Trade press release
November 11, 2024
Copyright: Molkerei Ammerland
Membrane filtration systems are essential in dairy processing, separating components such as whey or extracting water without thermal stress. At Ammerland’s cheese production site, liquid whey, a valuable byproduct, is pre-concentrated in GEA reverse osmosis units before being evaporated and spray-dried into whey powder.
Previously, the filtration systems were cleaned according to fixed parameters, with pumps operating at full capacity throughout the cleaning process. This approach consumed a significant amount of water and energy. Now, the new GEA tools optimize the process intelligently. GEA Smart Filtration CIP pulses the pumps to reduce energy consumption, while GEA Smart Filtration Flush continuously monitors water quality during the cleaning cycles, stopping the process as soon as no cleaning agents remain in the system. This prevents chemicals from entering the product.
“These results far exceed our expectations,” said Armin Tjards, Director Production of Molkerei Ammerland. “The significant savings are helping us achieve our sustainability goals while boosting the efficiency of our production processes.”
A key aspect of these savings is the precise control of the cleaning process. By constantly monitoring water quality, Smart Flush ensures that only the necessary amount of water is used, while simultaneously reducing wastewater. This technology saves the dairy an average of 15% of cleaning time and thus increases plant availability. GEA Smart Filtration CIP reduces pump energy consumption to a quarter of previous levels, without impairing cleaning performance.
“The principle is similar to that of a modern washing machine,” explained Morten A. Hansen, Director of Membrane Filtration at GEA. “The pump operates in intervals, allowing the cleaning chemicals to work more effectively while using less energy.”
For the Ammerland dairy in Wiefelstede, northern Germany, GEA installed the Smart Filtration CIP and Flush software, which makes the cleaning processes of the filtration systems significantly more energy and water efficient. Source: GEA/Mathias Jensen Stenholt
For the first time, GEA’s service team installed the software on two of its own older existing systems and one from another manufacturer. The retrofits were carried out during ongoing operations. The introduction of the GEA tools across the four membrane plants at Molkerei Ammerland brings not only environmental benefits but also significant financial savings. Annual cost reductions of around 180,000 Euro deliver a return on investment in less than two years. “These results demonstrate that sustainable engineering solutions can be both environmentally friendly and financially advantageous,” Hansen added. The combination of resource efficiency and cost savings strengthens the dairy’s competitiveness and supports its environmental targets.
The successful implementation of these digital technologies highlights the potential of GEA Smart Filtration CIP and Flush for existing and new filtration systems. GEA plans to expand the use of these tools in the dairy and food industries to optimize further production facilities. Both tools are part of GEA’s service portfolio for system upgrades and modernization, including non-GEA systems.
A GEA é uma das maiores fornecedoras para a indústria de processamento de alimentos e para uma ampla variedade de outras indústrias que geraram receitas consolidadas de aproximadamente EUR 4,9 bilhões em 2019.