Olive Paste Mixer With Air Injection, Cooling, and Cleanable Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing olive oil production machinery fails to optimally enhance aromas and flavors by insufficient oxygenation, cooling, and thorough cleaning, leading to reduced volatile compound intensity and contamination issues.
Innovation Solution
An olive paste mixer with an open-top container, air injectors, and a heat exchanger that oxygenates and cools the paste while allowing easy inspection and cleaning, combined with a plant design that includes a mixer, heat exchanger, and optional carbon dioxide injection to control oxidation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the olive paste is pumped at high pressure into a tube heat exchanger for cooling, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the headspace required for lipoxygenase development is eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separate functional zones: a cooling zone with tube heat exchanger and an aeration zone with headspace. This segmentation allows independent optimization of cooling efficiency and aromatic development conditions without mutual interference.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary chamber is introduced between the crusher and the final processing stage. This chamber provides the necessary headspace for lipoxygenase activity while receiving cooled olive paste from the heat exchanger, acting as a buffer that reconciles the conflicting requirements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the olive paste is cooled rapidly without oxygenation to reduce peroxide formation, then the peroxide levels are reduced, but the volatile compound intensity and aroma are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling is performed as a preliminary action before the aeration stage. By cooling the olive paste first, peroxide formation is minimized, and then subsequent oxygenation in the headspace promotes volatile compound formation without excessive oxidation damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The process uses periodic alternation between cooling phases and oxygenation phases. During cooling, oxygen exposure is minimized to prevent peroxide formation, while during aeration in the headspace, oxygen is available for aromatic development.
3Extent of automation
If closed ducts are used for cleaning the mixer, then the cleaning process is automated, but the ducts are never clean enough and contamination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed to be completely removable from the mixer, extracting the barrier between the operator and the mixing chamber. This allows direct visual inspection and manual cleaning of all surfaces, ensuring complete removal of olive paste residues that could cause contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The design enables operator self-inspection and self-cleaning of the mixer interior. The operator can directly see and access all surfaces to verify cleanliness, making the cleaning process self-verified and highly effective without requiring complex automated systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances olive oil aromas and flavors by optimizing oxygenation and cooling, while ensuring thorough cleaning and reducing contamination, thus reproducing optimal environmental conditions for aroma development.
Implementation Method 1
at least one air injector (4) configured to ejected purified air at a predetermined temperature into the container (1), the at least one air injector (4) is arranged and oriented so that the air ejected from the injector (4) flows over a free surface of the olive paste (9)
Implementation Method 2
a liquid heat exchanger (3) arranged on a lower portion (1C) of the container (1) and placed in thermal communication with the interior (1D) of the container (1) to exchange heat with the olive paste (9) through a lower wall (1E) of the container (1)
Implementation Method 3
an actuator (2) configured to advance and mix the olive paste (9) in the container (1)
Implementation Method 4
the oxidative phenomena on the unsaturated fat acids and on the polyphenolic substances of the olive paste are limited or eliminated
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5~8
AI summary
Mixer (10) for olive paste (9) comprising an open top container (1) through which the olive paste (9) flows and provided with a lid (1F); an actuator (2) configured to advance and mix the olive paste (9) in the container (1); a heat exchanger (3) arranged on a lower portion (1C) of the container (1) and placed in thermal communication with the interior (1D) of the container (1) to exchange heat with the olive paste (9) through a lower wall (1f) of the container (1); at least one air injector (4) configured to ejected air at a predetermined temperature into the container (1), the at least one air injector (4) is arranged and oriented so that the air ejected from the injector (4) flows over a free surface of the olive paste (9) that flows into the container (1).