The Boc Group, Inc.

Michael Bruce Pooley

David G Wardle

Ron C Lee

Mark T Grace

Ian A Ross

Carl N Strotton

Apparatus and methods for freezing products, such as food products, in which a breathable liquid cryogen is sprayed onto the products as they are conveyed into the insulated enclosure of a mechanical conveyor freezer. Some of the cryogen vaporized through contact with the products is ducted into the top of the enclosure, and means may be provided for spraying cryogen directly into the freezer enclosure.

Freezer apparatus

An apparatus and method for spraying a cryogen in which a heat load is sprayed with a cryogen from one or more spray nozzles within a spray zone. A heat conductive element is positioned below the article and is provided with a surface sized to catch the liquid content of the cryogen that has been oversprayed, thereby to vaporize the overspray through direct heat transfer with the conductive element. In another aspect the present invention provides an apparatus and method in which a flow network a flow of a liquid cryogen is divided into first and second subsidiary streams. The second subsidiary stream is vaporized within a branch of the network and then mixed back into the first subsidiary stream to produce a two phase flow of the cryogen. The cryogen is then sprayed as the two phase flow. The flow rate of the second subsidiary stream can be controlled with a proportional valve to adjust the quality of the cryogen being sprayed so that pooling of overspray on said heat conductive element is inhibited.

Cryogenic apparatus and method for spraying a cryogen incorporating

A nitrogen PSA system uses a back-fill step only on start-up conditions or when a minor fault has caused the plant to temporarily lose purity. The plant utilizes an oxygen analyzer which controls valves allowing the initiation and cancellation of the back-fill step.

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London, United Kingdom

Michael Bruce Pooley