Effect of homogenisation on milk fouling in a tubular heat exchanger : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Food Engineering, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2004
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Massey University
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Abstract
Fouling of equipment surfaces in milk processing has been a costly problem for many years. In spite of an increasing body of knowledge of the fouling mechanism, the problem is not fully understood yet. Recent investigations suggest that the role of fat in whole milk fouling seems to be very important. The state and form of the fat globules, processing conditions as well as the orientation of heating surfaces may affect the fouling mechanism. Homogenisation of milk is known to cause disruption of fat globules and prevent creaming. The present work aimed to investigate the effect of homogenisation on the rate of fouling, composition and structure of fouling layers. Homogenised and un-homogenised milk were used as test fluids. Milk was heated from 4°C to 60°C in a plate heat exchanger then to 70°C and 80°C in a double pipe heat exchanger consisted of a horizontal and a vertical tube. The fouling rate in the double pipe heat exchanger was calculated and expressed as the rate of increase of the overall resistance to heat transfer, normalised using the initial heat transfer coefficient at the beginning of the run. Composition analysis of fouling layers was carried out using standard methods of moisture, ash, fat and protein tests. Resistance to deformation analysis was performed using texture tests; coverage measurement was determined by digital image analysis. Within the experimental conditions used in this work, the effect of homogenisation on the fouling rate could not be ascertained conclusively because of large variations in the values obtained but it had a significant effect in the composition of fouling layers. In all experimental runs, the amount of fat in the fouling layer was higher for un-homogenised milk compared to homogenised milk. In fact, the fat contents of fouling layers were found to be very high (between 30%-60% on a dry weight basis), which agrees with observations of other researches in New Zealand. The coverage and thickness of fouling layers were more influenced by the orientation of heated surfaces than by homogenisation. The strength of fouling layers is affected by their thickness, which decreases with increasing milk temperature.
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Heat exchangers, Fouling, Dairy processing