WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE PRODUCTION LINE WPC80
The full project included part of the preparation of liquid whey protein concentrate with 80% protein in dry matter, with a processing capacity of 2,000,000 litres of whey per day.
The realisation also included the concentration and preparation part of the lactose permeate concentrate remaining as a by-product after whey ultrafiltration.
The line comprises a series of dependent membrane filtration units, each separately representing a further process step:
- Ultrafiltration UF1 – two installations operating in parallel or separately, with a total capacity of 80,000 l/h of whey normalised to a level of 9% s.m. – preparation of WPC concentrate to a level of 55% protein in dry matter;
- MF microfiltration – microbiological protection of WPC55 concentrate, without the need for thermal treatment. Feed capacity 13,000 l/h WPC55 concentrate
- Ultrafiltration UF2 – final concentration of protein to a level of 80% in d.m. The process additionally uses specially prepared diafiltration water using reverse osmosis technology to remove residual lactose from the product and obtain an appropriate protein content. The finished concentrate with a dry matter content of min. 30 per cent dry matter can already be dried at this point or further ‘re-densified’ by nanofiltration.
- Nanofiltration NF to WPC concentrate – final thickening of the product to min. 34% dry matter. The process makes economic sense due to increased drying tower throughput and reduced drying costs.
- Nanofiltration NF for thickening the permeate generated in the WPC concentrate preparation processes, i.e. on UF1, UF2 and NF. The process is designed to thicken and partially demineralise the lactose permeate, directed to further processing ultimately for powder production.
- Reverse osmosis RO – all of the permeate generated by the nanofiltration process remains purified using RO technology. The permeate created by the RO-polisher route is pure water of good quality, with parameters that meet the requirements of membrane washing water and water used for dia-filtration and washing of the installation in CIP. The plant offers the possibility of recovering more than 80% of the product water.
The design task included the integration of all the equipment of the full process line – from the raw whey storage to the finished concentrate storage for spray drying. The responsibility of our team was the general execution of the ‘wet’ part of the plant for the production of whey proteins and the creation of a global process control and control programme.
