Key features of this production facility are as follows:
1. High productivity, up to 250 tons of raw material per day.
2. Requirement to meet all HACCP specifications.
3. Mixed composition of input feedstock consisting of virtually all Far Eastern salmon species on some days of the salmon run season.
4. Requirement to sort and freeze sac roe.
5. Requirement to produce both products frozen in blocks and individually frozen products.
6. Requirement for waste free fish processing and production of fish meal and fish oil.
The process flow is organized such that each production area could support one operation and feedstock could proceed from one area to another only in one direction passing a dedicated control point. Feedstock flows at different process stages do not intercross. Feedstock logistics allow for its temporary accumulation at any process stage, duplication of flows and redundant capacity to be used in case of equipment failure or human errors.
Fish is supplied to receiving hoppers by a fish pump via a water separating hopper and a weighing hopper. Feeding conveyors include work stations for workers who select fish of a particular species for each hopper and remove garbage.
Hoppers are chilled by a specially designed liquid ice generation and distribution system. The design of hoppers precludes partial jamming of feedstock, its crushing and mechanical damage due to accumulation of an excessively thick layer of fish, existence of “dead spots” and similar designing and manufacturing errors. Another specific feature of this hopper is that incoming and outgoing fish flows are independent and may proceed simultaneously. Each hopper can be loaded and discharged independently of other hoppers.
Sorted fish is fed to the dressing area or the area for raw fish placing with 3 work stations. H&G is produced at two NAG semi-automatic machines manufactured by Nikko (Japan), HOG and H&G is produced at a slot conveyor manufactured by Technological Equipment.
Slot conveyor is a multi-purpose conveyor-type machine capable of performing the following operations: head cutting by an automatic or semi-automatic head cutter (when producing HOG, fish proceeds via a tray conveyor in bypass of head cutter blades which are switched off); cutting open; separate extraction of roe, milt and other viscera; esophagus undercutting; kidney removal; inspection; and washing. Its capacity may reach 45 fish per minute on each side. Fish weighing within 2–2.5 kg can be processed on two sides and larger fish can be processed on one side only. The size group of fish that can be processed is 700 g to 8 kg. The bloody kidney is removed by hydraulic-powered vacuum spoons. Depending on raw material volume and processing technology specifics, 6 to 9 workers can operate on each side of the slot conveyor.
Fish selected from a particular hopper arrives directly to its respective machine which precludes repeated sorting. After entrails are extracted by NAG machines, they are split into roe, milt and waste in a separate production area. Roe, milt and waste are extracted separately at slot conveyors, after which sac roe is directed to sorting and placing into a block liner, milt is also directed to placing into a block liner and remaining viscera are fed by a system of conveyors to the crusher and then are fed by a positive displacement pump for further processing into fish meal and fish. After fish processing at NAG machines, its viscera separated into roe, milt and waste are sent to the same production areas and fish heads are either placed into block molds in a separate area and frozen or also sent for processing into fish meal and fish oil.
After gutting, extraction of viscera, kidney removal and washing, fish bodies are sent via a special fish washing unit, installed downstream each machine, to placing into block molds. Also here, fish suitable for individual freezing is manually selected from the flow and sent by a conveyor to placing into individual freezing racks.
Fish moving pattern before getting to the placing machine table/hopper is circular; the conveyor in this production area has high sides, significant length and width and serves as a buffer allowing for continued fish gutting when placers are unable to handle the flow timely.
Roe and milt are frozen in 2 plate quick freezers, block freezing is performed in 8 plate quick freezers and individual freezing is performed in 2 air blast freezers.
Frozen products are discharged from quick freezers to packing areas. Roe and milt are squeezed from block liners by a special machine and packed in boxes. Block-frozen fish is subjected to thawing, demolding and glazed in a submerged-type glazing machine. Block molds are returned by a chain conveyor via a washing unit to placing areas or accumulated for buffer storage. Glazed blocks are packed in a liner and kraft bag. Individually frozen fish is glazed in a similar glazing machine, packed in a polyethylene bag and box. Packed products are put on pallets, each product type in a separate production area, and transported to warehouse.
Waste is comminuted by a system of crushers and fed by an auger-type pump to the buffer storage intended for steady supply of feedstock for heating and further to a heat exchanger. In this heat exchanger, waste is heated by indirect steam during a short time to a temperature of 65–95 degrees Centigrade. Heating temperature and time depend on feedstock characteristics. Heated feedstock is then fed to a three-phase decanter where waste is separated into fish oil, solid protein fraction (cake) and stick water.
Fish oil is accumulated in drums from which it is poured into packing containers. Fish oil produced under this technology is suitable for veterinary or alimentary purposes even without further refining because feedstock is not subjected to lengthy boiling at high temperatures. After additional refining, fish oil of pharmaceutical quality is produced which contains a minimum of 28% of omega-3 and omega-6 poly-unsaturated acids. Fish oil is capsulated at a third party facility, capsules are packed into consumer-friendly packages and sold in the domestic market. Cake is dried out and crushed into fish meal with a protein content of more than 68% and packed into bags.
This technology is of a fully closed-circuit type and absolutely safe for the environment which makes it possible to deploy waste processing plants in populated areas.
The fish waste processing line is universal and scalable in productivity terms both down and up, capable of using any fish waste with any fat content varying from pollock waste to saury and Pacific sardine waste and producing fish meal and fish oil with a stable quality. Such line can be installed at any onshore fish processing plant or onboard vessels turning them into waste free production facilities.
All plant equipment, except for quick freezers and NAG machines, was manufactured by Technological Equipment Company at its own manufacturing site in Vladivostok. Technological Equipment Company has been designing and manufacturing fishing processing plants and refrigerated warehouses, developing and introducing waste free technologies, designing and manufacturing modern high-tech serial equipment for fish processing for 19 years. During its lifetime, the company has implemented 50 major engineering projects in the Russian Far East achieving good practical results in recovery of Russia’s onshore and higher-level fish processing capacity.