Grupo Bimbo successfully conducted an industrial-scale baking test using 100% hydrogen as fuel in one oven zone, with technology provided by AMF Den Boer and in cooperation with Kiwa Technology. A baking zone was fully retrofitted with 12 Direct Hydrogen Fired (DHF) burners at its Portugal production site.
During two weeks of testing, the bakery baked bread using hydrogen (H2) gas as a heat source. AS a part of the test, 12 natural gas burners and controls were temporarily replaced by 12 H2 burners, each 16 kW (54,000 BTUs maximum output each. The hydrogen DHF burners were designed to match the thermal capacity and control range of the original natural gas direct gas-fired (DGF) burners, AMF explains. The conversion to H2 was made in two days.
Testing showed that the oven’s performance is comparable to that of conventional ovens, in terms of product quality and sensory characteristics, as well as safety. “The results confirm the feasibility of hydrogen technology as a sustainable and viable alternative for industrial tin and hearth bread production with zero carbon emissions,” AMF emphasizes.
Photo: H2 flame with IR thermography
Credit: AMF Bakery Systems