Asian J. Dairy & Food Res.

, 34(2) 2015: 98-103 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE

Print ISSN:0971-4456 / Online ISSN:0976-0563 www.arccjournals.com

Energy consumption during manufacturing of different dairy products in a

commercial dairy plant: A case study
P.K. Prabhakar*, P.P. Srivastav and K. Murari1
Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering,
Indian Institute Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal–721 302 (India).
Received: 18-08-2014 Accepted: 19-03-2015 DOI: 10.5958/0976-0563.2015.00020.2
ABSTRACT
The purpose behind the energy optimization and management for dairy plant is to control the energy consumption for getting
the overall maximum efficiency. For a case study of energy consumption in manufacturing of dairy products, a multi-product
dairy plant was selected. The product technology and dairy operations of different dairy products were explored under batch
process to identify the high energy consuming centers termed as critical control point (CCPs). Various equations for heat and
mass transfer, flow rate, electrical consumption, were used to find the actual utilities consumption (steam, water, electrical
energy) in dairy operations. The data of this case study was compared with previous study and found that the energy conserving
status was declining. It is, therefore, essential that existing plant should be well instrumented and plant manufactures be
encouraged to give more accurate service consumption figures so that energy audit can be made accurately.

Key words: Commercial dairy plant, Critical control points (CCPs), Dairy products, Data Energy consumption, Utilities.

INTRODUCTION consumption is also due to inefficient use of dairy equipment

Energy is the most critical element for economic
development as its optimized use has become an issue of
International importance (Katre and Murari, 2007). Dairy and
other food processing industry usea high amount of energy
in processing, manufacture and storage of various products
due to obsolete technology (Janzekovic, 2009 and Charan
and Prasad, 1993). Energy in dairy plants directly refers to
the utility’s generation and consumption such as steam,
refrigeration, electricity and water. Water and steam are used
as heat transferring mediumin dairy operations. Water
consumption is very high in most of the dairy operations (Hall
1957, Patil 1977, Gedam 1996, Upadhyay 1998, Pandya
1998) Dairy industry consists of various sections like raw
milk reception, processing section, products section, storage
and dispatch section. It is estimated that one third of the energy
used by the dairy industry is actually in the processing
operations and the refrigeration plant accounts about 50-60%
of total electrical consumption (Bhadania, 1998) as average
refrigeration is most energy input (Arunachalam, 1982 and
Rivet, 1988).In order to run the plant economically and
efficiently, accurate data on consumption of above mentioned
utilities must be available for examining and then improving
the energy consumption because of an increase in the energy
*Corresponding author’s e-mail: pkprabhakariitkgp@gmail.com.
1
Department of Dairy Engineering Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Dairy Science and Technology, Patna, Bihar (Bihar).
(Kumar and Anand, 2003).
The conservation activities are generally described
as a series of actions to stop the wastage by modifying the
systems, by rectifying or replacing the equipment. (Kumar,
2008). By applying these techniques in the dairy industries,
the cost of dairy products can be reduced.The new
technological equipment like CIP system in food processing
industry, replacing the depreciated one, will improve the
competitiveness and efficiency of the companies’ business
activities and will promote fulfillment of the requirements of
the district European Union (EU) legislation also (Janzekovic,
et al. 2009).
The engineering and technical approach to
determine the productivity and plant efficiency on a daily
basis has not been carried out as it has been in other industries.
For all these practices, it becomes essential to collect data on
energy required for manufacture of different dairy products
and to analyze the same to identify the high energy consuming
centers termed as “Critical Control Points (CCPs)” (Verma,
1988) for effective energy conservation and management.
This informative and generative work will help the Dairy Plant
Authority to take appropriate action for effective and solid
energy conservation and management. This data can also be
 Volume 34, Issue 1, 2015
used for suitable energy generating equipments and to adopt
measures to reduce the energy utilization in the processing
of dairy products. The energy crisis has become a big issue
for the entire world. Hence, there is a need to study on energy
conservation techniques. Keeping in view all these aspects,
a project has been undertaken to study the energy conservation
in a commercial dairy plant.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant details: The study was made with a commercial dairy
plant having the milk reception capacity of approx. 200000
litre per day.The plant is mainly engaged in the processing of
fluid milk, which is marketed under different names depending
upon the fat content viz. Gold (6%), Shkati (4.5%), Cow milk
(3.5%), Healthee (3%), Smart (1.5%). Apart from these, Plant
also manufactures ghee, peda, table butter, paneer, ice-cream,
dahi, lassi and matha etc.
Measuring Techniques
Temperature, pressure and flow measurement: The energy
consumed in the various dairy operations was evaluated by
measuring the different parameters like temperature, pressure,
flow measurement and steam measurement. Temperature at
various points was measured by using a temperature recorder
and dial thermometer already connected and fitted with the
equipments. The place where no automated system for
temperature measurement, there temperature was measured
by using a mercury thermometer. Pressure was measured by
pressure gauge already connected with the specific equipment
and pipeline.
99
system. The steam flow ratewas calculated by the following
equation (Das, 2005).
(1)
Where, Ws is the steam flow rate (kg/h), Wpis water
or product flow rate (kg/h), Cp is the specific heat of water or
product, (kJ/kg-oC), T1 is the initial temperature of hot or
product (oC), T2 is finaltemperature heated water or product,
Hs is enthalpy of steam at an injection pressure (kJ/kg), Cpc is
the specific heat of condensate (kJ/kg-oC). This method was
employed in milk and cream pasteurizer hot water heating.
Condensate weighing method: Especially this method is
used where steam is supplied for heating surface. The amount
of condensate was taken as the measuring parameter for
determining the steam used. The amount of condensate
coming out was measured in a known time. When condensate
was discharged from the trap, the surplus heat in the
condensate caused a flash of steam. This flash per kg of
condensate was taken as a correction factor corresponding
to the pressure.
Lyle (1947) gave the correction factor for flashing
to be applied to condensate that was being discharged at
atmospheric pressure in Table 1.
Calculation methods: The different procedures, methods and
mathematical formulae employed in the calculation of utilities
consumption in various sections and equipments are discussed
below.

Flow measurement is an important parameter for Water: Water is mostly used for cleaning purposes like
the calculation of milk, cold water and hot water for the cleaning of equipments, storage tanks, cans, crates etc. in the
various operations. Various techniques and methods were used various sections. The consumed water was calculated by
to determine the flow rate of milk, cold and hot water. Any of multiplying the water flow rate and time required for cleaning.
the following two methods may be used. Steam properties: Steam consumption in the khoa, paneer
and ice-cream mixing was determined by the condensate
Bucket method: In this method the flow rate was measured weighing method.The steam pressure at various heating points
by collecting a quantity of liquid in a container in specified of the equipments and the pipeline was taken from the steam
time. In each, two or threereplications were made and the gauge fitted with equipments. Considering steam used in the
average was taken from the result for calculation. This method dairy
was used to measure the flow rate of water in can washing TABLE 1: Correction factor for flash steam
operations, in milk and cream pasteurizer.
Pressure Flash Pressure Flash
Tank level method: In this method, the basic principle (kgf/cm2) (kg/kg of (kgf/cm2) (kg/kg of
involved is the change in the level of the tank was noted in condensate) condensate)
afixed time. The mass flow rate was calculated from tank 0.3518 0.0161 3.165 0.0918
diameter or cross sectional area and density. 0.7025 0.0294 3.510 0.0987
1.0530 0.0410 4.220 0.1109
Steam measurement:The following two methods were 1.4050 0.0512 4.925 0.1226
employed to measure the steam rate in various sections. 1.7580 0.0607 5.625 0.1334
2.1190 0.0692 6.325 0.1436
Enthalpy balanced method:The method was used to 2.4650 0.0772 7.040 0.1530
determine the steam consumption in the direct steam injection 2.8150 0.0843 - -
100 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY AND FOOD RESEARCH
plant is saturated. Thus, the temperature, enthalpy, and latent
heat of saturated steam at its absolute pressure Ps (Pa) would
be calculated by following empirical equations developed
from the data given in the steam table
(2)
(3)
(4)
Where, Ts is temperature of saturated steam at Ps
o presented and discussed. On the basis of the product
( C), Ls is latent heat of saturated steam (kJ/kg), Hs is enthalpy
of saturated steam at Ps (oC) and Ps is saturation steam pressure
(kgf/cm2)
Refrigeration: The refrigeration of product in cold storage
is done by direct expansion of air chillers employed in the
dairy industry. Refrigeration load, in this case is calculated
by:
(5)
Where, M = Refrigerant mass flow rate (kg/h), D =
compressor bore diameter (m), L is compressor stroke (m),N
is the rpm of compressor, n is the number of cylinder; Vg is
specific volume of refrigerant at suction (m3/kg). The net
refrigerant effect was calculated by the formula (Gear, 1977)
(6)
Where, Q is a net refrigeration effect (kJ/kg), Hf is
enthalpy at the discharge of expansion valve (kJ/kg),Hg is
enthalpy at the suction of the compressor (kJ/kg) and total
refrigeration effect (kJ/h) is given by M*Q. Chilling of raw
milk and pasteurized milk by using chilled water and the
refrigeration load are calculated by:
f (7)
Where, Q is refrigeration load(MJ/kg),Mis chilled
water mass flow rate (kg/h), Cp is the specific heat of chilled
water, a T1 is the initial temperature of chilled water (oC), T2
= final temperature of chilled water (oC) and f is a factor
which relates the heat loss in the chilled water pipeline while
conveying it from the chilled water tank to the equipment
(the value is taken as 1.1)
Electricity: The energy meter is an instrument which can
directly measure electrical energy consumption. However,
the electrical consumption may be calculated from watt or
HP rating and time of operation of drive motors of pump,
conveyers, agitators, blowers, and fans. And the technique
can be used for lighting devices.
Consumed energy, unit of kWh=
wattrating of the devices*no of hours used
----------------------------------------------------------- (8)
1000
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the study carried out for the
consumption of water, steam, refrigeration and electricity in
the manufacturing of peda, dahi, ghee, ice-cream, lassi, butter,
pasteurized milk, and paneer in a commercial dairy plant are
technology of aforesaid products, the required utilities
consumptions were checked and calculated. After examining
and analyzing the data, the possible recommended
conservation techniques were presented.
Water consumption: The water consumption in different
operations and sections such as cleaning purpose, products
section, different storage and processing section was
calculated and discussed separately. The calculated value and
major findings of water consumption has been presented in
Table 2 and 3 respectively. In milk reception section,
maximum water consumption was found in case of crate
washing while minimum in tanker washing.
The water consumption study was done on daily
average no. of cans, tanker and crates. It is clear from the
table 2 and result that the amount of water used per can
washing was found to be more compared to the previous
study (Gedam, 1966). Water consumed in the tanker and crate
washing was found less compared to data presented by
Gedam, 1996, which can be improved by implementing a
complete mechanized washing process. The quantity of water
used for washing the cans after caustic washing is the major
cause for high consumption, so it requires significantly good
worker efficiency, optimal number of flushing, control on
water flow rate during flushing and timing.
Table 3 indicates that the water consumed in
pasteurizer cleaning in the plant was found 9920 liter per
cleaning where as 5548 litres in the case of cream pasteurizer.
TABLE 2: Water consumption in milk reception section.
Particulars Water Water
consumption consumption
(l/day) (l/per entity)
Can washing 8814.00 7.98
(1105 cans per day)
Tanker washing 5378.66 316.39
(17 tankers per day)
Crate washing 11467.00 3.08
(3723 crates per day)
 Volume 34, Issue 1, 2015 101
TABLE 3: Water consumption in processing section and TABLE 4: Steam and thermal energy consumption milk
storage tank cleaning reception section for cleaning and sanitizing.
Particulars No ofcleaning Water consumption Particulars No. of Steam Thermal
(l/cleaning) entities consumption Energy
Milk pasteurizer cleaning 2 9920.00 kg/entity (kJ/entity)
Cream pasteurizer cleaning 2 5548.00 Can sanitization 1105 0.351 943.24
Water required for cleaning 4 1240.00 Tanker 17 3.210 8626.27
of RMTs Crate 3723 0.234 628.83
Cream tank cleaning 1 2347.00
Pre pack 2 6717.60
Lassi culturing tank 1 1600.00
Flavoring tank 1 43.66
Aging tank 1 906.00

Water consumption in various tanks like aging, flavoring, lassi

culturing, RMTs, cream tank can be managed by manual
control, awareness and judicious use.
The total water consumption in pasteurizer cleaning
varied with the capacity of pasteurizer, final flushing, draining
time, operator skill and care.
FIG 1: Water consumption of dairy products (Product Section)
The fundamental use of water in product section is
mainly for the washing purpose. Apart from this, it was found
that water is used for lowering the temperature of product up
to a desired level. It is evident from the Fig. 4 that peda
manufacturing consumed more water. In the plant, 6 kettles
were used per batch having capacity only 80 kg each. So, the
amount of processed milk is very low, but the regular and
intermittent washing of kettles and floor is a necessary
operation at each batch.
Steam consumption: The steam consumptionsfor the various FIG 2: Steam consumption in manufacturing of dairy products
operations in the selected dairy are presented. The steam
Refrigeration consumption: The refrigeration consumption
consumption in can, tanker and crate washing of the plant
for processing and storage of milk has been presented in the
are given in Table 4. Steam consumption per can, tanker and
crate per cleaning was found to be 0.351, 3.21 and 0.234 kg Table 6. The daily refrigeration load in the plant is most
(Table 4). valuable for the cold storage. Refrigeration consumption in
cold storage was found 32990.491 kJ for 24 hour operation.
The steam requirement in milk pasteurization was
Cold storage is the heart of the dairy industry. But still,
found to be 37.26 kg per 1000 liters of milk processed
significant saving can be made through proper management
(Table 5). The steam requirement in pasteurization of cream
and care.
in the plant was reported as 97.57 kg per 1000 liter of cream
processed. In both the cases, steam used indicated more Electrical energy consumption: Daily electrical energy
amount than reported value by Gedam (1996) viz. 33.1 kg consumption in the dairy plant is calculated and tabulate in
and 63.6 kg per 1000 liters of sample processed respectively. Table 7. The maximum amount of electricity consumption
Fig. 2 reveals that peda manufacturing is a most was recorded in utilities generation section, so called
steam consuming among the experimented dairy products engineering section.
since, for peda, milk is concentrated by boiling and finally a Critical Control Points (CCPs) determination for the
dry mass was prepared with approximately 76% total solid. plant and suggested conservation methodology: The higher
Steam consumption has a considerable relationship with the and unexpected consuming utilities in the dairy equipments
TSS of the products, but not with coagulated products and operations are considered as CCPs, for which various
(Abhichandani, 1977). Steam was consumed more in lassi possible recommendations for energy conservation techniques
(28-30% TSS) and less in dahi (17-18% TSS) preparation. were made.
102 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY AND FOOD RESEARCH
TABLE 5: Steam and thermal energy consumption in processing section and storage tank cleaning
Particulars Milk processed (l) Steam consumed Thermal Energy
(Kg/1000 l milk) (GJ/1000 l milk)
Milk pasteurization 121466.70 37.26 0.100
Cream pasteurization 2890.00 97.57 0.262
Particulars Steam consumed (Kg/day) Thermal energy (GJ/day)
Milk pasteurizer cleaning 802.26 2.156
Cream pasteurizer cleaning 584.85 1.571
Raw milk storage tank cleaning 251.05 0.675
Silos cleaning 480.38 1.291
Cream tank cleaning 65.00 0.175
Pre- pack cleaning 556.02 1.494
Lassi culturing tank cleaning 81.86 0.220
Flavoring tank cleaning 27.29 0.073
Aging tank cleaning 43.66 0.117

TABLE 6: Refrigeration load for milk processing and cold storage · Proper matching of temperature and pressure of fuel to the
Particulars Refrigeration load (MJ/day) burner.
Milk pasteurization 9831.41 · Boiler blow down should be done in optimal time.
Cream pasteurization 159.091 · Periodical checking of water softening plant to avoid the
Raw milk chilling 7716.48 scaling
Market milk chilling 1583.93 · Proper control of fuel gas temperature.
Paneer making 851.1183
Ice cream making 587.872 Besides these, the most important recommendation on dairy
Cold storage 32990.491 operations and equipment are:
TABLE 7: Electrical energy consumption in the different · Most effective instrumentation and control system should
section of dairy plant. be installed.
Particulars Electrical energy (kWh) · Condensate should be utilized for heating or as feed water
to the boiler.
Product section 1428.00
Processing section 849.43 · Continuous manufacturing of peda and ghee can save
Utilities generation (Engg. Section) 9289.58 thermal energy losses.
RMRD (Raw milk reception dock) 103.31 · Heat losses from product surface can be minimized by
heating the product in suitable scraped heat exchangers till
Energy conservation methods on water consumption- The
the products attain boiling temperature.
following suggestions are given optimal and efficient use of · There should an optimal gap between the cold, hot and steam
utilities. In the plant, it has been found that water is flowing pipelines
continuously throughout the day from hosepipes irrespective · Minimizing reprocessing of milk
of whether water is used or not. Some ways for improving Energy conservation method on refrigeration consumption
the utilization of water are given below. · Quick maintenance of leakage as soon as possible.
· Dairy staff should be instructed for judicious use of water.
· Cold storage should not be left open.
· Concerned man power must be trained in effective and · The chilled water pipeline should be monitored to ensure
optimal use. the insulation.
· The end diameter and shut off valve of hose pipe should be · Keep insure about the refrigerant leakage.
a central point for users. · Selecting right temperature for storing the products.
· There should a periodical examination of consumption and · Through educating man’s power about the proper use and
also be compared withearlier data.
handling of cold storageand freezer.
· A water recovery system should be installed at various · Recirculation of chilled water.
feasible points. Energy conservation methods of electrical energy:
Energy conservation methods on steam consumption- The · To ensure the proper matching of motor and machinery.
most effective use of steam starts from the boiler, because · Unnecessarily lighting should be avoided.
the boiler is the source for producing the steam. · Efficient pump should be installed.
· Steam traps must be used and kept in best condition.
 Volume 34, Issue 1, 2015
· Solar lighting plant must be installed.
· Machinery and conveying should be lubricated regularly.
CONCLUSIONS
In these days, the cost of milk and milk based
products is going up due to the cost of raw materials and
energy required for processing. The cost of milk depends
upon utilities consumption, such as water, steam, refrigeration
and electricity. Thus, a case study was done to examine the
status for the further improvement in the energy conservation
103
operation.The main features of this study to find out the energy
consumption for various operations and equipments and to
suggest ways and means for the improvement. The data of
this case study was compared with previous study and found
that the energy conserving status is declining. It is, therefore,
essential that existing plant is instrumented well and at a
significant level. Plant manufactures should be encouraged
to give more accurate service consumption figures for the
desire.

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