Concentration of Milk

This process is completed in batching times of 1 to 16 hours, depending on the recipe of the fluid mix. Herbs such as basilica and garlic pieces are mixed with the milk. These herb pieces range in size up to 10x4 mm and increase the solid content from 10% to 50%.

Figure 1. The concentration process of milk

Challenges

The customer was not satisfied with the competitor’s Coriolis Mass Flowmeter. The measurement was disturbed by vibration and could not be compensated or corrected by the product that was installed. By analyzing the flow signal, it was identified that the flow measurement was not only disturbed by high vibration but also by solid content. During the complete process, around 60% of water is removed from the milk. Consequently, the amount of solid content increases from 12% (raw milk) up to 35% (concentrated milk).

Solution

The Yokogawa ROTAMASS, with its unique box-in-box design that offers vibration immunity, was a key selling point. Without changing the pipe or pipe fixture, the ROTAMASS was installed and gave an accurate and highly stable/repeatable mass flow measurement. The ROTAMASS driving frequency is low compared to other Coriolis meters with high driving frequency, which results in a shaker effect that can modify the structure and quality of concentrated milk. The customer chose to use the mass flow and density measurement. By using the density measurement, the customer could also monitor the concentrator’s efficiency.

Figure 2. Newly installed ROTAMASS in the customer’s process

Key Advantages

• Products included in this offering:
• Vortex flowmeter - used for steam measurement
• Magnetic flowmeter - cooling water inlet and outlet
• Coriolis on raw milk (inlet) and concentrated milk (outlet)

                                              

                          Figure 3. Magnetic Flowmeters                                 Figure 4. Vortex Flowmeters                   Figure 5. Coriolis Flowmeters