REF · 006-AGRO02 / Food & Beverage

Compressed air for the food and beverage industry

Safe food processing.

In food & beverage, compressed air comes into direct or indirect contact with products intended for human consumption: PET bottle blowing, pneumatic powder transport, modified-atmosphere packaging, drying. HACCP, ISO 22000 and FDA standards require zero oil and rigorous microbiological control.

Technical challenges

What needs to be solved.

01Completely eliminate the risk of oil contamination in food-contact zones - ambient air as well as process air.
02Sustain high production rates (PET blowing, packaging) without disruption, despite cyclical consumption peaks.
03Recover the heat generated by compressors to warm process water, optimize CIP/SIP, and reduce the energy bill by 30 to 95 %.

CEZIUM technologies

Our technical answer.

Three families answer the three needs of a food plant: production air, high-pressure blowing and drying.

PM VSD screw

5.5 to 250 kW

Flow that follows packaging cycles, and compression heat recovered from the oil circuit for process water and cleaning cycles.

33 catalogue models

Oil-free booster

7.5 to 160 kW

PET blowing needs a pressure far above the network: the booster lifts the workshop's 8 bar to the required level, oil-free.

22 catalogue models

Heatless adsorption dryer

0.5 to 83 m³/min

A -40 °C dew point wherever air touches the product or its packaging.

31 catalogue models

Standards & certifications

Applicable standards.

ISO 8573-1 Cl. 1FDACEPED

Compliances are verified case by case according to the selected model and audit scope. Complete documentation provided with each machine.

Air quality

The classes usually required

Product contact drives everything. These classes are the ones we meet most often; your HACCP plan and your certification set the exact target.

ISO 8573-1 classes commonly met at each point of use, for guidance.
Point of use	Particles	Water (dew point)	Oil
Air in direct contact with food or primary packaging	Classe 1	-40 °C (classe 2)	Classe 0
Process air with no contact, closed pneumatic conveying	Classe 2	+3 °C (classe 4)	Classe 1
Service air, tools and automation	Classe 3	+3 °C (classe 4)	Classe 2

House rule

Our order of preference for Class 0

When a specification says Class 0, CEZIUM quotes an oil-free machine, as the trade understands it: scroll compressor up to 5 m³/min, rotary tooth compressor from 2.3 to 8.6 m³/min, dry screw or centrifugal beyond that. We also point out the alternative few suppliers mention: a lubricated screw followed by a treatment chain delivers oil-free air for a markedly lower purchase price, without carrying the Class 0 label.

In this trade, Class 0 means an oil-free machine. That is the convention, and it is what a specification expects when it writes Class 0, so that is what we quote. Technically, ISO 8573-1 classifies air at the point of use rather than the compressor, so a lubricated screw followed by multi-stage filtration and an adsorption dryer delivers oil-free air measured on acceptance. That is a genuine alternative, cheaper to buy and far better at heat recovery, but it does not give you a Class 0 certified machine. Both are worth knowing; your own documents decide.

CEZIUM order of preference among oil-free technologies for reaching Class 0 of ISO 8573-1, with the actual ranges from the catalogue.
Rank	Technology	Catalogue flow	Power	Class 0	Recoverable heat	Purchase cost
01	Scroll compressor	0.3 to 4.96 m³/min	2.2 to 45 kW	Oil-free machine	Low	Moderate
02	Rotary tooth compressor	2.3 to 8.6 m³/min	15 to 55 kW	Oil-free machine	Low	High
03	Dry screw compressor	6.8 to 43 m³/min	45 to 250 kW	Oil-free machine	Limited	Very high
04	Centrifugal compressor	48 to 3,000 m³/min	198 to 12,055 kW	Oil-free machine	High	Very high
05	Lubricated screw + treatment chain	0.95 to 44 m³/min	5.5 to 250 kW	Treated air, no label	High	Low

Flow rates and power ratings taken from the CEZIUM catalogue, oil-free technologies and variable-speed lubricated screw. Purchase cost is given in relative ranks, at comparable flow.

01
Scroll compressor
Up to 5 m³/min
The first choice below 5 m³/min: oil-free by design, quiet, compact. The right format for a laboratory, a dental practice or a small production line.
See the 13 catalogue models
02
Rotary tooth compressor
2.3 to 8.6 m³/min
Above the scroll range and up to 8.6 m³/min. The rotors never touch: no friction inside the chamber, minimal wear, TÜV-certified Class 0. Beyond that flow, several units run in parallel.
See the 14 catalogue models
03
Dry screw compressor
7.8 to 46 m³/min
The answer at high flow when the specification says Class 0. We also state its downside: it costs a great deal to buy and lends itself poorly to heat recovery. If your documents ask for oil-free air rather than a certified machine, the previous step is worth quoting alongside.
See the 20 catalogue models
04
Centrifugal compressor
From 48 m³/min
Reserved for the continuous base load of very large sites, where no screw compressor can carry the flow in a single machine.
See the 11 catalogue models
05
Lubricated screw + treatment chain
Alternative, above 8.6 m³/min
The alternative, when your specification asks for oil-free air rather than a certified machine: multi-stage filtration and an adsorption dryer behind a lubricated screw, with acceptance measurement at the point of use. Markedly lower purchase price, and compression heat is recovered from the oil circuit, which a dry machine does poorly. Rule it out if your documents say Class 0.
See the 33 catalogue models

FAQ

The questions we are asked

Must compressed air touching food be entirely oil-free?

Yes for the result, not necessarily for the machine. The target is read at the point of use, and a full treatment chain reaches it from a lubricated compressor. If your end customer or your certifier demands an oil-free machine, that changes both the technical choice and the budget: check it before sizing anything.

How much of a compressor's energy can genuinely be used for heating?

Most of the electrical energy a compressor draws ends up as heat, and a lubricated screw returns it through its oil circuit, which a dry machine does far less well. In food plants the uses are immediate: preheating process water, cleaning cycles, space heating. The real yield depends on the distance between the compressor room and the point of use, and that is the first figure to establish.

Does PET blowing need a separate booster?

Usually yes. A plant network runs around 7 to 8 bar while blowing demands far more. Compressing the whole network to blowing pressure would be very expensive: keep a low-pressure network and fit an oil-free booster on that line alone.

Going further

Worth reading before deciding

Compressor heat recovery: up to 84% of the electricity can be reused

A screw compressor converts electricity into compressed air… and into heat. That heat accounts for 80 to 93% of the energy consumed, and 50 to 90% of that heat can be recovered to heat a building or a process. Method and calculation.

Lubricated screw or oil-free compressor: Class 0 describes the air, not the machine

Most comparisons set two machines against each other. The standard, however, judges the air at the point of use. A lubricated screw followed by a treatment chain can deliver oil-free air at the point of use, at a significantly lower purchase cost; class 0 itself remains that of an oil-free machine. Here is the order in which CEZIUM selects each technology.

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