GEA has assisted its long standing partner PanMarine by implementing processes at its sludge processing site in Apsis, Greece.
This follows a four-decade cooperation in the fruit juice process between the two companies.
GEA's contribution is equally important for the company, which enjoys a good reputation beyond Greece as a sustainable and economically successful company.
"Our high-quality products support a large number of private labels of well-known and recognised retailers in 70 countries. Our goal is to expand our product portfolio and reach every attractive new market we have not been able to participate in," said Marios Chronis, General Manager Apsis.
Juice processing requires a lot of water, for example in the cleaning of the citrus fruits and in the production of the juices. This water, as demanded by state authorities worldwide and of course also by the Greek authorities, must not simply disappear into sewers after use.
Our goal is to expand our product portfolio and reach every attractive new market we have not been able to participate in
GEA’s sludge processing can be used for all types of disposals, for example, incineration, landfilling and agricultural utilisation, the optimum economic dewatering of sludge is a key step.
This means that less sludge has to be disposed of, which saves transport costs, reduces energy consumption for drying and incineration, and cuts carbon dioxide emissions.
The GEA sludge Decanter ensures a high degree of dewatering with much less water consumption, resulting in a daily 50,000 litres of water savings. This is achieved, among other things, by a high g-force for optimum separation efficiency and by process-optimised torque control.
GEA's decades of experience ensured a seamless transition to dewatering by decanter technology. In the end, this total package from A to Z was the convincing argument for Aspis to engage GEA as partner.
After separation by the GEA decanters, solids are produced that can be used as fertiliser or as a raw material to produce biogas. The sludges can even be used to produce pellets, which in turn can be used to heat buildings.
