Key features of this production facility are as follows:
- High productivity, up to 200 tons of raw material per day.
- Requirement to meet all HACCP specifications.
- Mixed composition of input feedstock consisting of virtually all Far Eastern salmon species on some days of the salmon run season.
- Requirement to sort and freeze sac roe.
- Requirement to produce fish products frozen in blocks, head on and headed.
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 either by a fish pump via a water separating hopper or transported by trucks, from which it is unloaded to a ground hopper and further fed from this hopper by a scraper conveyor. Both lines are equipped with independent weighing systems for input feedstock weighing and recording. Feeding conveyors include work stations for workers who select fish of a particular species for each hopper and remove garbage.
Hoppers are cooled by a specially designed system for liquid ice generation and distribution. 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 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. H&G is produced at two NAG-501 semi-automatic machines manufactured by Nikko (Japan), HOG and H&G is produced at a slot conveyor manufactured by Technological Equipment Company.
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-501 machines, they are split into roe, milt and waste in a separate production area. At slot conveyors, roe, milt and waste are extracted separately after which sac roe is directed to sorting and placing into a block liner and milt is either directed to placing into a block liner or together with waste is fed by a system of conveyors to the crusher and then is fed by a positive displacement pump for further processing into fish meal and fish. After fish processing at NAG-501 machines, its viscera separated into roe, milt and waste are sent to the same production areas and fish heads are also sent to waste.
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. Fish bitten by sea animals is rejected and remaining fish is placed into block molds in this production area. The large number of quick freezers in the freezing area makes buffer storage of filled and empty block molds unnecessary. Fish moving pattern before getting to the placing machine table/hopper is circular; the conveyor in this 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 is frozen in 2 plate quick freezers ASMP 12 and block freezing is performed in 10 plate quick freezers MHF 2156, 6 plate quick freezers ASMP 14 and 4 freezers of 2244 type.
Frozen products are discharged from quick freezers to packing areas. Roe is squeezed from block liners by a special machine and packed in boxes. Block-frozen fish is subjected to thawing, demolding and glazed in 2 submerged-type glazing machines operating in parallel. Block molds are returned by a chain conveyor via a washing unit to placing areas. Glazed blocks are packed into a liner and kraft bag. Packed products are put on pallets, each product type in a separate production area, and transported to warehouse.
All plant equipment, except for quick freezers and NAG-501 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.