drink processing 37
nut, grain and seed-based milks. issues regarding business, herd management, health,
Another factor driving growth, particularly in genetics and feed-tables. Thousands of milk producers
emerging markets, is a fundamental shift in the way credit the VMS for making dairy production more
liquid dairy products are packaged and consumed. From profitable, predictable and easier to manage.
2005 to 2008 the global market share of unpackaged milk According to DeLaval, the Mogilev mega farm will be
declined by 1.8 per cent. During the same time period, the world’s largest VMS operation.
the global market share of ultra high temperature Meanwhile, environmental awareness is also
(UHT) milk - milk which can be shipped and stored becoming a much more important aspect of milk
before opening without requiring either refrigeration or processing.
preservatives – increased by 3.2 per cent. With only 2.5 per cent of the Earth’s water being
In addition, the reduction in consumers’ budgets non saltwater and a strong world population growth, we
generally is prompting a move towards budget and are facing the tough challenge of managing a valuable
private label brands. and scarce resource, namely water. International
“In today’s economic climate, we would anticipate water protection has resulted in strong environmental
that many consumers will go back to basics,” said awareness and as a direct consequence; there are more
Jönsson. “For example, they may substitute white milk regulations on the use and discharge of wastewater.
for higher priced, more value-added products like However, many food and dairy plants are located in
yogurt drinks or they may buy budget brands rather than areas with water shortages even though huge quantities
premium brands. Even so, we expect the global dairy of water are required for continuous production. So
market to experience steady growth for the foreseeable many companies face issues such as:
future.”
p Wastewater disposal costs and, or penalties.
Meeting the challenge
p Difficulty meeting permissible discharge limits.
p High water costs and, or water shortages/restrictions.
As a result of the buoyant market for milk, demand for
p Limited sewer systems in rural areas.
the associated processing equipment is also robust.
Belshina-Agro, for example, has chosen DeLaval One company heavily focused on these issues is
International as supplier of modern dairying solutions, GEA. The company offers technologies to: reduce
including 12 voluntary milking systems (VMS), to a disposal volume; recover by-products in the effluent
1000-head farm in the Belarusian Mogilev region. VMS as a marketable product; recycle water and reduce
is the DeLaval robotic milker, the latest dairy technology consumption; and handle wastewater discharge
designed to meet the extreme requirements of automatic problems.
non-stop milking. Recently it was approached by a customer looking for
“We chose to partner with DeLaval because of its a solution to reduce wastewater hauling costs associated
global leadership in the industry and its experience in with its high pH, high electrical conductivity dairy
automation technology and mega farm operations,” said effluent. The facility was hauling large volumes of the
Belshina-Agro vice director general Alexander Kozlov effluent at a very high cost by a wastewater management
said. company.
The VMS’s complete automatic equipment allows for So the volume of the effluent had to be reduced by
round the clock milking designed to optimise quality large factor, involving the evaporation of 34 000 kg/h
milk yield to help farm managers run dairy operations of water from its waste stream. The company needed to
more carefully, professionally and productively. consistently reduce the wastewater volume by a factor of
“Belshina’s choice is an acknowledgment of DeLaval’s 20 – and sometimes up to 30 under certain processing
strong position in automated solutions as well as of milk conditions.
producers’ confidence in the quality and competence GEA designed, fabricated, installed and
of our company,” DeLaval regional president Europe, commissioned a multiple pass single effect mechanical
Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand Jan Ove vapour recompressor (turbofan) heated falling film
Nilsson said. evaporator. Designed for very high energy efficiency, the
The VMS 2009 has just hit the markets. According unit evaporates 86 kg/h of water for every kilowatt of
to Nilsson it brings yet another round of enhancements electricity consumed by the turbofan.
with more than 30 new features improving user- High tube wetting rates are employed to minimise
friendliness, overall performance and safety. With energy fouling of evaporative surface areas, allowing the system
consumption at an all time low, ranging between 15 to operate over long periods of time before cleaning is
and 25 kW per tonne of milk, VMS is one of the most required. According to GEA, another novel feature of
cost efficient milking systems in the world, capable of this system is that no cooling water is needed during
harvesting 2000 to 2500 kg of milk per day (Fig. 1). operation.
Productivity in the dairy farming business is defined The much-reduced effluent output at the plant has
by scale and efficiency. With the VMS technology, dairy now made the hauling strategy cost-effective for the dairy
managers have more time on their hands to deal with processor. p
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