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On-Line Viscometer Improves Quality Control In Milk Powder Production
The Dairy Products Research Center in Co. Cork, Ireland, has given a four-star rating to an on-line viscometer from Hydramotion Ltd for its contribution to quality control in the production of milk powder¹.
The Hydramotion viscometer was the only one in its class to achieve such a high rating.
Advantages highlighted by the researchers include “high immunity to plant vibration, ease of cleaning and low maintenance requirement, having no moving parts”.
Milk powder is produced by the process of “spray-drying”, where concentrated milk is forced at high pressure through very fine nozzles into a chamber of warm air. This process is widely used in the food and chemicals industries for making products as diverse as baby foods, coffee, soup mixes and dyestuffs. The efficiency of drying is largely determined by the degree of atomisation, which is directly proportional to the viscosity of the feed solution. Thus, the viscosity of the milk at the atomisation step has a crucial effect on the characteristics of the resulting milk powder.
The Hydramotion viscometer is ideal for this process, as it combines a hygienic clean-in-place design with high sensitivity and excellent repeatability. Viscosity is measured continuously in real time, ensuring that changes are immediately detected. Importantly, measurements are unaffected by changes in flow rate or the presence of suspended solids or gases, which often cause problems for other viscosity measurement techniques.
The single solid-rod sensor eliminates “dead” spaces where microorganisms could propagate and presents minimal possibilities of fouling. As the sensor is a robust all-welded 316 stainless steel construction it is capable of coping with hostile process conditions such as cleaning agents, while the measurement technology naturally rejects plant vibration and noise.
Installed at the pre-atomiser point, the Hydramotion viscometer offers significantly better control of the atomisation process, leading to reductions in wastage, lower energy consumption and better control of product texture, bulk density and moisture content.
¹ O’Callaghan, Schulz, O’Donnell et al., Improved Control in Dairy Processing (On-line Sensor Control for Milk Powder and Cheese Manufacture), DPRC No. 42, 2001.