Food & Drink Process & Packaging Issue 31 2020 | Page 6

GEMÜ Valves in UHT Dairy Products Test Plant - Thermal treatment of milk , yoghurt & blancmange

GEMÜ is a global market leader in providing solutions for sterile applications in the pharmaceuticals , foodstuffs and biotechnology industries . To extend the shelf life of dairy products , processes such as fermentation , pasteurization , homogenization , mixing and filling are used and contamination must be avoided . Creating an UHT-ESL ( Ultra High Temperature – Extended Shelf Life ) testing plant with minimal process deadleg was one of the primary goals and together with plant engineers , GEMÜ developed and integrated the latest valve designs and components and selected the most suitable valves for the processes . GEMÜ stainless steel multiport valve blocks are used in addition to Globe , Ball and Aseptic Diaphragm valves .
GEMÜ multi-port valve blocks significantly reduce space requirements which enables an extremely compact plant whilst still offering excellent access for servicing work thanks to its modular design . The design also focused on the CIP and SIP capabilities that would allow for cleaning and sterilizing processes without significant disassembly of the process .
UHT PLANT The plant thermally treats the milk and highly viscous products such as yoghurt or puddings using different processes . It can process batches ranging from 10 to 4000L . Heating of the product up to 150 ° C is carried out indirectly , with the provision of steam infusion heating . Heat holding times of up to ten minutes can be achieved for all usual temperature levels . The unavoidable cooling of product during extended heat holding periods is counteracted by clever positioning of the water heaters in the holding sections and appropriate insulation .
GEMÜ PRODUCTS GEMÜ Diaphragm valves ( 650 BioStar and 618 ), designed for optimized
GEMÜ 711 Ball valves and GEMÜ 550 Angle Seat Globe valves with 1434 digital positioners . This ensures that all high points are vented and all low points are drained during steam sterilization of the aseptic tank coupling points .
The EHEDG-certified seal system of the GEMÜ diaphragm valves prevents additional deadlegs – a contamination risk .
The customized GEMÜ multi-port valve blocks allow multiple valves and piping / fittings to be combined into a single compact unit . This reduces the number of welds , speeds up assembly and improves plant reliability through the avoidance of possible leakage / contamination points . This range of design-specific measures have thus allowed the best possible hygiene concept to be achieved on this new plant .
10 Olympic Way , Warrington , Cheshire , UK , WA2 0YL 01925 824044 | enquiries @ gemu . co . uk www . gemu . co . uk