Liquid Air Corporation

American Air Liquide, Inc.

Air Liquide America, L.p.

Miles S Bajcar

Jean-Luc Hubert

Richard A Sauer

Carol Ann Schnepper

Christine E Boisrobert

Robert W Conners

Tsz-Ching J Yuan

Todd Harvey

Michael Thaler

John-Luc Hubert

Systems and processes are described for sanitizing a food product with ozone gas. The ozone gas is generated using a low pressure, low volume ozone gas generator and is delivered to a fluid injector. The fluid injector receives high pressure carrier fluid from a carrier fluid source and causes the ozone to be entrained in a stream of carrier fluid. The entrainment is created by passing the carrier fluid through a venturi diffuser inside the injector which creates a negative pressure in the sanitizing fluid line, thus drawing the sanitizing fluid into the carrier fluid and creating a highly homogenized fluid jet. The fluid jet is then injected into a container which contains a food product to be sanitized by the ozone. The container may also be provided with a mixing paddle to vigorously mix the food product while the ozone/carrier fluid jet is injected into the food product, which further ensures that the food product is contacted with sanitizing ozone gas. The container can be sealed to be pressurized by the ozone/carrier fluid jet by selective opening and closing of a vent. The ozone/carrier fluid jet may also be selectively humidified before injection into the container.

Process and equipment for sanitizing and packaging food using ozone

A multi-tier refrigeration tunnel of modular construction, with lateral doors, in which fans are disposed between each tier, in which they are driven by shafts extending from ceiling to floor of the tunnel, and in which the shafts are driven by top mounted fan motors. A multi tier refrigeration tunnel, not of modular construction and without lateral doors, in which fans are disposed between each tier, in which the fans are driven by shafts extending from the floor of the tunnel and from the ceiling of the tunnel, in which the shafts are driven by top mounted and bottom mounted fan motors. A multi tier refrigeration tunnel, and by extension also a single tier refrigeration tunnel, in which two products of different required processing times can be processed simultaneously. A multi tier refrigeration tunnel, preferably without lateral doors but not necessarily, in which fans are disposed above the upper tier and in which fans are disposed next to, and to the side of, the lower tiers.

Method and apparatus for enhancing production capacity and flexibility

A linear freezer for cooling and/or chilling and/or crust freezing and/or freezing various products, said freezer using carbon dioxide or nitrogen. The freezer comprises means to balance the exhausted cold gas between the entry and exit openings and sucking means, to extract the exhausted cold gas at said both entry and exit openings, with no substantial variation of flowrate of the exhausted cold gas than that generated from the enclosure without said sucking means.

High efficiency linear freezer

Growing community of inventors

Palo Hills, IL, United States of America

Miles S Bajcar