GEA introduces the new GEA IceCon® Compact series to produce liquid food concentrates at Drinktec 2022. The standardized compact plants ensure gentle concentration of liquids into syrup while preserving flavor and ingredients. They are mainly used for high-quality fruit extracts, juices and dairy drinks, alcoholic products or even cold-brew coffee, but are just as suitable for vinegar concentrates.
Freeze concentration plants remove the water from liquid foods to purify the product or to concentrate the flavor into a small volume for transport and further processing. This process achieves the highest selectivity because the grown ice crystals bind only the water. When this is removed at the freezing point, the result is a concentrated syrup in which quality, aroma and all ingredients are completely preserved.
Economical integrated solution in continuous operation
The newly developed compact series is an integrated solution for manufacturers with small to medium production volumes who require a dewatering capacity of 100 to 900 kg. Operated continuously, the plant freezes and concentrates at low temperatures without the need to interrupt the process for cleaning. The units are delivered skid-mounted and tested, requiring little effort for installation and commissioning. Since the energy is recovered through a pre-cooling line and the system is electric-powered, the carbon footprint could be reduced even further with green power.
To match container transport standards, the compact freeze concentrators are available in three sizes – IceCon® Compact 25, IceCon® Compact 40, and IceCon® Compact 60.
