Site report | IDM 10 2016 | international-dairy.com · 7 Whey processing The new whey processing plant is 700 m apart from the cheese making plant that manufactures Pasta filata and Mozzarella. The sweet whey is separated in the cheese plant before it is fed via a pipeline to the whey processing facilities. The production plans of both plants are highly synchronised so that the whey storage comproses only three tanks for buffering. This makes sure that always fresh whey enters into processing. Whey comes from the buffer tanks to bactofugation (GEA Westfalia) before it undergoes a 20 – 22 hours demineralisation process in the electrodialyse cells supplied by Eurodia. Olaf Hauschild, head of the whey processing plant in Hünfeld: "The Eurodia lines are absolute new technology. After intense validation, they now are running without any problems." After demineralisation (demin 90) the whey is pasteurised and standardised according to the recipe for the final product. Then, the demineralised whey is concentrated by several membrane separation processes. These plants were supplied by Tetra Pak Filtration Solutions (DSS). The concentrate either enters a storage tank before (liquid) transport or is being fed onto a high concentration evaporator. The concentrate is being cooled in permanently agitated tanks for 12 to 15 hours so that fine lactose crystals are formed. After spray drying, the whey powder is kept in 100 m³ silo tanks prior to packaging in big bags. The Derichs company has installed a hygiene sluice for big bags that keeps palltes out of the filling area. For packaging the powder in 25 kg bags, Hochwald also has installed an automated bagging line from PremierTech Chronos. In case of a breakdown, the whey procsssing plant is equipped with a second evaporator line that can produce conventional whey powder. Supply of media The new whey processing plant produces thermal and electric energy using two co-generation plants supplied by MTU. The operation of these plants is controlled via the steam pressure in a Bosch steam vessel. Pressurised air is being produced by oil-free screw compressors of Ingersoll Rand. Innovative cooling technology was sourced from Haas GmbH, Anlagenbau, a longterm supplier of Hochwald Foods. A look into the whey processing department in the new Hochwald Foods plant in Hünfeld provides an idea about the highly complex processes that have been installed (photo: Hochwald) Powder handling according to the strictest hygienic standards (photo: Hochwald)
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