Process tool said to increase infant formula producers' production by 10%

Contract research centre NIZO Food Research has developed a tool called Process Scan that it says will enable infant formula producers to increase production capacity by an average of 10%. Widespread rollout of the tool could boost total world infant formula production by 100,000 tonnes per year.

The Process Scan is based on a detailed understanding of milk drying behaviour, stickiness and protein denaturation kinetics, combined with research into process-product interactions in evaporators and dryers. The tool will reportedly enable powder producers to optimise throughput and energy use while retaining good product properties.

The purported benefits of the tool include extended run times, prevention of fouling, increased process efficiency and improved product quality.

A plant run by the United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA) was experiencing problems with powder build-up. According to UDA CEO Keith Murfield, “NIZO’s Process Scan reduced our cleaning times, enabling us to increase our output of high-quality powder at reduced costs.”

The tool has also been used by Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd (DIAL), which works with local dairy processors to find solutions using NIZO’s predictive modelling tools. DIAL Process Performance Manager Mike Weeks said the company successfully used these tools to help a dairy powder producer.

“We applied lessons from the heating profile from one powder plant that successfully made a very difficult spec product. We converted that to another higher-capacity plant for the same company with some equipment modifications. This resulted in a significant capacity increase,” said Weeks.

For more information and a video about NIZO’s Process Scan, visit www.nizo.com/capacity.