February 2004 – Already for the second time within a short while, one of the market leaders in the field of citric acid production has decided in favour of a GEA Wiegand evaporation plant.
Citric acid is used as a taste enhancer, preservative, acidity regulator and antioxidant in foodstuffs - 50 percent are used in mainly carbonated non-alcoholic beverages and 15 % are used in food. The production of tartaric acid is also based on the technology for the production of citric acid.
The new evaporation plant is heated by a mechanical vapour recompressor. Its special features are two fans which are connected in series and achieve a temperature increase of more than 10° C. By means of further design details the heating surface of the evaporator has been optimized in relation to the required concentration difference of the citric acid.