Plate heat exchangers play a crucial role throughout the dairy industry and are widely regarded as one of the most reliable and cost-effective methods of processing dairy products safely and efficiently. By enabling efficient heat transfer between process streams, they help processors maintain product quality while reducing energy consumption.
However, while they may appear straightforward, selecting a heat exchanger designed specifically for the application is essential.
“Getting it right has long-term impacts on efficiency, hygiene, maintenance requirements and production uptime,” says Tanmoy Gosh, national sales manager at Brown Brothers Engineers Flow Technology. He says choosing the appropriate plate configuration, materials and operating parameters is key to achieving reliable performance throughout the life of the equipment.
Gosh explains that unlike standard low-viscosity applications, dairy products can present a wide range of processing challenges.
“While milk is relatively straightforward to process, higher-viscosity products such as cream, yoghurt and other cultured dairy products have unique thermal characteristics that influence heat transfer performance,” he says. Factors including product viscosity, flow rates, pressure drop and fouling potential all need to be considered when designing a suitable solution.
“Beyond thermal performance, hygienic design and ease of maintenance are critical considerations for dairy processors. Sanitary applications bring specific requirements around cleanability, accessibility and product integrity, where equipment reliability and cleaning efficiency directly impact production uptime.”
Using APV’s specialised thermal design tools, BBE Flow Technology works closely with processors to specify plate heat exchangers tailored to each application’s operating conditions and production requirements. This helps ensure equipment is designed to deliver consistent performance while meeting the hygiene and efficiency demands of modern dairy processing.
BBE Flow Technology is the exclusive New Zealand distributor for the APV range, part of ITT Flow Technologies (formerly SPX Flow), supporting both existing processing facilities and major greenfield developments.
“Whether it’s upgrading existing equipment, installing a new heat exchanger or troubleshooting a high-viscosity product application, our goal is to keep production moving smoothly and reliably,” says Ghosh.
Sponsored content: For more information phone +64 7 850 6250, email info@bbeflowtech.co.nz or visit www.bbeflowtech.co.nz.
