DANA counter-flow tunnel cuts energy use by up to 30%

DANA Technology has developed a counter-flow concept for its wet pet food tunnel that significantly reduces the energy needed to heat the final chunk product – without changing how the product is cooked.

Energy every hour

A steam-heated or electrically heated tunnel uses significant energy every hour a wet pet food line is in operation. The counter-flow concept lowers that energy use by recovering heat from the cooling stage and using it to preheat the incoming product. DANA’s data shows this configuration uses up to 30% less energy than a standard processing tunnel.

How it works

Cooking and cooling still take place on a continuous belt conveyor. DANA controls the air volume and air velocity in the cooling tunnel in relation to the capacity of the machine. This lets the tunnel cool the final chunk product and preheat air in the same step.

After cooking, the cooling air removes heat and moisture from the product. A fan moves this warm air through a separate, insulated pipe that bypasses the cooking zone and leads into a new preheating tunnel, which is connected to the cooking tunnel.

In the preheating tunnel, the warm air flows from the discharge end toward the infeed end, against the direction of the product. The air gives its heat to the colder product before it enters the cooking zone, which then has less heating to do.

What DANA delivers

DANA delivers the Standard Tunnel and the Counter-Flow Tunnel as part of a complete wet pet food line. The line includes feeding pumps, extruders and cutters, followed by either a standard evaporative cooler or the Counter-Flow Cooler Concept. The counter-flow tunnel handles 500-4,000 kg per hour, and the technology can be scaled for higher outputs.

About DANA Technology

DANA Technology is based in Tommerup, Denmark. The company designs and manufactures processing machinery for the global wet pet food industry.

Its range has three systems. The first is the DANA Standard Steam Cooking and Evaporative Cooling Tunnel. The second is the DANA Steam and Cooking Tunnel with counter-flow cooling and preheating. The third is the Rotary Disc Texturizer, which processes premium, meat-like texturized products for high-end markets.

The team has more than 150 years of combined experience in food and pet food processing machinery. DANA handles every stage directly, from specification and engineering to commissioning, and adapts each setup to the customer’s existing production environment.