Give every quantity an input boundary
Wash water and cleaning water are separate service streams. Water intentionally added to a product belongs in the product balance and its formulation record; it must not silently increase a reported juice recovery.
| Stage | Input basis | Outputs to measure |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit preparation | Whole fruit received or accepted after sorting; state which | Accepted arils, peel and membrane, rejected fruit, separated liquid and remaining inventory |
| Juice pressing | Accepted arils and any accompanying product liquid | Collected juice, wet residue, samples and retained material |
| Clarification | Juice entering the selected separator or filter | Finished juice, discharged solids or retained stream, hold-up and samples |
| Concentration | Juice feed mass and composition | Concentrate, removed water, samples and inventory change |
State the denominator when reporting recovery
Aril recovery compares accepted aril mass with the stated whole-fruit input. Press recovery compares collected juice mass with the accepted material fed to the press. Finished-product recovery includes the subsequent separation, transfer and packaging losses. These figures answer different questions and cannot be substituted for one another.
For a defined batch or interval, input plus opening inventory should reconcile with measured outputs and closing inventory. Juice left in a tank, press collection area or filter is retained product until it is recovered or discharged. Sampling and start-up diversion also belong in the record.
Convert liquid volume using the actual density
Liquid mass flow equals volume flow multiplied by density at the stated condition. Juice density changes with composition and temperature, so a pump flow in litres per hour cannot be equated automatically with fruit input in kilograms per hour.
Tank sizing uses working liquid volume, the imbalance between incoming and outgoing flow, and the permitted residence time. Nominal vessel volume also includes space needed for level control, foam and the selected operating arrangement; it is not all available as production buffer.
Use conserved solids to describe evaporation duty
In a simplified balance with no solids loss or added ingredients, concentrate mass flow equals feed mass flow multiplied by the feed non-volatile-solids mass fraction and divided by the concentrate mass fraction. Removed water is the difference between feed and concentrate mass flow.
For an arithmetic example only, a 1,000 kg/h feed containing 12% conserved non-volatile solids gives 200 kg/h concentrate at 60% of the same solids, with 800 kg/h water removed. These are assumed inputs for a balance, not a pomegranate yield or an equipment rating.
A refractometer reading in °Brix is not automatically the total non-volatile-solids mass fraction of every juice. Use the agreed analytical basis for the product, account for removed solids and retained inventory, and keep the calculation separate from the evaporator’s actual operating guarantee.