GEA product recovery system for Mast-Jägermeister
On a 1,200 m² site, Mast-Jägermeister SE has built its new “South Production” plant, where the base ingredients are received, stored in tanks and blended. (Photo: GEA)
On a 1,200 m² site, Mast-Jägermeister SE has built its new “South Production” plant, where the base ingredients are received, stored in tanks and blended.
Flexible product changeover with GEA process technology
On a site covering 1,200 square meters, Mast-Jägermeister SE has built another production facility next to its existing “North Production” plant in Wolfenbüttel-Linden, where base ingredients are received, stored in tanks and blended. The aim is to react flexibly to additions to the product range and changes in demand.
“The new blending system has to meet the growing demands of Mast-Jägermeister SE in such a way that we can blend different products and make their changeover quick and flexible”, explains Dr. Berndt Finke, Head of Production and Raw Goods Management at the Lower Saxony-based company. “The technology used in the new plant ensures this – with a high level of precision and process reliability.”
Loss-free pigging process
Because Jägermeister will be blending a large number of ingredients for varying end products at its “South Production” plant, the base ingredients must be emptied with minimal loss into the respective target tank on their way through the widely branched pipe system. It is also important to avoid aroma carry-over, because even the smallest amounts of the intensely aromatic herbs and spices typical for these products could spoil a whole following batch. Therefore, the cleaning process is of particular importance. “We clean the pipelines with hot ultra-pure water when changing the product, which in turn has to be completely removed from the pipeline in order to exclude product dilutions with water. To do this, we use proven GEA pigging technology”, explains Uwe Kolkmann, GEA Project Manager.
However, hygienic pipe pigs made of plastic are not readily usable in areas of alcohol processing that are subject to explosion hazards: They could charge themselves electrically as they advance through the pipes at indefinable speeds to push out the alcoholic media. “For this reason, we have installed special hygienic solutions for Mast-Jägermeister SE in the areas of alcohol processing that are subject to explosion hazards”, says Kolkmann. “We only use nitrogen as a propellant for pigging alcoholic media. The system could explode with compressed air.” GEA implements the ATEX directives for water-polluting substances as well as for explosion protection.
Mast-Jägermeister SE decided in favor of GEA’s 7-component blending system for the new “South Production” plant. The image shows the valve nodes, pigging stations and leakage collection vessel. (Photo: GEA)
Leakage spaces are hermetically sealed
The directives state that switching leakages from valves must not be released into the atmosphere, so that alcohol from the high-percentage base ingredients cannot evaporate. “But if we want to safely separate hostile media such as cleaning media, we need process valves that ordinarily leak during switching”, says the Project Manager. “In order for the plant to be technically leak-proof permanently, we have designed leakage chambers that are hermetically sealed against the room atmosphere.” GEA achieves this by detecting switching leaks in a sealed collecting vessel on the process skid – this solution results from one of its product campaigns.
GEA's 7-component in-line blending system has a capacity of 30,000 liters per hour. (Photo: GEA)
Further Process Components applied at Mast Jägermeister SE
More than 300 hygienic valves and components as well as D-tec valves were installed in this plant.
- VARIVENT® valves type C, type N, type W
- ECOVENT® valves type N/ECO and type W/ECO
- VARINLINE® sight glasses
- Hygienic butterfly valves and hygienic leakage butterfly valves
- D-tec valves type N/DV
- Pigging stations
- Valve manifolds and swing panels
