05.12.2022
Quality tea with ideal humidity at Parmeshwari
Humidity control specialist, Condair, and its Indian distributor, Regent Machine & Servicing, has supplied and installed a JetSpray humidification system at Parmeshwari Tea factory in Assam. The compressed air and water spray humidifier is maintaining the ideal humidity in the CTC and CFM areas to prevent moisture loss from the tea during processing and fermentation. This results in a consistently high quality tea, which is blacker and with stronger liquor, no matter what the ambient weather conditions are like.
Ajay Dhandharia, Managing Partner at Parmeshwari Tea Company, commented, “Since there has been substantial change in climate pattern of North East India, whereby the frequency of rainfall has witnessed steep decline, we had felt the necessity of installing a good humidification system to achieve desired humidity conditions. The JetSpray system was installed in the CTC and CFM areas, and the mist chamber of the CFM machines.”
Mr Dhandharia, continues, “With JetSpray system installed at the mist chamber, the ambient air which is being pushed into the CFM machine is adequately humidified and restricts moisture loss during the fermentation process, even at low ambient RH conditions. Further, with use of this system in the open area of CTC and CFM process, there has been reduction in evaporation weight loss, as the entire area is uniformly humidified.”
“We had tried using various other solutions in the past, but we found the results not very adequate and consistent. After installing the JetSpray system we observed that any level of humidity required is constantly achievable without condensation or water getting deposited on the floor or over the machine. With improved humidity conditions, teas became brighter, blacker with better bloom and improved density. In addition, there has been some reduction is secondary grade generation also.” Mr Dhandharia concludes.
The JetSpray humidifier consists of a control panel and a series of nozzles, which can be mounted throughout the area to be humidified or inside a CFM machine’s air duct. The precision engineered nozzles combine compressed air and water, which when released create a very fine and highly directional aerosol. The compressed air ensures the moisture rapidly evaporates without any risk of wetting in the area or on machinery within the room. The fan-free design means the JetSpray can operate in very industrial, dusty environments without problems. The nozzles have a self-cleaning mechanism that prevents blockages so the humidifier can operate with any potable water quality without the need for filtered, mineral-free water.
Jaydeep Dasgupta, Managing Director at Regent Machine & Servicing, Condair’s distributor in India, commented, “We have been installing JetSpray humidifiers in tea factories across India and Bangladesh for many years. It enables factories to maintain the optimum environmental conditions for tea processing and fermentation, maximising not only their quality, but also their primary grade yield. By combining compressed air and water, the aerosols produced by the nozzles give very rapid evaporation without drips. The high quality humidification system offers a rapid return on investment for tea factories, is easy to use and provides trouble-free operation.”
Mr Dasgupta continues, “The system installed at Parmeshwari Tea had 63 nozzles, each 6.5Ltrs/hr capacity, and two control panels. In total the system is capable of supplying up to 215kg of humidity per hour to the CFM machine and 195kg per hour to the CTC area. Each JetSpray system we supply is custom designed by Regent Machine to meet the specific requirements of a tea factory, including expert advice on capacity and nozzle layout for the best possible productivity improvements.”
Parmeshwari Tea is located in Sanitpur town in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, India. It started processing as a Bought Leaf Tea Factory in 2009 with a single CTC line producing around 5.00 Lakh kgs per year. Through investment and best practise innovation, the company has developed significantly and now operates six CTC production lines, manufacturing over 25.00 Lakh kgs per year.