Fat Standardization System Using Segmented Cream Pipes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fat standardization systems in the dairy industry face challenges in efficiently producing milk products with varying fat content due to variations in raw milk batches and require time and product losses to adjust to new fat content requirements, despite modern control technologies.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that separate raw milk into cream and skim milk, dividing the cream into multiple remixing pipes and a surplus pipe, allowing for the production of multiple fat standardized milk products with different fat contents by controlling flow rates using valves and a density meter to create a feed forward system, reducing mechanical stress on cream and enabling simultaneous production of products with different fat levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If modern control technology with sensors and valves is used to detect changes in fat content, then response time to changes is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cream flow into multiple separate remixing pipes (first, second, third cream remixing pipes) with individual control valves. This segmentation allows independent control of cream flow to different skim milk streams, enabling rapid adjustment to fat content changes without requiring complex centralized control of a single mixed stream.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a density meter to detect fat content changes in the cream before the cream is mixed with skim milk. By detecting changes in advance and having pre-positioned control valves in separate remixing pipes, the system can prepare and execute adjustments before the actual mixing occurs, reducing overall response time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system is designed to produce a variety of products with different fat content, then adaptability is improved, but time for adjusting the system and product losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates cream distribution into multiple independent remixing pipes, each with its own control valve. This allows the system to rapidly switch between different product specifications by adjusting individual valves rather than reconfiguring the entire system, reducing adjustment time and enabling quick transition between different fat content products.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamically adjustable control valves in each cream remixing pipe that can be independently regulated to achieve different fat content ratios. This dynamic control allows the system to adapt to different product requirements without physical reconfiguration, minimizing adjustment time and enabling flexible production of multiple product types.
3Manufacturing precision
If valves are placed in the main cream pipe to control flow rate, then control precision is improved, but mechanical stress on cream increases affecting product properties
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing a single valve in the main cream pipe, the system segments the cream flow into multiple separate remixing pipes with individual valves. This distributes the mechanical stress across multiple lower-pressure valve operations rather than requiring one high-pressure main valve, reducing overall mechanical stress on the cream while maintaining precise flow control through coordinated valve regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses separate remixing pipes as intermediaries between the main cream line and the skim milk mixing point. Control valves are placed in these intermediary remixing pipes rather than directly in the main cream flow, allowing precise flow control to be achieved through lower-pressure operations that minimize mechanical stress on the cream structure.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple sensors and valves are used to control fat standardization, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides cream control into multiple separate remixing pipes with individual control valves, allowing precise control of cream-to-skim-milk ratios for each product stream. This segmentation enables independent optimization of each product's fat content while using a modular approach that manages complexity through standardized repeating units rather than a single complex control system.
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 improves response time to fat content changes, reduces product losses, and allows for cost-effective production of milk products with varying fat contents, minimizing mechanical stress on cream and enabling efficient production of multiple products with different fat levels.
Implementation Method 1
raw milk is separated into cream and skim milk by using a separator, such as a centrifugal separator
Implementation Method 2
A further advantage with this is that the feed forward system may be based on a density meter in the main cream pipe
Data Source
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Figure 2
AI summary
A method (200) for producing a fat standardized milk product, comprising separating (202) raw milk (RM) into cream (CR) and skim milk (SM), wherein the cream is fed to a main cream pipe (106) and the skim milk is fed to a skim milk pipe (116, 118), dividing (204) the cream (CR) in the main cream pipe (106) into a cream remixing pipe (110, 112) and a cream surplus pipe (114), combining (206) the cream (CR) in the cream remixing pipe (110, 112) and the skim milk (SM) in the skim milk pipe (116, 118) into the fat standardized milk product (MP1, MP2), wherein the fat standardized milk product is fed to a product pipe (130, 132), wherein controlling (208) a flow rate in the cream remixing pipe (110, 112) by regulating a valve (128) placed in the cream surplus pipe (114).