Milk must be pasteurized in order to make sure there are no dangerous organisms which make people ill. This requires heating and dairy products must be heated in the most efficient manner, as it takes more energy to heat a cold product and then re-chill it. Many dairy processing companies rely on the plate type heat exchanger for heating milk and this helps to cut costs and increase efficiency. Here is more about the process.
How Do Plate Heat Exchangers Work?
With plate heating, fluid is allowed to pass between many different thin plates to take advantage of an indirect heating method. There are two separate partitions, one containing cold milk and the other hot water. This gives you cold liquid on one side of a metal plate. On the other side, hot water is present. As cold milk is pumped slowly through the plate type heat exchanger, heat from the hot water is gradually absorbed.
Benefits
Plate heat exchangers are simple and easy to clean. For instance, with some models, plates are mounted in packs, which can be removed, cleaned and inspected. Here are additional benefits.
Efficient
It’s possible to heat a large amount of liquid with a minimal amount of energy. Heat is not lost into the atmosphere, so it can constantly recycle throughout the system. In addition, this type of heating system takes up less space than other options and this is an important consideration for many processes.
Expansion
If you need to increase output, it’s very easy to add additional sets of plates. It is also an economically viable choice, since the cost is reasonable.
No Cross Contamination
When heating consumable liquids with direct heat, there is always the chance of contamination. However, the plate type heat exchanger keeps heated liquid and chilled liquid separate at all times and the system remains closed.
