Whey to go

A NUTRITIOUS by-product of cheese-making, whey is collected and processed into a form that can easily be added to food products, from soups to processing aids. Also derived from it is whey protein which is mostly consumed as a body-building supplement. Dairy makers will agree that whey powder production is not only complex, but an energy-intensive one as well. But it is well worth it given that whey has a high commercial value. Companies however still seek breakthroughs to optimize their production.

One of Finland’s major producers of dairy, Valio has been able to increase its output of whey by over 10% without investing in hardware or using up more energy. Owned by 18 milk production cooperatives in Finland, this company refines and markets milk-based products. Instead of adding equipment, it implemented the NAPCON Suite’s applications for advanced process control (APC), from Neste Jacobs, a solution provider with over 50 years’ experience in technology development and industrial projects worldwide.

Moisture control

One of the crucial aspects in whey powder production is controlling the moisture content. “Too high water content causes stickiness of the whey powder that can disrupt or even stop the production,” said Antero Ylitalo, production manager at Valio’s whey powder factory. “On the other hand, if the powder is too dry it generates dust and uses excess energy.” The moisture content of the product is set within a spray dryer in the final stage of the production line.

“The critical thing is to be able to control the spray dryer’s load and the hot air streams in an optimal way,” Mr Ylitalo said. “We needed to keep the moisture content of the final whey powder product very close to its target value regardless of the process conditions, whilst taking into account the dynamically changing multiple process constraints.”

APC tools

The APC solution was implemented in the final stage of the production process and basically now runs the process at the factory. It consists of two tools in NAPCON Suite: NAPCON Indicator, which calculates the material and energy balance information and sends it to NAPCON Controller, the multivariable model predictive control software package which is optimised for control of processes with cross-dependencies. Moreover, the APC also reduced the risk for system downtimes due to bag filter clogging.

“We considered several APC providers but became convinced of Neste Jacobs’ expertise and the features of the NAPCON? Suite Technology,” Mr Ylitalo said. “We are currently planning to implement APC technology also in other production plants and hope that we will be able to continue the good cooperation with Neste Jacobs in this area.”

No system downtimes

According to chief application engineer Keijo Yli-Opas at Neste Jacobs, the company finished the Valio APC project in only three months from project initiation.

“An important factor was that there were no process downtimes due to installation and commissioning of the NAPCON? Suite software,” Mr Yli-Opas said. “This is essential for customers who strive to improve their production plants.”

The Valio case is a good example of how well suited NAPCON Suite is for processes with complex behaviour. “In fact it is applicable in most fields of food industry, but it gives the best results when applied to continuous processes such as the whey powder factory,” he added.

In addition to the APC solution, the delivery tNew Arrivals