Cheese Decanter Centrifuge Whey Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cheese production methods result in significant whey losses and suboptimal whey quality, leading to issues such as yield losses and problems in further processing due to high cheese dust content in the whey.
Innovation Solution
The use of a decanter with a two-gear drive and differential speed adjustment, along with a throttle device, replaces traditional containers for cheese curd processing, allowing for precise control of the separation process to minimize cheese dust and enhance whey quality, reducing whey losses and improving downstream processing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If traditional containers and press tanks are used for curd processing, then the process is simple, but whey losses are significant and whey quality is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical press tanks with a decanter centrifuge that uses centrifugal force to separate whey from curd. This substitution enables more efficient whey removal while maintaining operational simplicity, directly reducing whey losses without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a decanter centrifuge that operates by changing the physical parameters of the curd-whey mixture through centrifugal force. By controlling rotational speed and feed rate, the system achieves optimal separation, reducing whey losses and improving whey quality simultaneously.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional pressing methods are used, then equipment requirements are minimal, but whey quality is poor due to high cheese dust content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces simple mechanical pressing with a decanter centrifuge that uses centrifugal separation. This allows for precise control of whey removal and curd separation, achieving high whey quality with low cheese dust content while keeping the equipment design relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a decanter centrifuge with adjustable rotational speed and differential speed control. These dynamic parameters allow the system to optimize separation performance for different curd types and conditions, ensuring high whey quality while maintaining operational flexibility without excessive equipment complexity.
3Productivity
If conventional processing containers are used, then space requirements are sufficient, but downstream processing efficiency is reduced due to high cheese dust in whey
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional containers with a decanter centrifuge system that uses centrifugal force for separation. This substitution produces high-quality whey with low cheese dust content, significantly improving downstream processing efficiency such as whey skimming and filtration, while the equipment complexity remains manageable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces whey losses, improves whey quality, and enhances the efficiency and hygiene of the cheese-making process, enabling better utilization of whey resources and reducing operational costs and space requirements.
Implementation Method 1
The curd-whey mixture pre-cut in this way is conveyed into a decanter (step c), where further whey is separated from the curd (Fig. 6)
Implementation Method 2
the feed quantity, the speed and/or the differential speed of the decanter is regulated depending on the quality of the clear phase - whey
Implementation Method 3
it is additionally advantageous if the decanter used is provided with a throttle device in the region of its liquid outlet, which allows this liquid outlet to be throttled
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing cheese, wherein a gel-like curd/whey mixture is produced from dairy milk (skimmed milk/cream mixture) by coagulation, the curd/whey mixture is then cut in cheese processors, wherein the whey is separated from the curd, the curd is then conveyed into a decanter - a solid bowl worm centrifuge, where it is separated in further drained curd and whey, and the curd that is conveyed out of the decanter is pressed into cheese.