GEA Messo PT reduces the cost of its Niro Freeze Concentration technology for the dairy industry

GEA Messo PT has simplified its Niro Freeze Concentration technology
This new generation of Freeze Concentrators, called IceConTM, reduces the capital costs by around 50% and the operational cost up to 40%, making this high-quality process more widely accessible to the dairy market across the globe. The reduced cost of the technology makes Freeze Concentration a realistic proposition for many dairy plants allowing them to provide the highest quality concentrates. Even for producing instant dairy products the freeze concentrated concentrate will improve the quality of the final instant dairy products.

By freeze concentration part of the water is converted into pure ice crystals. The crystals formed are taken out by a sophisticated separation device, called the wash column. By taking out the ice (water), the soluble components are now dissolved in less water, the concentration increases. As the whole processing takes place at sub-zero temperatures, in a closed, slightly over-pressurized system (preventing oxidation), the original product characteristics will remain. The process does not involve the application of heat and results in a concentrate of unprecedented product quality.
Freeze concentration has always been available as an alternative to evaporation for concentrating milk products. Although freeze concentration has always been recognised as achieving the best result, with virtually no change in product taste when reconstituted, the cost of the process has put many dairy processors off in favour of evaporation despite the noticeable detrimental effect the heat applied during evaporation has on the final taste, flavour and nutritional value. However, by reducing the cost of freeze concentration, the IceConä technology becomes much more accessible to a wide variety of processors.
As well as better product quality, freeze concentration has other benefits for dairy processors. As the system works at sub-zero temperatures intermediate cleaning (CIP) is not needed. The system can run continuously for weeks without stopping. This saves valuable production time and costs for cleaning agents.
“The lower price tag puts freeze technology into the hands of companies that found it attractive in the past, but could not justify the capital expenditure,” said Xavier Hollander of GEA Messo PT. “Freeze concentration produces a greatly superior milk product compared with evaporation that inevitably causes damage and adversely affects the taste and nutritional value.”
The new IceConTM technology brings high-quality freeze concentration within the reach of mass market dairy processors helping them to satisfy the demands of an increasingly discerning public.