems Laboratory - Texas A&M University. 2001. Blommer Chocolate Company Finds Sweet Savings with Energy Intelligence Software Company Optimizes Operations Through Unprecedented Visibility (PDF) (4 pp, 4.2 M, About PDF). Energy Smart Blog. Innovative Energy Program Assessments at Darigold. Compressed Air Best Practices.
Use flash steam	Energy savings.	Flash Steam. TLV. A Steam Specialist Company. 2017.
Use electric actuators vs. pneumatic or hydraulic	Reduce lubricants leakage.	What's the Difference Between Pneumatic, Hydraulic, and Electrical Actuators? Machine Design. April 16, 2015.
Optimize chiller performance	Energy efficiency savings.	Chiller Plant Optimization - A Practitioner's Perspective (PDF) (8 pp, 2.7 M, About PDF). InfoSys. Chiller Plant Evaluation (PDF) (26 pp, 2.21 M, About PDF). Polk State College. 2014. Energy Star: Heating and Cooling (PDF) (23 pp, 572 K, About PDF). Energy Star, US EPA. 2008 How to Cut Chiller Energy Costs by 30%. (10 pp, 880 K, About PDF) Food Manufacturing. 2016.
Thermal storage and transfer between food items	Energy savings.	Evaluation of Thermophysical Property Models for Foods (PDF) (20 pp, 226 K, About PDF). University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO. 2001.
Generate biogas from organics like chicken manure	Energy savings. Means of disposal.	Learn about Biogas Recovery. US EPA. Biogas from Manure. College of Agricultural Sciences - Pennsylvania State University. 2016. Biogas: A Renewable Biofuel. University of Florida - Soil and Water Sciences Department. 2015.
Pesticide reduction	Toxic use reduction.	Integrated Pest Management for Maximum Food Processing Facility Protection. Food Quality and Safety. February 2013.
Produce nitrogen on site	Reduce losses, purchase and transportation costs.	On-Site Nitrogen Generation for Modified Atmospheric Packaging. Compressed Air Best Practices.
Install heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) to replace or reduce the use of a boiler	Reduce emissions and increase efficiencies.	HRSG Retrofit Drops Food Processor’s Emissions To Palatable Levels. Engineered Systems. November 2016
Switch individual refrigeration condensing units to parallel-compressor refrigeration systems	Reduce installation cost, energy consumption and improve food preservation.	Breaking with Tradition to Build a Better Cheese-Processing Facility. Process Cooling. 2017.
Refrigerant free cooling (evaporative)	Energy savings, reduce use of refrigerant.	Evaporative Cooling's New Twist. 2013.
Prevent mold	Personnel safety & prevent food contamination.	Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food: Draft Guidance for Industry (PDF) (42 pp, 498 K, About PDF). US FDA.
Implement variable speed drive pumps	Energy savings.	Energy-Saving Electrical Pumps Satisfy New DoE Standards. Machine Design. August 2016.
Boiler maintenance	Energy savings, reduce capital cost.	Best Management Practice #8: Steam Boiler Systems. Federal Energy Management Program.
Implement modular on-demand steam boilers	High pressure output, low energy consumption and compact design.	Making a Case for Modular, On-Demand Steam Boilers. Process Heating. January 2017.
Use absorption chillers	Reduce emissions and energy efficiency improvements.	Absorption Chillers for Institutional Occupancies Absorption Chillers for CHP Systems (PDF) (4 pp, 678 K, About PDF).
Explore using heat pump food dryers	Reduce energy consumption.	Heat pump dehumidifier drying. Trends in Food Science & Technology. March 1997.
Monitor and maintain pneumatic cylinders for efficiency and up-time	Efficiency improvement and cost savings.	Improving Pneumatic Energy Efficiency. Hydraulics and Pneumatics. January 2014.
Implement rainwater harvesting	More efficient water usage and cost savings.	Rainwater Harvesting: Conservation, Credit, Codes, and Cost Literature Review and Case Studies.
Explore using recycled water for cooling towers	Reduced water usage.	Recycled Water for Cooling Towers: Good Idea or Bad? Industrial WaterWorld.
Consider EPA Energy Star program	Reduce energy consumption.	Commercial Buildings. Energy Star.
Implement manufacturing efficiency improvements	Cost savings, energy savings.	Top Ten Proven Tips to Maximize Uptime and Boost Performance (PDF) (17 pp, 5.8 M, About PDF). Food Manufacturing. ENERGY STAR Focus on Energy Efficiency in Fruit and Vegetable Processing
Choose electrical enclosures that are easy to clean	Reduce toxic chemicals and water usage.	When purchasing new electrical enclosures, consider the design and material of the electrical enclosure. Stainless steel is easy to clean and consider a sloped angle on the top of the enclosure which helps prevent corrosion from any liquids being discharged above or condensation from the facility itself.
Additional resources		Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center Energy Systems Laboratory