Yogurt Production Line

Process flow

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Mixing → Sterilization → Culture feeding → Fermentation → Cooling → Buffering → Filling → ESL sterilization→Buffering→Filling
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

Applications

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• Stirred yoghurt

• Set yoghurt

• Brown milk drink

• Long shelf time yoghurt

• Greece yoghurt

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1. Mixing system

Fresh milk or recombined milk is the basic ingredient, as well as adding sugar,stabilizer and other minor ingredients according to recipe to make yogurt.

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• Vacuum mixer (Powder/liquid high shear mixer)

• Buffer tanks

 

 

​2. Sterilization

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• Heating/cooling system

• Key parameter: 95℃ for 300s

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Advantages:

• Plate heat exchanger used to improve heat exchanging efficiency

• System design conform to EHEDG code

• Hot products heat exchanged with cold products, heat recovery rate high up to 90%, steam consumption low down to 30kg/t milk, significantly reducing energy consumption and operation cost

• Pressure difference design for Products/heating (cooling) medium, product/product to ensure Sterilized product pressure higher than none pasteurized product or medium, no product contamination risk

• gentle heating technology, long continuous running time

• Independent CIP circulation system maximize cleaning and energy consumption efficiency 

 

 

3. Culture inline feeding system

Culture fed into base ingredients for fermentation, base ingredients flow through the culture tank bottom and top to involve culture, higher culture use ratio 

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4. Fermentation system

 

• Fermentation system is the core of yoghurt process, the design will affect products quality and stability

• Fermentation tanks are ultra clean, mirror polished, 45ºcone bottom design make discharge and cleaning are easy

• Insulated tanks ensure proper fermentation process temperature

• Tanks with top mounted agitator, it runs when base ingredients feed into tanks, make sure culture are evenly distributed into base ingredients, it stops after feeding finish, and start again after fermentation for emulsion broken, but not destroy yoghurt viscosity

• Fermentation tanks equipped with aseptic breather valve and aseptic air system and litter positive pressure protection to avoid contamination

• It also equipped with aseptic sampling valves, it make it’s possible for aseptic sampling to check viable organism and physicochemical index

• Side feeding design to avoid air bubble

• Brown milk fermentation tanks jacketed for heating, after 95º brown stain, it cool down to 38º for fermentation

• Cheese fermentation tanks equipped with agitator scraper, it could scrape and collect products when discharge

• Automatic valves control, valve block discharge, double seat and double seal mixing-proof valves to avoid cross pollution of different pipe line

 

 

5. Yoghurt cooling system

 

• When the acid degree reach required point, yoghurt need to cool down to 15-20℃ immediately for fermentation ending, products cooled through special plate heat exchanger, in order to get uniform products, it’s better to empty all fermentation tanks in half hour, normally, the cooled yoghurt stored in buffer tanks for filling

 

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6. Buffering

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• The product is stored in buffer tanks after culture feeding, when filler is ready, product heated to 42±2℃ through the inline heating system.

• Hot water circulation system provide stable heating temperature, products heated before filling, when filler stops, the operator needs to push products out for pipe line only, buffer tank product will not be affected. 

 

7. ESL yoghurt pasteurization system

ESL yoghurt pasteurizer used for post pasteurization before filling, it keeps 20 seconds at 75℃, for extending yoghurt shelf time

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Advantages:

• Pressured Buffer tank provides stable feeding into pump, especially for high viscosity yoghurt

• Plate heat exchanger with high heat exchanging efficiency

• Small product pressure drop

• Conform to EHEDG code, special plate used for high viscosity, big gap 3.96mm/316L, higher hygienic and anti-corrosion grade

• Hot Products heat exchanged with cold products, this design reduce public energy markedly, as well as operation cost

• Hot water used as heating medium, small temperature difference（△t<3℃）

• Products with heating/cooling medium, and products with products has pressure difference design, hot water system、ice water system and product system have independent pressure monitoring system, to ensure pasteurized products pressure higher than no pasteurized products or medium

• Product reversed during high temperature stage, this design make sure high viscosity products fully sterilized

• Self-cleaning, equipped with independent big flow cleaning pump to ensure complete cleaning

• All pipe line elbows has big diameter, it reduces pressure and viscosity loss

• The pipe line connected to aseptic tanks equipped with heating and insulation, to ensure low pipe line transporting resistance, and avoid damage to yoghurt viscosity