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Reduce chemicals and cleaning costs |
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Scale and sludge formed in fluid process systems for food, for example, the dairy industry, are usually a mixture of inorganic mineral salts and organic build-ups of such substances as calcium carbonate, complex calcium phosphates (for example, milk stone), proteins, lactose, sugars and fats. Also the rate of build up can be so fast (within a few hours in the milk processing industry) that it is often only possible for magnetic fluid conditioners to slow the rate of build up and to extend the length of runs between cleans. In distilleries, the rate of build up is usually much slower and can normally be controlled or totally eliminated.
It is also very important what type of magnetic fluid
conditioner units are installed as food production pipes and
vessels must be able to be totally cleaned to prevent or reduce
the possibility of bacteria problems.
Therefore the
magnetic fluid conditioners (MFCs) must not be invasive of the
fluid process.
Scale-X magnetic fluid conditioner devices are effective in
treating milk stone, protein, lactose, sugars and fats and are
suitable for application on the full range of milk products
evaporative processes (concentrators) such as whole milk, skim, whey, butter
milk, permeates and fortified milk products, etc.... It is
also applicable to UHT processes, pre-heaters and pasteurisers,
etc..., as well as "on farm" dairy equipment. Scale-X MFC’s
based on the advanced technology developed for the chronic scale
problems encountered in the O&GP industry has greatly increased
the benefits that can be achieved in all scaling applications
including the full range of milk products.
Most milk processing systems are constructed of thin walled,
food grade, stainless steel tube. Two basic types of Scale-X
magnetic fluid conditioner devices are available for milk
process systems:- (i) units forming an integral part of the
process piping (often referred to as “inline” units) and (ii)
units which clamp externally on the process piping. The Scale-X
MFC's are installed at, or just prior to, identified scaling
points, usually just before entry to vessels. The Scale-X MFC is
maintenance free. A
typical
dairy process evaporator has a number of heating
and evaporative (concentrator) vessels as shown schematically and may require the
application of multiple stages of Scale-X MFC’s. Depending on
the severity of the scale problem a MFC may treat only one
vessel or scaling point or may treat two or more scaling points
or vessels. To achieve maximum benefits install MFC's
immediately upstream of each vessel or scaling point.
In Milk Evaporators and pasteurisers, scaling is so severe and
forms so fast, often within a few hours, that it can usually
only be reduced, rather than eliminated totally. These
plans operate under vacuum to increase the rate of evaporation
which in turn increases the rate of formation of scale crystals. One of the
main causes for the high rate of build up in a falling film
evaporator is the gentle flow of the fluid, under a vacuum, over the surface of
the heating tubes which is designed to achieve very high rates of evaporation.
The slow gentle flow is not strong enough to scour away the soft
build up of scale. The resulting precipitation of scale is predominantly
milk-stone, which is a complex of calcium phosphate mineral
salt. Organic scaling (proteins, lactose and fats) is also a
major issue in these systems. However, Scale-X MFC’s can reduce
the rate of both organic and inorganic scale build-up
significantly, which allows extended production run times,
reduced length of cleaning time and reduced chemical usage.
In the milk processing industry maintenance of plant is a major
and time consuming activity. Scale is a very significant problem that typically
requires daily treatment and sometimes a number of cleans per
day, as scale deposits build-up within hours, particularly in
the evaporator (concentrator) vessels.
Application of Scale-X MFC’s:- |
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Benefits
that can be achieved from the application of MFCs to fluid
process systems such as the dairy industry production processes
are:-
An evaporator which previously was cleaned every 14 hours
processing whey had its run time extended to 19 hours while
still halving the CIP time, and an evaporator processing skim
milk which previously ran 19 hours before CIP was extended to 36
hours. This technology has proved effective not only on full
cream milk, skim milk and whey products but also on fortified
milk products such as protein and sucrose fortified milk
products.
With FSUs ability to significantly extend run times between CIPs
and to reduce CIP time, the range of options for operating the
evaporator is:-
By reducing the rate of formation of scale and sludge
in these milk process systems, Scale-X MFC’s reduces the
nutrients and alters the environment in which thermophiles and
anaerobic spores live. This can result in a significant
reduction in the bacteria problem. This is discussed in the
Australian Dairy Foods Journal articles
August 1991 and
June 1993
reporting the use of Magnetic Technology’s Scale-X MFC’s on milk
evaporators in the production of milk powder. The factories were
able to meet the more stringent bacteria specifications when the
magnetic units were installed.
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