Summary

Coberco Zuivel bv in Arnhem, The Netherlands, is a dairy processing plant. Milk is processed into (condensed) milk, butter (-oil), milk powder and various other fresh dairy products such as custard and yoghurt. Water is used in the continuous custard preparation (CCP) process for cooling and cleaning (CIP) purposes. This water is extracted from the ground and treated as sewage after use. Government legislation discourages the use of ground water by means of high levies and withdrawal of the permit.
The CCP process is characterised by a great number of product charges and its consequential number of cleaning processes. Three types of cleaning can be distinguished, flushing, (chemical) CIP and cleaning at the end of the production hours.
In this project, the hot cooling water (70 °C) that is normally released in the sewer is used to clean the CCP process. By using hot water, steam is saved which normally heats up the water. The number of flushings is increased thereby reducing the number of chemical cleansings. Along with saving energy (costs) the costs of chemicals and water are reduced.
The total cost of adapting the piping is NLG 135,000. Total savings amount to NLG 15,000 for natural gas and NLG 15,000 for water and chemicals. The payback period is therefore approximately 4 years.
Applications for this type of project can be found in the dairy, food and beverages industry.