Ovens – Sterilization, Plastic Curing, Industrial Drying

An oven is used to heat and/or sterilize food products in an open or semi-open environment using a predetermined thermal process. Various microorganisms are present in food products, and it’s important to fully complete the thermal process prior to using heat-processed food items elsewhere in the operation. Most food ovens employ a belt system to move food through the heating zone.

In addition to food products, some industrial products are processed in ovens. The range of items processed with industrial ovens is wide and can include oil products (plastics) as well as fabrics (including industrial dryers).

A final type of oven is used in the pharmaceutical and medical fields for the purpose of depyrogenation (reduction of fever-causing microbes). These types of ovens are usually smaller and require more stringent controls for processing. Because of that, they are usually of a batch style (requiring racks or baskets) vs. a continuous system (belt-driven).

Process temperatures in ovens range from 250°F to 800°F (121°C – 425°C) and most ovens use dry heat (air) to deliver the thermal process. Ovens can use vacuum, normal air pressure, or additional air pressure in the processing environment.

How we can help

MPIII loggers are used to measure the parts of an oven that are important to the processor. These could include the product zone (for food and industrial applications) and the densest part of a load of containers (between vials for pharma/medical applications).

Most food and industrial oven processes are somewhat short (less than 10-15 minutes of heating) and sampling times vary but most processes can be adequately mapped with data collection intervals of 15-30 seconds. Medical and Pharma depyrogenation processes may be somewhat longer for more stringent cleanliness requirements and the data collection interval is likely to be shorter – as short as one reading every 1-5 seconds – because of regulatory requirements.

Oven validation in the food and industrial sectors is an important process control, but the average use of data collection equipment in these areas will be less than normal because of the high-speed and continuous nature of these types of lines – approximately 1-3 tests per month. Depyrogenation ovens will likely be validated considerably more often, possibly once per day.

Because of the larger size of most food and industrial ovens, it is likely that multiple points will be tested at one time. But because the oven is not likely a critical process control point, usually less than 5 data points are collected at once. In contrast, proper placement of temperature validation leads in a depyrogenation oven may require 10-15 units in a load that is significantly smaller.

Products That Can Help:

• MPIII High-Temperature Loggers
  • Calibrated up to 400 °C
  • Bendable probes ideal for measuring inside product

• Thermal Barriers
  • Protect logger from heat so you can measure inside process without wires
  • Thermal Barriers brochure

• DataTrace Pro
  • Quick programming and downloading data saves you time
  • Configurable data logging interval – useful for sensitive products (those that have short processes) because you can get more data points
  • For troubleshooting, you can see a 10-foot-view of the process vs. the usual 10,000-foot-view
  • Downloaded data is automatically graphed for quick review
  • Automatically calculate and report Fo and Pu for every load
  • Visualize the heat distribution in your vessel with our unique placement feature

Related Links

MPRF Data Loggers Case Study