APV's new whey and permeate drying method launched earlier this year has won European FoodTec Award 2003 for the implementation of technical innovation within the dairy industry.
The Award was presented by the president of the German Agricultural Society (DLG), Philip Baron von dem Bussche at Anuga, held in Germany last month. "We are delighted that our technical innovation within the dairy process industries has been recognised. Credit should go to our R&D team that had the vision to drive the project through to a successful conclusion," said Niels Pedersen, managing director of APV Anhydro. "We have also benefited from the opportunity to trial the process commercially in co-operation with our valued customer Müiller Mülch over an extended period."
The jury which were specifically looking for the successful commercial application of food processing technology. They were impressed by the SCW/SCP process that was specifically developed to facilitate the efficient processing of both whey and permeate into valuable products.
The international jury comprised four distinguished experts, Prof. Dr. Petr Dejmek (Food Technology, University of Lund, Sweden), Prof. Dr. Ing. Ulrich Kulozik (Dairy and Food Processing Technology, Technical University Munich-Weihenstephan), Prof. Dr. Ing. Achim Stiebing (Meat Technology, University for Applied Science (FH) Lippe, Lemgo) and Prof. Dr. Ing. Erich J. Windhab (Food Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland).
APV said that Anuga provided to a commercial success with contracts awarded at the show totalling in excess of €1 million. These included an Ultrafiltration plant, a Nanofiltration plant, a Reverse Osmosis Polisher, a Pasteuriser and four homogenisers.
SCW/SCP process
Increasing cheese production world-wide is resulting in a large quantity of whey. This is mostly converted into whey protein concentrate (WPC) by means of ultra-filtration (UF), which creates almost as many kilos of the by-product permeate as the ultra-filtrated whey itself.
Large quantities of whey and permeate cannot be utilised, presenting an environmental issue.
In order to overcome this increasing problem, APV Anhydro, developed a continuous process for highly efficient processing of both whey and permeate into valuable products. This process, which has been patented by Anhydro, is known as the "SCW-" or "SCP-" process, which stands for Super Concentrated Whey and Super Concentrated Permeate.
Traditionally whey and permeate are converted into powder by means of evaporating to 60 per cent and 65 per cent solids respectively. The crystallisation process follows for a period of 10-15 hours in order to achieve the correct level of crystallisation before the liquid passes to the spray dryer.
APV says that efficient crystallisation of the lactose in whey and permeate concentrates can be obtained quickly by concentration to higher solid content in the final evaporation process.
Based on the above premise, the process makes it possible to concentrate whey and permeate up to 68-72 per cent solids and 78-82 per cent solids respectively by using a an evaporator as a finisher.
The company also claims that the need for crystallisation tanks and chilled water for the crystallisation process is eliminated, since the process runs continuously from the finisher into the spray dryer. It passes through a buffer tank, where the feed is cooled from around 70°C to 55°C to achieve sufficient crystallisation of the product.
Niels Kristian Stevn, Technology Manager, Anhydro, said: "We are excited by the new SCW/SCP process, because it provides a quick and efficient system, which may result in considerable energy savings. Also, because the system uses a smaller spray dryer than traditional methods, and installation and building costs are generally lower, the overall investment can be greatly reduced."
Existing spray dryers can be upgraded to the SCW/SCP-process resulting in highly increased powder throughput. Anhydro is an engineering company with a mission to create value for its customers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and the dairy, food and environmental sectors. The company serves its customers through specialist design, development and supply of drying and evaporation process technologies that deliver measurable benefits and superior return on investment.