SOUTH African operations and maintenance service provider to the steam and boiler sector, Associated Energy Services (AES), supports the dairy industry to be as efficient and sustainable as possible, says AES Commercial Director, Dennis Williams.
Steam support for seasonality
“As suppliers of steam, we need to ensure that plant is well maintained and that any standby plant is ready to continue the steam supply at a moment’s notice, as the manufacturer cannot afford to be unable to process peak seasonal milk flows which it receives daily,” Williams says.
Milk has a very short shelf life, and wastage of milk which has already been purchased from farmers – and cannot be processed – increases production costs.
Safe, clean steam
“This requires carefully considered water treatment that relies on the use of food grade chemicals. Temperature too is critical, especially when it comes to pasteurisation. Dairy processing requires constant steam pressure, to ensure that equipment such as spray driers can operate efficiently on an ongoing basis,” Williams advises.
AES also provides its Remote Monitoring System (RMS) which enables dairy clients to monitor temperatures and pressure flows.
Steam updates via RMS
“In this way, clients can see what is happening on our side of the fence with regards to the steam control parameters,” he notes.
“Our SLA (Service Level Agreement) specifically addresses steam pressure requirements, as this is a good indication in terms of the dryness fraction – and, specifically, the temperature of the steam. This then becomes the main control input into the clients’ process. Furthermore, if clients are getting the right control inputs, they will potentially put components such as pressure-reducing stations in place. This ensures that steam pressure is in the control range of the pasteurisers and the other equipment they are using,” he explains.
Diverse dairies
“A dairy that is only producing milk will have different requirements to a facility that is producing cheeses and yoghurts.
In addition, the state of technology and continuous improvement practices will depend on the plant itself” he observes.
Closely aligned with this is sustainability. Williams says some top dairies are taking this extremely seriously, in response to pressure from high-profile retail clients.
Sustainable, ‘greener’ dairies
A major dairy in the Eastern Cape recently installed a second boiler fuelled by biomass. AES has assisted operationally to identify areas which may require adjustment to ensure efficiency and reliability. AES operates the steam plant at this dairy including a boiler that uses biogas harvested from its wastewater.
AES has also provided site based expertise, employing an additional millwright to facilitate the generation of ultra-clean steam needed in some of this dairy’s highly specialised production processes.
