Page 74 - Ameft Journal 2021-III

TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY GEA serum separator curbs losses at Amul Dairy Continuing its tradition of custom- er-centric, innovative solutions, GEA has engineered a unique Ghee processing separator for its customer Amul Dairy, the market leader in the Indian dairy sector and one of the larg- est milk unions in the state of Guja- rat, India. Thanks to the customized GEA serum Separator, Amul Dairy has reduced fat losses by 85% and increased Ghee production by 30% with no additional investment in the already existing plant. Amit Vyas, Managing Director of Amul Dairy, says “GEA’s custom de- signed centrifuge has transformed our Ghee production. After installing the GEA separator, we were able to dra- matically reduce our fat losses – from 2% down to 0.3% in the serum part – while increasing Ghee production capacity by almost 30%. We achieved our ROI in less than a year, with the added benefit of improved safety, hy- giene and energy efficiency.” Custom-made groundbreaking solu- tion for Amul The GEA team worked closely with Amul Dairy to develop a customized solution, taking time to thoroughly un- derstand the nature of the entire pro- cess. “One pre-condition for a perfectly 74 AMEFT 3 2021 The groundbreaking GEA serum Separator was developed based on Amul Dairy’s requirements for the local market with a capacity of 3,000 liters per hour. performing centrifuge is a detailed un- derstanding of the overall process, the particular requirements at every single step and finally the seamless integra- tion of the centrifuge into the line. Amul’s previous Ghee production unit had a conventional pre-stratification setup which resulted in high-fat losses on the order of 2%. With thousands of liters of butter melted every day, the 2% fat loss was significantly impacting their bottom line. The traditional setup also posed operational challenges and was problematic with regard to safety, hygiene and energy consumption.”, said Thomas Veer, Product Manager Sales, Separation & Flow Technologies Division at GEA. GEA developed its groundbreak- ing serum Separator based on Amul Dairy’s requirements for the local market. With a capacity of 3,000 li- ters per hour, the separator allows Amul to bypass the conventional pre-stratification setup and scale up its production to generate an addi- tional volume of six metric tons per day with no additional equipment or investment in the plant. Success and sustainability into the future Amul Dairy’s new installation has reduced the load on its effluent treat- ment plant (ETP), resulting in large savings in overall power and fuel con- sumption and benefiting Amul Dairy’s sustainability initiatives. The GEA se- rum Separator also helps reduce the turn around time of the production process. “GEA and Amul enjoy a longstanding partnership, with GEA supplying some of Amul’s largest capacity processing plants and equipment,” says Deepak Singh, Vice President Separation & Flow Technologies Business, GEA India. “The GEA serum Separator marks yet another step forward in our relation- ship. This machine is future-proof; the robust engineering allows the serum Separator to function as a standalone unit or be integrated with future au- tomation solutions to serve a growing market. And the installation is more energy efficient overall.” India produces around 5 million metric tons of Ghee every year; it is the second- largest milk-based product consumed in India after curd. Although Ghee is largely produced in the unorganized sector, the market penetration of the organized sector is increasing gradually. The Covid-19 pandemic has further boosted the demand for packaged food products, including packaged Ghee. (Source: GEA) www.ameft.com