The dairy industry faces huge challenges: surging energy costs, the climate crisis, consumer trends and a shortage of skilled labour. Integrated solutions are critical to overcoming these hurdles. In view of this, the innovative solutions presented by GEA at the Anuga FoodTec 2024 trade show will centre on the water and energy consumed by a key technology for dairies – separators.
Said Christian Becker, Product Manager Separation Dairy, GEA: “Sustainability, connectivity, digitalisation – we are stepping up to the plate, addressing these issues with tailor-made solutions. Our customers need centrifuges that not only deliver maximum efficiency using minimal resources but are also able to function regardless of the operators’ skill level. Centrifuges have to become intelligent to work more sustainably and, going forward, autonomously.”
The GEA separator innovations presented at the Anuga FoodTec trade show are helping dairies move in this direction.
Equipped with the latest drive generation, the GEA ecoclear i bacteria removal separator is ideally suited to small to medium-sized dairies. These businesses require cost-effective, service-friendly solutions that enhance dairy product quality and extend shelf life. Removing bacteria and spores from milk and whey is crucial for minimising production losses and reducing waste, contributing to a more sustainable and profitable industry.
When weighing up capital expenditure against operating costs, high electricity and water prices are tipping the balance toward the latter. The sustainable line of GEA’s MSI skimming separators with GEA EngySpeed is catalysing a paradigm shift in separator design. In place of smaller yet higher-speed centrifuges, which are still standard in many places, larger bowl volumes are now coming to the fore. For dairies, this means the same clarification area at lower speeds and using less power.
Added Becker: “If we go one machine size up for standardising 25,000 litres of milk per hour, we require around 39 percent less energy. At approximately 6,000 operating hours per year, EngySpeed would save the dairy some 65,000 kw hours per separator and, subject to the energy mix on site, reduce CO2 emissions by up to 43 tons. Depending on electricity prices, the larger centrifuge would pay for itself within two to four years.”
For the dairy industry, GEA is launching its KPInsight digital assistance system for separators as a new product in the GEA InsightPartner family. While conventional condition monitoring solutions consider centrifuge condition, KPInsight gives an overview of the milk and whey centrifuges’ performance. A clearly organised dashboard provides a real-time overview of process efficiency based on key parameters, such as production volumes, energy consumption, discharging and CIP cycles. Trend analyses covering a 30-day period indicate anomalies and process discrepancies, to which operators are able to respond immediately.
Concluded Thomas Veer, Product Manager Sales, GEA Business Unit Separation: “KPInsight makes it possible to optimise dairy separation processes faster and smarter. Our advanced data analysis identifies correlations between events that influence centrifuge performance. Thanks to our intuitive dashboard, these analyses are easy to follow. In this way, we enable dairies to operate their separators with consistently high output levels, increase separator availability, balance energy and water consumption and at the same time reduce product losses.” For more visit GEA.com
