Tomato concentrate

This document, taking as a first starting point the Current Value Stream Mapping of the industrial
agro-food sector of tomato transformation - particularly TOMATO CONCENTRATE production
activities - contains the description of the whole industrial process, step-by-step, including the
associated equipment. In this document, the most relevant processes from the energy point of
view have been highlighted in order to serve as basis for the further tasks of the project, as the
setting up of benchmarking baselines in thermal and electricity consumption. According to
Eurostat, in Europe, in 2015, concentrated tomato puree and paste (PRODCOM Code 10391721)
represented more than 8.5 billion Euros of production value (approximately 72.5 million Euros in
Italy, 49.8 in Spain, 45 in Portugal, 12.3 in France and 8.3 in Greece). Cooperatives and enterprises
involved in the transformation of tomatoes show a relevant energy consumption that depends on
the specific final product. On average, for preserved tomatoes, thermal energy consumption is
1200-1500 kJ/kg and electricity is 0.009-0.0012 kWh/kg; for tomato concentrates, thermal energy
consumption is 8500-12000 kJ/kg and electricity is 0.05-0.085 kWh/kg (data from ENEA, ENEL, ENI,
IASM, December 1985). The significant variation in the electrical energy consumption among
different tomato plants is mainly due to the production capacity. A plant (medium or large
enterprise) producing some hundreds tons (let’s say 500 tonnes/day) of fresh tomato paste per
day requires a precise and constant supplying of fresh tomato fruits (raw materials), which can be
achieved or by organizing tomato harvesting and delivering so that the precise amounts may reach
the plant at the right moment, or by installing water tanks in the processing plant. In general these
are cement tanks, 5 x 30 m/each, and each one contains about 150 tons of tomatoes and 150 tons
of water, that allow to replenish constantly the process line, acting as stockpiles.