Achieving safe and efficient magnetic separation in pet food slurries

Achieving efficient magnetic separation and foreign metal fragment control in thick viscous liquids and pet food slurries can be challenging, especially with conventional magnet systems that are often heavy, unhygienic and cumbersome.

In response to the rising demand for safer product and the industry’s need for sanitary and efficient magnetic separation solutions, Magnattack Global developed the RE80 HT Meat Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separator.

This system has proven invaluable to major multinational pet food manufacturers around the world, by providing effective metal fragment control and reducing the risks of foreign body contamination.

RE80 HT Meat Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separator

The RE80 HT Meat Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separator is designed to efficiently extract tiny metal pieces, such as work-hardened stainless steel and stone fragments, from pipelines of viscous liquids.

This system offers many advantages to pet food manufacturers, including: 

• reduced risk of product recall and brand name damage;
• reduced operator WHS/OSHA risks;
• versatile, sanitary and easily cleaned;
• protection of pumps and highly sensitive equipment against damage caused by the entry of metal fragments;
• ultimate performance in viscous slurries and emulsified products, achieved with hydro-dynamic RE80 HT Tear Drop Probe Magnets;
• efficient fragment retention against product flow, achieved with specially shaped large-diameter magnet elements.

Overcoming challenges faced with existing magnet technology

Before the introduction of the RE80 HT Meat Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separator, pet food and viscous liquid manufacturers often relied on systems such as liquid trap magnets (also known as finger pot magnets). These systems have been very troublesome in some applications and food manufacturers would face challenges such as:

• cleaning difficulties caused by multiple bars/fingers welded to a single lid;
• WHS/OSHA risks caused by operators lifting heavy lids during cleaning and maintenance;
• damage, including bending and breakage of bars, often resulting in product flow difficulties;
• inefficient and time consuming to clean entire lid of magnet bars;
• unhygienic dead-zones created by the shape of the pot magnet, which provides an area for product and contaminants to rest;
• costly to repair — in the case of damage, an entire lid and all magnet bars need to be replaced.

During the development stages of the RE80 HT Meat Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separator, the Magnattack team considered overcoming these challenges as a top priority and committed to designing a system that would provide efficient magnetic separation in pet food.

Installation and applications

The RE80 HT Meat Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separator can be installed in horizontal, sloping and vertical pipelines, sized 1-6″ (25–152 mm).

Aside from pet food palatants or slurries, the magnet is also effective in offal, chicken mince, meat emulsion, pie fill mixes, turkey processing, sausage mince, shortening, MDM and other similar products with lumps to approximately 1/2″ (12 mm) in size.

RE80 HT technology enables these magnets to withstand temperatures up to 302°F/150°C.