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.
Nutraceutical Consumption
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:
- Supplements, that are added to another food or ingredient as either a dietary supplement or to improve the food in some way. Omega-3 in bakery products is an example.
- Functional foods, those explicitly consumed for their health benefits
- Functional beverages, energy drinks, sports drinks, and functional juices
Production Challenges
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.
Sealing Shafts in the Nutraceutical Industry
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:
- Wearing out too fast
- Taking too long to replace
- Allowing product leakage
There’s a need for new sealing technology for nutraceuticals.
The CinchSeal Rotary Shaft Sealing Solution
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:
- Eliminates any requirement for the sealing element to flex to accommodate eccentricity, which reduces wear and increases life.
- Virtually no possibility of product leaking out or product contamination from grease or lubricant. (Another advantage of being centered around the shaft and not using a lip seal design.)
- The two-part design facilitates quick replacement with no need to disconnect the shaft and remove bearings.
CinchSeal’s rotary shaft seals satisfy USDA criteria for food industry use.
Benefits of CinchSeal Sealing Solutions for Nutraceuticals
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.
Helping the Nutraceutical Industry Improve Nutrition Around the World
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.
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