Milk Powder Production Using Maturation and Reverse Osmosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing milk drying processes for producing powdered milk are energy-intensive and require significant infrastructure, limiting their accessibility to farmers and making it challenging for milk processing actors in the food industry to maintain profitability while ensuring fair compensation for farmers and reasonable prices to consumers, especially in areas with limited livestock farming size or agricultural facilities.
Innovation Solution
A process involving maturation and multi-stage reverse osmosis followed by spray drying, allowing for the production of high-quality powdered milk with a dry matter content of over 95% by weight, where whole milk fractions are matured at production sites, pre-concentrated at collection sites, and then concentrated at distant drying facilities, reducing energy consumption and collection frequency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If milk is collected and processed immediately after production, then the presence of germs and bacteria is reduced, but the collection must be carried out frequently and within a limited radius, increasing transportation costs and energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing a maturation step where milk fractions are stored at production sites for a period (e.g., 24-48 hours) before collection. This preliminary storage allows milk to undergo natural maturation processes that reduce microbial content, enabling less frequent collections while maintaining or improving milk quality. The system collects matured milk fractions rather than immediately processing fresh milk, thereby reducing transportation frequency and energy consumption.
2Loss of energy
If multi-stage reverse osmosis is used for concentration, then energy consumption is reduced and transportation costs are lowered, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the concentration process into multiple reverse osmosis stages with increasing pressure levels. Instead of using a single high-pressure stage, the system uses sequential stages (e.g., 10-20 bar, then 40-60 bar, then 80-100 bar) to progressively concentrate milk fractions. This segmented approach reduces overall energy consumption compared to single-stage high-pressure systems, while the modular structure makes the complexity manageable through standardized stage design.
3Productivity
If milk fractions are matured at production sites before collection, then collection frequency can be reduced and transportation optimized, but the storage time and potential quality degradation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by controlling storage temperature and pH conditions during the maturation phase at production sites. The system maintains milk fractions at specific temperature ranges (e.g., 4-8°C) and monitors pH changes to ensure quality stability during the maturation period. These controlled parameter changes allow extended storage times necessary for reduced collection frequency while preventing quality degradation and microbial growth.
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 process enables sustainable and profitable industrial-scale powdered milk production, even in areas with limited agricultural infrastructure, by reducing transportation costs and energy consumption, maintaining product quality, and increasing the number of production sites that can supply milk for drying, while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
Implementation Method 1
a passage of milk from a milk batch in a first stage of a reverse osmosis system forming a first pre-concentrate, a passage of an (x-1)th pre-concentrate in an xth stage of said reverse osmosis system, each xth stage of said reverse osmosis system forming an xth pre-concentrate
Implementation Method 2
a spray drying step of the concentrated milk in a drying installation at said drying site with obtaining milk powder having a dry matter content of more than 95% by weight relative to the weight of milk powder
Data Source
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AI summary
A process for producing milk powder from matured milk in which a drying tower is fed by at least one collection site located at a distance D, greater than a distance C separating the milk production site from the collection site.