Anhydro has announced an $18 million contract for a new 100t/day permeate powder production line for Arla Foods Ingredients (AFISA) in Argentina. Featuring water recycling, energy recovery, noise and emissions control, the new line is scheduled to go on stream in March 2010.
Based in the small town of Porteña, some 600km north of Buenos Aires, AFISA is a joint venture between Arla Foods Ingredients of Denmark, with production facilities in 18 countries worldwide, and SanCor Cooperativas Unidas Limitada (SanCor CUL), a leading dairy processor in Argentina. Arla Foods Ingredients supplied the technology and know-how for producing specialized milk-based ingredients, while SanCor CUL supplied the high quality raw materials.
Adding value to a by-product
AFISA decided to extend their whey processing plant with a new powder processing line for production of various whey products, including whey permeate. The new production line complies with the objective of producing added-value whey and protein mix products, including the permeate by-product that results from production of high-value whey protein concentrate. The latter is achieved by converting the liquid permeate into a powder with better transport and storage attributes.
High-quality whey and permeate powders are used in a large variety of applications such as bakery, confectionary, dairy, baby food, meat and fish processing industries, and are in high demand in South America.
The contract for the new plant will increase AFISA’s processing capacity by up to 100t of powder a day. It includes evaporation, crystallization, drying, an outlet air filtration system, and a CIP system. The whey and permeate powders from the new line will be non-caking, high-quality, food grade powder products.
Environmental and sustainability issues
AFISA maintains very high environmental and sustainability standards. “One of our reasons for selecting Anhydro for this project was their innovative environmental protection and sustainability technologies including energy recovery, water recycling, waste water reduction, noise reduction, and emissions control,” said AFISA CEO Bjarne Schack Pedersen. “The new Anhydro energy-optimized dehumidification system also played an important role in our decision.”
“We are looking forward to providing a technically highly advanced production platform for an important ingredient, which is in high demand throughout the region,” said Anhydro’s regional sales manager, Svend Erik Bøjgaard.
The new plant will be delivered, installed and commissioned in cooperation with Anhydro’s local sales agent, Maarten Dirkzwager, and Anhydro’s local technical collaboration partner.