Accurate real-time information and complete process control help baking technology take one more step toward sustainable baking.
The first step to profitable sustainability is managing the energy used for baking. Bakeries have several ways to approach and plan their improvement efforts. Staff training, audits and optimized scheduling are often the on-switch to start savings. The next steps include better controls, better insulation, or heat recovery systems. For another level of commitment (and investments), projects to improve baking efficiency can bring even bigger savings, by introducing the latest generation equipment, retrofitting existing systems with improved features, or smart tools and services for tighter process controls and continuous adjustments. Combining the most beneficial opportunities and investments can offer double-digit energy savings.
AMF Bakery Systems: Sustainability as a Service
New-generation ovens come with truly smart features for fully automated adjustments in continuous, high-volume production, where optimizations amount to sizeable savings. New AMF Den Boer ovens, for example, incorporate the Sustainable Oven Service (SOS) as a standard feature that continuously monitors how the oven is used and how it is performing in the process. AMF underlines: “It was developed in response to energy and labor challenges, and tested on AMF ovens. In the last three years, it has been incorporated in more than 20 ovens all over the world and has since been used in practice.”
The Sustainable Oven Service
+ Achieves savings of up to 20% on natural gas
+ Reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20%
+ Lowers waste
+ Improves product quality and consistency
The SOS is a solution that turns an oven into a smart and interconnected machine: once installed, the oven is connected and data is sent to the AMF cloud via a secure, encrypted connection. An algorithm processes this data, combining analytics with AI and expert recommendations, to prepare real-time reports and efficiency improvement guidelines.
Combining the capabilities of the newly developed service with smart monitoring, modulating burners and electric elements instead of the traditional on/off settings, the oven can be balanced to its optimal setup and perform at its best. With the SOS, up to 20% savings on natural gas use in tunnel and bakery ovens can be achieved, AMF metrics show.
In addition, the SOS subscription also includes a yearly pressure cooker oven tuning. After onboarding the oven in the SOS and a benchmark month has been recorded, “A two-month pressure cooker period starts, collaborating very closely with the bakery’s team to tune the oven to its optimal configuration. In these two months, customers receive immediate recommendations, weekly reports, and bi-weekly calls with AMF oven experts, for actions with immediate results in the process. The final recommendations are reported at the end of the pressure cooker period. After this tuning period, they will have quarterly remote review sessions with one of our oven experts to keep up with the performance and discuss further improvements,” AMF specialists explain. The process entails intensive optimization of the oven’s configuration, behavior and throughput, combining AI and expert input.
“Several features, including the SOS, can be retrofitted onto existing ovens, as well as modulating hydrogen burners, modulating burners and electric elements control upgrades. Some options, however, can only be provided with new ovens. In this category, full SOS integration can be expected, alongside advanced insulation and hybrid modules,” AMF Bakery Systems notes.
AMF can support achieving significant savings by optimizing the oven’s configuration, fine-tuning the baking process on the line and recommending optimized behavioral changes based on data-driven insights provided by the SOS.
The SCORPION® 2 Profiling System
+ Heat flux sensor
+ SORPION 2 Data Logger
+ Temperature sensor array
+ Air Velocity sensor array
+ Digital humidity sensor
+ R&D Smart Sensor
Fitting the profile
Existing ovens of all types can receive improvements to help lower the energy used for baking. In the case of gas ovens, for instance, profiling systems can measure and analyze the baking process comprehensively, for oven optimization opportunities. AMF’s SOS can be put to work in conjunction with Reading Thermal’s latest profiler, the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System, for instance, to maximize the oven’s performance potential.
The SCORPION measures all the key baking parameters: temperature, airflow, heat flux, and humidity. The device’s temperature sensor array measures the temperature surrounding the product, in fixed positions across the conveyor, for a complete picture throughout the width and length of the oven. The SCORPION’s air velocity sensor generates profiles that can help find airflow differences between baking zones and unwanted air currents at the entrance or exit of the oven that cause inconsistent baking. In addition, the heat flux sensor measures the convective and radiant heat fluxes (again, at the level where products are). At the same time, the SCORPION® 2’s humidity sensor records the absolute moisture content of the thermal environment in both heating and cooling processes.
The result: optimized vapor exhaust, minimized waste at start-up and cool down, improved insulation, optimized occupancy rate, and re-use energy in warm water systems for cleaning.
For electric ovens, options that can amount to considerable savings can include upgrading the heating elements, using real-time monitoring and enhancing insulation. Hybrid ovens that combine gas and electric modules can also offer room for improvement: a first aspect to consider in this case could be automating the burner’s management. An integrated heat exchanger system that channels the energy into the hot water system is another opportunity.
Green baking
One of the moment’s most frequent sustainability moves has undoubtedly been converting from gas-fired ovens to a solution that is economically viable and environmentally friendly, at the same time. Gas burners are no longer the default choice, with electric and hybrid technologies sparking interest and increasingly being adopted. AMF can convert its gas ovens to the option that makes the most sense for the market and the bakery, following a feasibility assessment. The design is planned to carry out the installation, including electrical upgrades, and staff training. For example, correct cable management is vital to switching to electricity. In this scenario, “Follow local codes, integrate control systems, make sufficient kWhE available and ensure the right dimension cables are in place,” AMF recommends.
There are several ways available to approach baking efficiency, and the new developments show a clear trend: smart solutions work for bakeries and make day-to-day operations easier. The right choice is available for each type of oven, bakery or network, and production environment.
