Global systems supplier, GEA Group, has released an energy efficient evaporator for the dairy industry. The Dairy Evaporator eZero operates with zero CO2 emissions, designed to meet the increasing demands of the dairy industry.
Evaporators are one of the largest energy consumers in dairies, used in the production of whole and skim milk powder, infant formula and whey powder. Reducing their energy consumption can have a significant impact on energy costs and overall plant sustainability.
GEA has developed the new eZero Dairy Evaporator as an alternative to conventional mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) evaporators. The eZero reduces energy consumption by up to 60 per cent and eliminate CO2 emissions for an industry facing high energy prices and stricter climate targets.
Thermal vapour recompression (TVR) is typically applied to multi-effect evaporators powered by live steam, while MVR is more energy efficient and uses electricity to recompress product vapour in single-effect evaporators.
Both technologies rely on steam for heating products before evaporation. The eZero evaporator is compatible with MVR systems and can also be applied to TVR evaporators after conversion to MVR technology. It is also adaptable to new and existing systems.
The eZero evaporator integrates an ammonia heat pump to transfer heat from the vapor at the condenser to a low-pressure steam generator or flash vessel. This process naturally creates two loops of water: a cold loop (approximately 35-45°C) that cools the condenser water loop, and a hot loop (approximately 80-90°C) that provides heat for the heat treatment system. Hot water is flashed to produce low-pressure steam, which is then recompressed to higher pressure for efficient product heating.
GEA supplies food and beverage equipment to companies around Australia, with its main headquarters located near Melbourne Airport, Victoria.
