Bulk materials handling option for the Olive Oil industry from IBC Solutions
Bulk materials handling option for the Olive Oil industry
is one among the existing and emerging Olive
Oil growers and processors who are reaching the stage where they need to consider how they will store and
transport bulk product. Here are the highlights to some of the relevant options provided by IBC Solutions.
Post-processing storage
Bulk quantities of extracted oil can be stored in any number of different ways, but the preferred methods are plastic drums, metallic drums lined with epoxy resins, and stainless steel vessels. Storage direct into glass bottles is of course also an option. The key is to have a system that avoids the transfer of odours and flavours, which will taint and increase the oxidization of the oil, and so reduce its storage life.
Some producers prefer to store in bag-in-box liquid containers. Using a food grade metallised ‘barrier bag’, these 1000 litre intermediate bulk containers (IBC) use less space and require less handling than smaller containers. They are also of a volume that allows for efficient batch blending.
IBC Solutions manufactures the Lite 1100 IBC, which offers an extremely effective container to olive oil producers. It has a built in well where sediment can settle and then be siphoned off, and folds down to a third of its size when not in use. For customers such as Lakeland Olives it presents a cost effective alternative to hiring similar containers, and term lease arrangements may be applicable for some customers.
Transportation of oil
The larger processors are starting to use or are planning the use of truck tankers to carry their product for bottling, blending or export. Other processors use IBC, either hired or purchased, to move oil between locations. Where the movements are regular, as in the case of SA Olive Oil, IBC Solutions’ bag-in-box Modular IBC has saved considerable money when compared to hiring containers, which are now only used for top up quantities. The Modular offers a secure and robust investment that will last for ten years under normal conditions.
Export of oil
Australian Olive Oil is increasingly being exported to the world, not least because of its quality but also its availability outside of the northern hemisphere season. The critical nature of quality means that much of this is exported in small containers, or already bottled. Where bulk is concerned, there is always the concern about the cost of packaging, the security of the product in transportation and cost of disposal of this packaging.
With knowledge of these considerations, IBC Solutions sells the SpaceKraft range of multi-layer cardboard 1000 litre bag-in-box IBC as used by companies such as Cobram Estate because it is well proven in the export arena.
21-Sep-2007