An optimized control system based on ADEX technology has been applied with excellent results to the largest attemperation production line (4T/h) of the Chocolates Valor plant in Villajoyosa (Alicante), substituting the original conventional control system of the attemperator manufacturer.
Attemperation is one of the most important processes in the production of chocolate involving a series of cooling stages of the chocolate coming from the conching. If the chocolate cools rapidly, fat crystals form an extremely disordered polymorphic structure leading to a migration of fat bloom, and adopting a grey, powdery appearance. On the other hand, if the chocolate has not attemperated sufficiently, it will melt rapidly in the hand. The attemperation of chocolate has consequences also for the consumption of energy in the attemperation lines as well as in the percentage of production rejects. It is for this reason that the control system plays an important part in the quality of the chocolate and in the performance of the plant. Tenths of a degree in deviation from the characteristic cooling curve can have a considerable impact on these factors.
The operation of the optimised control system has demonstrated extremely high precision and a strong capability of stabilizing the attemperation process over a wide range of operating conditions as is typical with this kind of process, leading to a substantial reduction in the continuous temperature oscillations generated in the various zones of the attemperator operating under conventional control. All of this has resulted in a reduction in the product rejects amounting to 5% of the total production of chocolate and an average energy saving of 20% as presented in the certificate provided by Chocolates Valor.