GERMANY – GEA Group has introduced an innovative solution for the dairy industry with the launch of the eZero Dairy Evaporator, designed to operate with zero CO₂ emissions.
The new evaporator aims to address the growing concerns of high energy prices and stricter climate targets within the dairy sector.
Evaporators are known to be among the largest energy consumers in dairy plants, particularly in the production of whole and skim milk powder, infant formula, and whey powder.
A report by GEA highlights the potential of this technology to significantly reduce energy consumption, offering a promising way to tackle both energy costs and sustainability.
The eZero Dairy Evaporator offers substantial energy savings of up to 60%, while also eliminating CO₂ emissions entirely, compared to conventional mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) evaporators.
According to GEA, this innovative solution aligns with the company’s commitment to phase out reliance on fossil fuels by transitioning to renewable energy sources.
The system is designed to empower dairy producers to operate more sustainably, without compromising on product quality.
GEA’s new evaporator is compatible with MVR systems and can be adapted for use in existing and new systems.
For dairy plants already utilizing thermal vapour recompression (TVR) systems, the eZero offers a conversion solution.
The thermocompressor in the TVR system can be replaced with a standard compressor, allowing the evaporator’s calandria and high-speed mechanical compressor to be reused for the evaporation process.
This change is expected to reduce steam consumption and CO₂ emissions by moving away from fossil fuels.
Additionally, the eZero evaporator incorporates an ammonia heat pump that transfers heat from the vapor in the condenser to a low-pressure steam generator.
This process naturally creates two separate loops of water: a cold loop, which cools the condenser water, and a hot loop, which provides heat for the heat treatment system.
The hot water is then flashed to produce low-pressure steam, which is recompressed to higher pressure to efficiently heat the product.
“By using this system, dairy producers can not only reduce their environmental impact but also improve the overall efficiency of their production process,” said a spokesperson from GEA.
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