Fruit and vegetable bubble cleaner is an important equipment used in modern food processing to clean leafy vegetables (such as spinach, lettuce), fruits (such as strawberries, blueberries), and root vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes). The core principle is to use the combined effect of bubbles and water flow to achieve efficient, gentle, and non damaging cleaning effects on materials.
The working principle can be decomposed into the following core components:
1. Bubble generation and rolling action
This is the key to the name of the device.
Aeration pipes or microporous aeration plates are installed at the bottom or side walls of the cleaning tank.
When the equipment is working, the vortex air pump or Roots blower continuously pumps a large amount of air into the aeration tube, releasing countless fine and uniform bubbles through micropores.
These bubbles are rising:
Generate violent rolling: The bubble group surges upwards like an "air curtain", driving the water in the tank to produce turbulent flow, causing the fruits and vegetables soaked in water to continuously roll up and down, left and right, and rub against each other.
Peel off dirt: The small impact force generated by the rupture of bubbles when they come into contact with the surface of fruits and vegetables helps to loosen and peel off sediment, insect eggs, and some pesticide residues attached to the skin or folds. This effect is very gentle and will not damage the delicate fruit and vegetable skin like a hard bristled brush.
2. Water flow erosion and transport effect
The water in the cleaning tank is continuously circulating. Usually, a certain water flow velocity is formed through a water pump or a designed water flow channel.
This water flow, combined with the rolling generated by bubbles, continuously flushes fruits and vegetables, and quickly washes away stripped sediment, impurities, etc., preventing them from settling or adhering again.
At the same time, the water flow is also responsible for smoothly transporting the cleaning materials from the feeding end to the discharging end. There are usually two ways of transportation:
Mesh belt conveyor: The material is placed on a stainless steel mesh belt, which slowly moves in bubbles and water flow.
Spiral propulsion type: The groove is equipped with spiral blades, which gently push the material forward when rotating.
3. Floating impurity separation and filtration cycle
During cleaning, impurities with light specific gravity (such as grass leaves, hair, some insects, pesticide residue foam, etc.) will float on the water surface.
Equipment is usually equipped with overflow channels or skimming devices to allow floating debris to overflow from the water surface and enter the filtration system or be directly discharged, thereby achieving self-cleaning of the water tank surface.
Impurities with higher specific gravity, such as sediment and stones, will sink to the bottom of the water.
In terms of structural design, a sedimentation area will be formed at the bottom of the sink, or in conjunction with a filtered water tank, solid impurities in the water will be filtered out through multiple layers of filters (such as hair filters, basket filters).
The filtered clean water is pumped back to the main cleaning tank for reuse, achieving the recycling of water resources and energy conservation and environmental protection. Just need to regularly replenish a small amount of clean water and discharge wastewater.
4. Spraying and lifting (final cleaning stage)
After being cleaned by the bubble water flow in the main cleaning tank, the material will pass through one or more high-pressure spray pipes before being discharged.
The spray pipe sprays clean water to give the material a final 'shower', washing away any trace impurities that may remain on the surface, achieving the final cleaning effect.
Finally, the material is lifted out of the water surface by a lifting mechanism (usually an inclined mesh belt or lifting bucket). During the lifting process, excess water will naturally drain through the mesh holes, making it easier to enter the next process (such as cutting, dehydration, or packaging).