With the expanding interest in diet and nutrition around the world, there has been increased recognition of the importance of nutraceuticals. A nutraceutical is a food or food ingredient that provides medical or health benefits. Vitamins are an obvious example, but the category includes dietary fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, pre- and probiotics, and specialty carbohydrates.
The global nutraceutical industry is worth $3.4 billion according to MarketsandMarkets – and it is forecasted to 7.3% annually between 2020 and 2025 as consumers become increasingly health and conscious, striving to create a nutrient-rich, well balanced diet . Nutraceuticals are used as:
This large, fast growing market creates opportunities, but also presents challenges. Satisfying rising demand means running processing equipment intensively. Every stoppage means lost revenue, and puts pressure on the Maintenance team to maximize reliability. It’s also essential to maximize yield from ingredients, so every source of loss must be found and eliminated.
As a food/medical product, nutraceutical production also demands close attention to cleanliness and hygiene. Seals must be food-grade to avoid product contamination and to withstand harsh or aggressive cleaning regimens.
Mixing, blending, and stirring are central to nutraceutical production. That equipment uses shaft seals of various types, typically either lip seals, O-rings, or mechanical packing. Each industrial seal has deficiencies and is often responsible for a host of production and maintenance headaches. Their problems include:
There’s a need for new sealing technology for nutraceuticals.
CinchSeal’s rotary shaft seal’s design incorporates a durable two-part seal mounted in a housing that lets the seal center around the shaft. This industrial sealing solution gives it three significant advantages over traditional seals:
CinchSeal’s rotary shaft seals satisfy USDA criteria for food industry use.
Downtime is a big issue in any industry, but especially one growing as rapidly as nutraceuticals where every minute of lost production translates to lost revenue. CinchSeal’s rotary seals are more durable than other types of seals, more easily replaced, and also reduce downtime; making them one of the best mechanical seals on the market.
Less downtime means higher throughput. It lowers maintenance costs too, and as noted previously, there’s also less product waste to clean up. In the nutraceutical industry, there’s a real return on investment from installing CinchSeal rotary shaft seals.
CinchSeal has been making rotary shaft seals for screw conveyors, ribbon blenders, and all kinds of bulk handling equipment since 1994. These seals serve as replacements and upgrades that increase machine availability and lower costs. Contact Us to ask for a quote or to learn more.